Valhalla Rising (2009)

"The Big Sleep" with Humphrey Bogart is famous for being more about the parts themselves than the sum. Valhalla rising in my opinion is very similar. The cinematography and the sound editing trump all the other aspects of the film. It does indeed deal heavily in ambiguous symbolism and I am sure one could draw parallels with a number of sources. The story is really not as complicated as has been made out on these message boards. There is no clear answer to this film but at the same time you will not feel robbed by the this, there is a definite beginning, middle and end. It's best just to sit back and enjoy the menace that permeates the entire film, even having known the ending from some careless commentator I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching this. I would not however have enjoyed 3 hours of it, but it is only 90 minutes long so is perfect. The violence is really not that bad, there are so many worse films for this...'irreversible, brave-heart and any gore porn movie doing the rounds.' Go see this film, enjoy for it's stunningly visuals, startling audio and general intensity. Oh, and I did not enjoy his previous film 'Bronson' art house British movies just look horrible, this is beautiful. Similar to the thin red line but not as long and tedious.

Fmovies: When I heard there was going to be a Viking movie with Mads Mikkelson, and I saw the trailer for it, I was very very intrigued. I am of the opinion that a serious Viking drama has never been done well or respectfully, so I was really hoping that I might get that here.

Unfortunately, the plot of Vallhalla Rising is so shallow and near meaningless that I must admit that I'm still waiting.

That being said, if judged in terms of cinematic and visual experience, it was beautifully shot, and the much vaunted fights scenes (especially the ones in the beginning) were awesome in their brutality. The director sets great scenes in some awesome locations, so your eyes will be in for a treat... but don't expect riveting plot. Rather, think of this as an arts movie with a bit of brutal violence in it.

Hell, I just wished they named the movie better. The fact these characters are Norse is just about irrelevant... they could have plugged a number of different cultures into this story-line, change a few slight details and the difference to the core story would have been negligible. Way to name a movie Valhalla Rising' simply because otherwise the idea that there are Vikings in this movie is not reinforced heavily enough.

So, watch if you want a artsy visual experience... don't sit down with a bunch of friends expecting a action blockbuster. This is not it.

Nicolas Winding Refn and his skeleton film crew have done a fantastic job with this film. It's minimalist in it's dialogue (more akin to a Takeshi production), brutal in it' depiction of violence, stunning in it's heavily treated Scottish-shot cinematography and quite frankly surreal in it's execution.

As for the story, you may have read the plot above but Nicolas Winding Refn is really wanting to take his audience on a visual/psychological journey rather than spell everything out for you. This is a film that will probably win over more 'art-house' fans than hyperactive videogaming teenage boys, which begs the question - What the hell happened to the original theatrical poster artwork, why has the marketing department decided to package this as a '300' rip-off?? It's criminal.

In terms of plot, much is left to the imagination and it benefits greatly from it. It's like a very bad acid trip. A trip that Mads Mikkelsen's character 'one-eye' undertakes for reasons known only to himself (well, a mute isn't going to tell you what's he's doing is he?). After fleeing his captors, finding a child as a companion and joining up with a group of midgy-bitten Scottish Christian Vikings (which actually existed, by the way) we find ourselves en-route, via viking boat to what can only be described as Hearts of Darkness meets Bosch meets Lord of The Flies. It's a story that peers into the deepest and darkest parts of man's soul. Chaos, evil, death it's all in there and the director takes on an almost Werner Herzog persona, dragging his crew to the most remote parts of Scotland. It's edgy, sparse, minimalist spooky psychological stuff that's utterly gorgeous and tense throughout. It just about holds the pace together (almost losing it in the boat scenes) but it's Mads Mikkelsen that keeps you gripped. Even without uttering a word, he draws you in until the closing scene Great stuff. It's gory art-house flick, existential, dark, minimalist, stylish and very un-Hollywood. And I loved it.

I just wish the box art was revised for the sake of it's future audience. The packaging this film comes in is a disgrace. '300' it ain't! It desperately needs a minimalist design on the menu and box to match the film's mood (and original theatrical poster). Trust me folks, I'm a Graphic Designer!

Valhalla Rising fmovies. This is what i call cinema at it's true and pure essence. This movie is raw, intense and beautiful. It focuses on the human nature, throws some great concepts from Nietzsche and adds a primal yet substantial ideology on how we are connected to nature. It reminds me of Apocalypse Now and how the journey moves on. Excellent cinematography and atmosphere. It really took me into the movie and made me enjoy every single second of it.

I've read some bad reviews and seen some negative ratings on this one, and i totally understand why. This movie caught a lot of attentions because of it's title, being English spoken and also because of the trailer, but sadly it ended up in the hands of some action-popcorn-thirsty-kids. Please go see Lord of the Rings and leave the ratings to those who seek a deep and philosophical movie. I'm not an intellectual freak and i love Lord of the Rings and other blockbusters but to those not familiar with Tarkovsky, Fellini, Bertolucci or even Leone will surely dislike this movie and not be able to see it till the very end.

The soundtrack is amazingly rich and original, the visuals are stunning, the story is simple yet deep and meaningful. I would say this is a cult movie and a must see, one of the best movies ever.

This is an excellent movie. It's a visual movie that you watch and experience. There is very little dialog and everything said is important. It requires several viewings to grasp many of the subtleties in the images and story. The director has managed to capture the atmosphere perfectly. The action is very brutal and lifelike.

This movie isn't everyone's cup of tea. It has a very "trippy" feel throughout the movie, and a bit of philosophy thrown in. The main questions surround the hero of the movie, One-Eye, and a boy named Are, who he is protecting. After watching it several times, I am of the opinion that One-Eye is possibly a direct avatar of Odin. A very interesting movie with excellent cinematography, with much of the story shown and not told, I recommend this to anyone who has a brain and likes action and adventure.

I was expecting an epic battle movie about Vikings (as my mistake was to not check who's the director) and hell was I mistaken. What was delivered was an astonishing movie about humanity. In my humble opinion this is a masterpiece, despite being visually and acoustically amazing it is an in-depth look into mankind as it is rarely found. There is a lot in this movie (which in itself is amazing when one is looking on the minimal use of words)and I have to admit I did not get all the hints and metaphors used.

If you want entertainment go and watch something else use your brain and you will enjoy this movie! I normally do not write reviews or rate movies here but I strongly felt that this movie was underrated by a mile. Further, this reminded me to go and finally buy Denmarks best trilogy!