The Viking Sagas

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Starring: Ralf Moeller
Rated: R (Restricted)
Type: DVD
Directed By: Michael Chapman
Studio: Image Entertainment
Release Date: 2006-08-22
International action star Ralf Moeller (Universal Soldier, Conan the Adventurer) stars in this stirring, action-packed epic about one man's search for revenge in the icy northern climes of the north. Featuring stunning cinematography, lush music by George S. Clinton (Austin Powers) and George Fenton (Groundhog Day), and striking direction by Michael Chapman (The Clan of the Cave Bear, All the Right Moves), this is an unforgettable journey that tests the limits of the human spirit.

Disappointing
I should qualify this negative review by warning up front that when it comes to movies--and for that matter, books, too--about the Vikings I am a nitpicker, and in fairness I should explain why. I'm the author of the Strongbow Saga, a historical fiction series set during the Viking era. I've spent many years of research, and much effort, trying to gain an in-depth knowledge of the Vikings' culture, history, and the period in which they lived so that I can accurately portray them in my novels. The Vikings have long been misunderstood and misrepresented, in print and on film, and I hate to see this continuing to occur.

The writers of the screenplay for this movie clearly drew on several old Icelandic sagas about the Vikings. Portions of the plot bear a strong resemblance to portions of Njal's Saga, and some of the main characters are loosely drawn from the Laxardal Saga. However, rather than trying to create a historically accurate portrayal of the Vikings, the film makers instead opted to make a low budget fantasy film that ends up being sort of a cross between pseudo-history and Conan the Barbarian. And the acting of Ralph Moeller, who plays the role of the movie's hero Kjartan, is very evocative of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Conan: both actors have hugely muscled builds and deliver their lines with all the feeling of a talking tree trunk. Moreover, when a film director has to rely on a voice-over narration to explain the story because the filmed scenes are too incoherent to convey it without an explanation, you know you're dealing with a weak piece of storytelling.

The list of why this film should not be considered a historically accurate portrayal of the Vikings is too long to fit into a short review, but let me point out a few of the more glaring flaws. The costumes look more like early Scottish garb than Viking attire--so much so, that I wondered if the film makers were not reusing old costumes from Braveheart. There are some accurate Viking-era weapons on the screen, though mostly on the belts of extras, but the story's main characters use long handled, two-handed swords that are the purely the stuff of B grade fantasy, and Kjartan even wears his sword slung across his back--again channeling Conan. This kind of detail is not hard to get right--there's no excuse for not doing so.

Nevertheless, if you watch this movie for what it is--a low budget fantasy film set in the visually stunning scenery of Iceland--it will not disappoint your expectations. But as for me, I'm still looking for a film that accurately portrays the Vikings as they really were.

A different side of Ralph Moeller
The Viking Saga is more of a drama than the usual type of action movie that Ralph Moeller (Conan the Series) stars in. His role is not the typical "invincible" warrior. His character actually does not know how to fight in the beginning of the movie. In fact, Moeller must be trained to avenge his fathers death. The knife and sword training scenes are fun to watch.
This role is very different than his characters in such movies as Best of the Best or Gladiator. I feel it is good for an actor to explore different types of roles and images so his/her movies don't all appear too similiar.

The acting is decent. Due to the low budget, there are some minor flaws with this movie. However, I found it to be provacative and intriguing as many aspects of past Viking customs are shown.

This is a five star movie-

Not as bad as some of these reviews indicate
This movie isn't nearly as bad as some of the reviewers here would have you believe. For those reviewers here who are lamenting the lack of good Viking movies, check out The 13th Warrior, it's very good and the best one out there. Beowulf and Grendel, starring Gerard Butler as Beowulf, is also good.

surprisingly good
The Viking Sagas is rough in places, and has some unevenness to sound, but i wasn't expecting a big stuidio production. However, this movie was delightful in it's casting, in it's details of life during the era of Iceland that it depicted, and in the beautiful photography. The story is a combination and simplified tale taken from various sagas. The little touches from the sagas worked throughout the tale had me smiling from ear to ear despite the solemness of the story. Of course there were some modern reworking of ideals, and the movie is very short, but I'm quite glad that i took the chance and bought it.

Not what I had hoped for. Not Even Close.
Being half Norwegian, I've been on a mission to find good Norse/Viking films for a while now and I gave this one a buy before trying because of that. Well, I struck out here as this is one of the worst excuses for a viking action film I've seen yet. To say it's only very loosely viking is being overly generous. There's really nothing here of factual viking history or heritage.

The story is basic but it can be hard to follow as your thrown alot of names and aren't always given the time to know exactly who they're talking about. As the lead man, I thought Ralf Moeller was stiff and lifeless. Granted, he didn't have the best script and dialog to deal with but I think he's just not charasmatic enough for a hero role. None of the other actors impressed here at all and I found some of the casting highly questionable.

There was nothing and no one here to care anything about no matter what happens. The bad guys were bad but not too bad. Moeller plays the hero who's destiny is to become a great warrior but he keeps getting his butt kicked throughout most of the film. His master/teacher is supposedly the greatest warrior in the land but is old, out of shape and in no way believeable. Moeller just seems to keep wanting to get it on with this one girl most of the time and they have some stupidly unpassionate love scenes that are only there to show unappreciated and gratuitous nudity. Then his master/teacher goes on a killing spree because he wanted Moellers chick even though he's old enough to be her grandfather. I mean, he slaughters a whole village full of people over it and everyone just forgives him for it like nothing happened. Mr.Miagi in the Karate Kid would never do that. Besides, isn't he supposed to be a good guy here? Uh, ok? The swordplay is basic and boring, the blood effects are cheesy and the only thing climactic about the ending was that it was ending. The only redeeming value here are the nice landscapes to look at. That's it.

I won't bother reviewing the audio/video here as it's just not worth it.

So for anyone else looking for a good Viking film, keep looking and let me know what you find. For anyone who likes old tyme sword fighting action flicks like Conan, Beastmaster and Gladiator, watch those instead. There's a reason why most people never heard of this film. Personally, I'm trying hard to forget it and I'm glad there are places to sell junk like this. Avoid.