Notebook Reviews: THE 13TH WARRIOR

John Mc Tiernan – 1999.

John McTiernan‘s The 13th Warrior is not as bad as its troubled production would lead you to believe. This adaptation of Michael Crichton‘s novel, Eaters of the Dead is an entertaining Viking action film with echoes of Beowulf. 

The action scenes are well-staged but they could do with a bit more blood and guts to help them hit harder. Antonio Banderas is good as the Arab who gets caught up with a group of Norse warriors. Some of the character development of the Vikings appears to have been lost in the editing room and at 100 minutes, could have been doing with an extra half hour to flesh things out. 

All-in-all, The 13th Warrior is a slick and enjoyable adventure film – but it could have been so much better.