Vikingdom
(2013/Epic Pictures DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: D Extras: B Film: C+
Between
folklore and legend, a clash of steel, there is Vikingdom.
The world is changing, from the Gods of old to the new Gods, and Thor
is NOT pleased. Thor (Conan Stevens) seeks to unite Helheim
(underworld/hell), Mitgard (human realm), and Valhalla (Heaven) and
to have gods walk among the world again. But only one man can stop
the mad god... Eirick the Bloodletter (Dominic Purcell).
Director
Yusry Kru (aka Yusry Abd Halim) starts with the premise that Eirick
was once a king, but died and was brought back the Goddess Freya, now
he must save mankind from the rule of Thor. As he gathers his army,
he must rescue a wizard, then journey to Helheim to collect the Horn
of Helheim to send Thor back the realm of gods, but he faces many
challenges along the way, including his own brother/king and has
turned his people into sellswords. As the battle for Mitgard begins,
Eirick gathers various companions and heroes who would dare stand
against the God of Thunder. And when he faces Thor. he discovers the
truth of his origins and his destiny.
The
script is based on Norse Legends and folklore, how the Norse God,
Thor became angry that old Gods were being replaced by Christendom,
so he decides to take over the world. While all the characters
looked good, and look like they came from some Conan movie and the
CGI special effects were first rate, the costuming, props and setting
looked just a little too new and shiny; in the end it came off more
as action movie with comical one liners than epic heroic action.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image was shot with a RED EPIC
camera with good results, but the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is
weaker and inconsistent more often than I have encountered in any
such mix in a long time, so that disappointed me in a major way.
Extras include Making of Vikingdom, Music Video, and trailer.
-
Ricky Chiang
