The Northman
Gillipedia Official Rating:
Apparently, yelling “Skol!” in the theater is not considered appropriate.
The Northman is very much the case of needing appropriate expectations when viewing. Yes, I knew this was from director Robert Eggers and watched his previous two films The VVitch and The Lighthouse. He has a distinct style. And after viewing the trailer for this film, I thought he might bring some of that over, but it also looked like he was branching out toward a more mainstream, blockbuster territory with a grander scope and budget for this film. That is partially true. I was looking forward to an action-packed, gritty adventure film about family and vengeance. Although that is in the film, action-packed is a little heavy as a descriptor. The bulk of the primary action is shown in some regard from the trailer, so the rest of the 2 hr 20 min runtime has to be filled with something else. And that’s really where Robert Egger’s background comes in. Because this is not non-stop thrills. This is much closer to a historically accurate representation of the age of Vikings and is reminiscent of epics from olden days like Ben-Hur. Meaning there are standout moments, but there’s a lot of added information as well such as weird rituals and an inkling of supernaturalness. And that is not going to be to everyone’s liking.
Before we talk more specifics, let’s
dive into the plot a bit. The opening is too long, primarily due to a weird
rite of passage among our young protagonist, Ethan Hawke playing the hero’s
father and king, and Eggers teaming up with Willem Dafoe and having him do his
creepy smile as a court jester. And then in a weird transition immediately
afterward, the uncle Fjolnir reveals himself as the villain and beheads his
brother in front of the hero Amleth. Amleth also sees Fjolnir (fun names I must
say) carry his mother Queen Gudrun off (played by Nicole Kidman). Amleth
escapes by boat, and as he paddles away, he channels some inner Princess
Bride as he exclaims, “I will avenge you, Father! I will save you, Mother!
I will kill you, Fjolnir!”
This is the driving force and
motivation for the film. We then fast forward some years later (not making that
up, that’s what it said in the film) to our hero grown up and all buffed up now
as Alexander Skarsgard. Skarsgard has been in some films that you’ve probably
seen, but you’re likely to be more familiar with his father Stellan from the Thor
films and brother Bill as Pennywise the Clown in It. The story remains
relatively straightforward in his quest to find his uncle to carry out all three
promises he made. He’s also visited by witches that tell him his destiny and
what will happen, and he disguises himself as a slave to get closer to his
uncle, and in the process of figuring out his revenge, he also meets another
slave Olga played by *chef’s kiss* Anya Taylor-Joy. Yes, I’m entranced by those
giant eyes, but she’s building up a really impressive filmography from breaking
out with Split, captivating Netflix in The Queen’s Gambit, and
previously teaming up with Eggers from The VVitch.
Before I talk about more of what
bothered me with the film, there are honestly plenty of compliments to dish
out. First and foremost, this is a visual masterpiece. The action that we do
get is superb. There are some gnarly kills and moves, the camera frequently follows
Amleth around without cutting as he chops down adversaries, and none of it ever
looks like green screen. I’m guessing they shot a lot on actual location in
Europe. I have no idea what countries they use, but it looks Scandinavian, and
we start off in villages near rocky, oceanside cliffs, move to the forest where
we travel down a river, and end off in a more remote location with vast
landscapes and rolling hills set with an active volcano as the backdrop. This
might be a bit controversial considering the review following this one, but
this kind of action is what keeps bringing me back to the theaters and is so
refreshing from -albeit well done- green screen backgrounds typical of
superhero films.
Skarsgard puts in a great performance
as Amleth. He has a simple Viking mind, but he experiences many complex, often
difficult emotions. And bro bro’d out at the gym and seriously got that Viking
bod going. If you saw The VVitch, then you’ll know that they tried
making it as accurate to that time period—same with the The Lighthouse.
Taylor-Joy has used many accents in her career already, and I think her accent
in this film is the most spot-on of any of the actors.
When we first transition to adult
Amleth, he’s in a group of marauders rowing down that river I mentioned
earlier. They pass a fisherman and shoot him with an arrow and laugh because
that was amusing for them. They approach a village where the first guard throws
a spear that Amleth catches and throws back. And this sequence is incredible to
watch as we follow Amleth traversing the wall and killing the guards inside
without visible cuts (there are multiple cuts, but they use the editing
technique to make it look like one shot). The action is brutal and unflinching,
but it’s also conflicting because Amleth’s comrades gather the villagers and
lock them in a building and set it on fire. They plunder, recruit, and take
women and whatever else they want and drunkenly celebrate at night. Amleth
doesn’t partake, but he makes no efforts to stop his friends either. Of course,
we recognize this as morally bad behavior. But you also have to commend Eggers
for his commitment to historical accuracy—one of his most defining traits. It
does not paint Amleth in the best light, but he is on a singular path of
vengeance, and without having done the proper research, I can confirm that this
is indeed what the behavior of Vikings was like when this film takes place in
800something AD.
Like I mentioned before, the film
spends too long on weird rituals and supernatural prophecies. And it’s not
until we’re approaching the climax that the film engages with some of the more
interesting principals of if your destiny has already been chosen for you or if
you can make your own fate. Does Amleth follow through with this lifetime oath
of vengeance, or can he ignore destiny for a future better forged with the
possibility of Olga? I think this is a path that could’ve really driven the
second half even further. But the film keeps its sights in line with Eggers
needing to go supernatural, and despite the climax being thrilling, it’s also
not the film I was hoping for.
Not only is the beginning too long and
kid Amleth can be kind of annoying, but I’m sorry, Ethan Hawke’s accent wasn’t
great either. The second half also takes too long to build up Amleth and Olga’s
relationship as he continues to plot his vengeance. Part of that oath Amleth
swore involves saving his mother, and Kidman is indeed with the uncle. Now I
could take this opportunity to say that Amleth saving his mother was a driving
force of me writing this review for Mother’s Day… But if you watch the film
then you’ll understand the twist that happens about two-thirds of the way
through that is not at all the vibe I’m trying to give. That’s all I’ll say,
and we’ll move on from there.
This is arguably Egger’s most
accessible film, but if you’re a fan of horror, then you’ll want to start with The
VVitch. A24 is not involved with this film, but Eggers fits in with their
style which is well done but also not very approachable. For better and worse,
this is exactly what you could expect Eggers to do with a film when given a
larger budget. It’s an epic vengeance tale during a historically accurate
Viking time period with incredible visuals and some great acting. There are
slow, weird moments, but there’s also some standout action scenes as well. I
wanted so badly for this film to try to be non-stop action in the vein of Mad
Max: Fury Road, and in that regard was disappointed. It’s hard to justify
the whole runtime, but if you’re looking for something different and have the
stomach to handle the occasional spewing guts, there is still a lot going for
this film. But it won’t be something I’ll revisit for awhile.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Gillipedia Official Rating: I dreamed
of this review
GOR: This second
official rating takes place in the paint universe
As I have done in the past with these
films, I’ll keep this part spoiler-free THANOS RETURNS and then clearly mark
spoilers afterward. Which means this first part will be pretty short because
you honestly can’t say much about the film without giving some stuff away.
I’ll use this first half to talk about
my thoughts on the film more in general. This is a good movie! If you’re an MCU
fan, yes you should watch this. It won’t be joining the ranks of like my top 5
MCU films, but there’s some good action, some surprises, and a well-rounded
vision (not Vision, just vision).
It’s also worth noting that although I
don’t keep up with every single thing, I have watched all the films and all the
new shows on Disney+. And this film integrates past story points extensively. I
feel like the majority of filmgoers will have some sort of familiarity with
many of these points or will come with a friend that can quickly whisper in
their ears what the film is referring to. I can’t confirm this, but I do
imagine that if you’re a casual moviegoer, even someone that’s seen a good
chunk of Marvel films but nothing on the streaming services, this could be a
little frustrating. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is like
Wendy’s 4 for 4: it’s a great bundle deal that combines many elements. But if
you’re not already familiar with those spicy nugs, you’ll be feeling out of the
loop a bit.
And I’m sure in at least one universe
that metaphor made sense. One thing I have to applaud Kevin Feige and Marvel for
is keeping everyone on their toes. Having watched the show What If… and
most of the trailers, I felt like I knew exactly what to expect from the plot.
I’m sure many fans felt similarly, and I enjoyed the direction of the film.
That’s really all I’ll say about the story to avoid any spoilers.
The film is at its best when dealing
with the multiverse stuff. The trippy visuals that are still reminiscent of Inception
are great, and I never wanted any of the sequences involving them to end.
Director Sam Raimi has a background in Spider-Man and Evil Dead,
and I think that shows. There’s a couple squeamish moments and even the tiny
amounts of horror here were way better than what Morbius was trying to
do.
Benedict Cumberbatch is one of the
better actors of the stars of the MCU. He’s always a joy, and this film lets
him branch out even further. Newcomer superhero America Chavez is a great
addition, and Wong is given a good amount of screen time. There’s also plot
points involving love interest Christine played by rom-com all-star Rachel
McAdams, and it’s been so long since the first Doctor Strange that I had
no idea where that relationship had left off that.
The film starts immediately with some
action with a demon chasing Chavez, and here the demon’s animation was too much
and hard to follow. I could watch Cumberbatch do his wizard hand motions all day,
but some of the other action is chopped up and overall unspectacular.
The plot remains relatively simple
throughout. One of the best things about the first film was that it was clever.
I’m happy to report the same is true with this sequel. Like Strange’s adversaries
typically have some sort of magic power like all Marvel villains, but he is
frequently outmatched and has to use his wits to win the day. That made the
first film’s climax so entertaining, and there’s continued wit in this film
too. But in all honesty, it’s hard to watch something like Everything
Everywhere All At Once so recently and then come to this film. Because that
film does ultimately have more emotional weight and standout action than this
film. And for those not familiar, yes it also deals with the multiverse.
Strange, M.D. 2 is a solid
addition and I’m sure will make some of the comic fans go nuts with some of the
stuff that happens. The action is fine, there’s better visuals here than other
Marvel films, the characters are fun with some surprises, and it’s a breezy
2-hour runtime. You will have a good time when you watch. But it doesn’t
dethrone Spider-Man: No Way Home as the best MCU film dealing with
multiverses. Of madness or any other emotion.
Spoilers
Let’s start these spoilers off strong.
John Krasinski is in the MCU, and I
love it. That whole scene with him and the other alternate superheroes was the
best scene in the film. And again, Marvel is clever. Despite its outcome it’s
hard to tell what more to expect. Yes, Agent Carter is now in the films. Should
we be happy that we got Captain Carter before the demise? I can also see
Krasinski not wanting a long contract to appear in many movies as Doc Fantastic
and this being a one-off. So it’s hard to predict which keeps things continuing
to be fresh and interesting.
One of my biggest critiques of WandaVision
was how Wanda mind-controlled the town and it felt like everyone was sort of
just willing to gloss over it and, in fact, go out of their way to justify her
actions. Granted, it appears people still didn’t really care about that in this
film, but having Scarlet Witch so prominent in this film did make the events of
the show feel more in sync now.
The two end-credit scenes (yes, stay
all the way to the very end) are some of the best of any of the films. I wonder
how prominent Strange’s third eye will be used because that thang be ugly.
Also, with how little you can trust character deaths, and this is a big spoiler
here, I can see Elizabeth Olsen being satisfied with her character’s
conclusion, but I did not see a dead body, so she could easily come back.
I think part of the thrills from this
film is dependent on the cameos and the whole aspect of the multiverse. The
camera would pan into an actor’s face frequently with them acting over-the-top,
and it honestly got a little silly at points. Like when alternate Christine
yelled, “Go back to Hell!” or whatever she said to those souls of the damned,
that was a terribly cheesy line. If you return to this film with the future
knowledge of where the cinematic universe has gone, I think some of this film’s
initial shine will wear off. But I do want to stress that this was a good time
at the theater, and I’m happy with the result and how Marvel has managed to
continue to surprise me despite everyone and their mailman becoming conspiracy
theorists.
