Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

david-sarkies Yeah, this film was pretty bad. Okay, visually it was quite nice, but honestly, I really found it boring. In fact it came across as being one of those fantasy style adventures, and even pretty much ran as if it was a fantasy adventure, but it fell down badly in the sense that it was basically set in the real world, or at least England where the Vikings were fighting the Saxons. Okay, I'm sure things like this happened in the real world, but honestly, if the film is drawing on countless fantasy tropes, a part of me really would prefer the film to be set in a fantasy realm. As I mentioned, the film is set in during the time when the Vikings had invaded England, and things are going badly for the Viking king. So, he calls in reinforcements, and along comes his son. However, the king, who has been wounded in battle, decides that his son won't take his place, but instead go and search for his elder brother. Thus begins the quest, where our hero goes and searches for clues, encounters some trouble, and finally stumbles upon his brother who, not surprisingly, has joined a cult where he is basically the leader. So that is basically it, the typical fantasy trope tied around the typical quest narrative. Of course, the whole narrative is a coming of age story, and also toys with the idea of the savage Viking becoming somewhat calmer and more passive. However, that doesn't seem to last all that long because once he returns, the father decides that his son has proven himself and he proceeds to go and slaughter Saxons, except that in reality the Saxons won. This is probably the spot I struggled with in the film. Honestly, they probably should have switched the roles, however Vikings tend to be a lot more appealing than do Saxons. Yet this still really didn't work - why have a Viking as the hero, and have him go on a quest to prove himself, when ultimately it is all going to come to naught. Sure, this could be a metaphor of the futility of life, but honestly, this really wasn't one of those deep and philosophical films. No, rather it was just an adventure flick that in the end was really boring. Okay, maybe it is because of budget reasons that the creators decided to dispense with the fantasy elements, however I don't really feel that is the case here, However, there is more to a good movie, even a good adventure movie, than just fantasy elements. In the end this film falls down on so many levels - the characters were rather hollow, it really didn't know what it was or what it wanted to be, and the acting wasn't that intriguing either. Oh, and there was also the idea that they were trying to set this film up as if it was some form of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Well, that didn't work for me either. So, in the end, it is one of those films that I was really glad when it came to an end.

Freedom060286 When I mentioned to someone I liked Northmen: A Viking Saga, it was suggested I watch this one. But it turned out to be not nearly as good.The movie did have high quality cinematography and most of the locations were very nice. It wasn't a boring movie, there was a lot of action and intense dramatic situations throughout. But there was plenty wrong with it. The movie's characters were far from likable, except for Agnes who was played by the best of the cast, Alexandra Dowling. The paedophile Viking was a very disgusting character. The cave dwellers were a sickening lot: there was an incestuous relationship and cannibalism. The Saxons were shown to be poor swordsmen, easily defeated even when their numbers were far greater than the Vikings (presumably Danes). History tells a different story. Despite being the people defending their homeland from invaders, the Christian Saxons were portrayed as the villains. The story seemed confused and illogical by times. Harald was the name of a brother of Steinar, but that's a Saxon name, not Viking. Why was the black guy in this supposedly "historical" movie? There were no black people in England at that time. Some of the violent acts in the story didn't make sense. Why would Grim angrily kill the woman who was being stoned, after they saved her? Why did the older brother of Steinar kill his half- brother? Was it necessary for Steinar to kill one of his closest friends? Sadly, despite it's excellent cinematography, Hammer of the Gods is not a good movie.

nickmancyboy35 when did this film ever pretend to be any more than it is, a very watchable good adventure film with a good plot and cast. Is this now the world of highbrow film reviews well your watching the wrong movie. It is a good film for what it is, a fast paced adventure with a cast who pull it off well, anyone with an interest in Vikings will enjoy this why try to find more, it is exactly what it sets out to be..bloody good fun and well worth a watch....I like Vikings the TV series who don't! I presume you spotted Rollo, I think the lead in this film played it very well and he had that Raganar swagger and played it well.stop bad mouthing this movie world its bloody good....

Rich Wright Considering my last trip down Viking movie terrain was the unbelievably bad A Viking Saga, I approached Hammer Of The Gods with more than slight trepidation. I had my finger hovering over the EJECT button just in case, and a back-up film prepared. To my immense relief, neither action was necessary, although this is still a LLOONNG way from being a good movie, it is at least (until the ridiculous ending sequence) durable, and precisely 1000 times better than the aforementioned pile of old donkey droppings. Go on... you figure it out.Aside from not having an obnoxious narrator and scenes where people actually LOOK as if they're fighting (as opposed to doing a stupid dance) it also has satisfying gore as knives are twisted and decapitations are as commonplace as horned helmets. The story, such as it is, revolves around the search for a lost king in ancient Britain, but it soon fades from the memory as we witness one bloody slaughter after another. In fact, as sick as it may sound, I wanted MORE of it rather than the rather tiresome 'bonding' scenes between our sketchily drawn comrades. And as for nonsense in the caves towards the end involving incest, a weird cult and a complete overuse of body paint... Let's not mention it.The wait for the perfect Nordic movie goes on. This is the best I've seen, only so far as to say: This is a freshly made turd, and not one with flies and mould on it... 4/10