The Northman

The Northman follows a Viking, Amleth, on a path to avenge his father.
If you’re able to guess the entire plot from that description then you’ve seen the Lion King too.

It’s hardly an original plot, but what it lacks in a new story, the Northman delivers in atmosphere.
It’s a visual masterpiece, that’s impossible to look away from.
The cinematography is gorgeous; from one-shot fight scenes to the disturbing close-ups, it captures the emotions of every scene and completely drew me in.
Not just visual either. The sound design is downright perfect, from the violent hacking of blades to the howling winds; a movie has never sounded this cold.

Action scenes felt pretty sparse and lacking in my opinion, but that’s clearly not what this was going for.
This is an artistic action movie; it’s about emotion and cinematography rather than an updated Conan the Barbarian.
I’m not marking it down for that, but it is something to bear in mind; if you expect an action-filled adventure, you’ll be disappointed.
That said the final battle is pretty epic, but again it’s down to the cinematography.
Just letting you know what you’re in for.

It’s pretty trippy too; somewhere between Midsommar and Dr Strange, with visual allusions to the Norse Mythology that inspired it.
It’s not fantasy; there’s a fight scene with an undead skeleton that’s all a dream, and illusions of Valkyries and Odin, it’s a great way of including this classic imagery while keeping it grounded in the real world.
It helps build this world and sucks you further into the story.

CONCLUSION

It’s every tale of revenge in olden times you’ve seen, but thanks to it’s visual and sound design it definatly stands above the rest.

It’s not the blood soaked epic I thought I wanted,
but the artistic journey into the world of Vikings I didn’t know I actually did.
While it lacked the story or character to push it over the edge, it’s an extremely immersive work of art that I highly recommend to those who wish to journey to the frozen North.