Amanda Harris

I would like to say that I had mixed feelings about the Northman. Unfortunately, my verdict is pretty clear. The Northman was a huge disappointment as a blockbuster historical action movie. As a documentary? It was interesting, if not a little disturbing. On one hand, I applaud the director's determination to keep the film historically accurate, from the costumes to the deep dives into Norse lore. On the other hand, all of it was pretty pointless. Ritual upon ritual/kooky spiritual dreams really slowed the film down, and had no ultimate plot relevance. While I can appreciate the costumes, the set design, and the beautiful film locations, none of those things made the Northman enjoyable to watch. Those things we had in abundance, but what makes movies fun is the action, the suspense, the character developement, all of which was sorely lacking. I would enjoy the Northman as a documentary, not a blockbuster film.