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August 30, 1999

 The 13th Warrior

What frightens the mighty Viking warriors?
The 13th Warrior
Rated R
Starring Antonio Banderas, Dennis Storhoi, Vladimir Kulich
Directed By Michael Crichton and John McTiernan
103 Minutes
By Mark H. Walker
The Vikings were bad men. At least, that is the common 21st-century view. However, despite their ferocity and warrior acumen, they were not the fearless fighters modern humans believe. There were things, shadowy things, hungry things, things that pierced the Norsemen's hearts with fear. The things were called "spirits in the mist" and they stole into villages at night, murdering the innocents and eating their corpses. Such is the premise of The 13th Warrior.

A loose adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel Eaters of the Dead, the movie stars Antonio Banderas as Ibn Fahdlan, an Arab poet who covets his neighbor's wife. Unfortunately, the neighbor has friends in high places, and Fahdlan is expelled from Baghdad on an emissary's trek to the Northlands. En route, Fahdlan falls in with a Viking clan to escape marauding Turks.

So far, so good, but the Northmen--as Fahdlan calls the Vikes--are summoned to help a fellow clan. Their shaman claims that 12 Northmen (one for each month of the year) and one foreigner must go on the journey to aid the brother Vikings. All eyes turn to Banderas. A couple of scenes and two longboats later, Fahdlan finds himself one of a baker's dozen warriors on a mission to save fellow Vikings who are being ravaged by vicious animalistic creatures. Let the slashing begin.

Tough, believable and warm
The 13th Warrior is quickly amassing a bad reputation, due mainly to plenty of bad reviews from critics. It's a reputation the film doesn't deserve.

Banderas turns in an excellent performance as a poet turned warrior. Want a pumped-up superhero lead on steroids? Look elsewhere. Banderas is simply a man. He fights, he fears, he prays to Allah to let him live the story's climactic moments well. Initially disdainful of the rough Northmen, he learns they have knowledge and honor equal to, but different from, that which exists in Baghdad.

Banderas's friend Herger the Joyous (Dennis Storhoi) and their leader, Buliwyf (Vladimir Kulich), are tough yet believable characters. The warmth between Storhoi and Banderas is real, and it pulls viewers into the circle of 13, making their fate an issue that matters. On the other hand, Kulich's character displays a strength of will, a focus of purpose, that's refreshing in today's conditionally moralistic film world.

Is 13th Warrior bloody? Yes, but the real question should be, is the blood for purpose or panache? Unlike the sprinkler incident in Blade or the blood-river passageway in Event Horizon, 13th Warrior's gore sets a mood. These were gritty, dirty, brutal times. The task of fighting and killing humans with blunt clubs and 60-pound swords was a bloody endeavor. To ignore that would have made the movie less.

An edge-of-seat experience, The 13th Warrior is one of the better adventure flicks of the year. Its blend of real characters, plausible plot and tense action grabs viewers by the imagination and doesn't let go.

I've read nothing but bad reviews of this movie. I entered the theater, braced myself for the worst...and was stunned. This was good stuff. I turned to my friend, afraid I was missing some terrible film faux pas on the screen. "Is this good," I asked, "or is it just me?" No reply. He was too engrossed in the film. -- Mark
 

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