11/25/06 The 13th Warrior

The 13th Warrior (1999), directed by John McTiernan

watched solo; DVD (borrowed from parents) @ Leslie's Dad's house (Havertown, PA)

Another day of vacation spent relaxing, catching up with relatives and loved ones, eating way too much food, and flexing the old brain muscles on Scrabble word placements. It's been a quite eventful day and evening, full of fun and driving around the great state of Pennsylvania. Alas, I'm getting towards the end of my Challenge, and the hassle of sticking a feature-length film viewing into my already busy vacationer's schedule can be taxing. What's worse is when everyone gets to rub it in that they get to go to bed early and slumber peacefully, while I still have to stay up until midnight to finish watching my movie. It takes a true warrior's spirit to take one for the team like that...especially when the TV in the house is on the fritz, and my portable DVD player is not charged fully...thereby making me lay very close to a wall outlet (uncomfortably I might add) in order to see 'til the last minute of film. That warrior spirit (while having nothing whatsoever to do with the actual film) is on display both in my stamina and the film's title. This epic (both in scope of the Crichton novel, and apparently in blockbuster filmmaking budget flops) undertaking has Antonio Banderas in the lead role of Ahmed Ibn Fadlan blah blah blah (the dude has 20 names). Ahmed is an Arab ambassador in 922 A.D., who is sent to make a peaceful contact with a barbaric Viking tribe in the North. Upon meeting the clan, Ahmed is disgusted with their savage customs, unsanitary conditions, and overall...well, barbaric lifestyle. First cast as an outsider to the tribe, Ahmed soon learns that he can interpret the native Viking dialect in their conversations, shocking the men. It is then regarded as a sign that Ahmed will join their clan as the (you guessed it) 13th warrior who must help them fight off an ancient creature of the mist (the Wendol) who destroys the villages and feasts on the flesh of humans. It's either join the fight or die a terrible death for Ahmed, as he begins to be accepted and trusted by the Vikings. It's a rather basic plotline of epic proportions, and aside from its goofy over-postulating, is an enjoyable film. Of course, I may have just been bored all by myself watching it and wanted desperately to connect with some human life form...albeit in 922 A.D. and with Vikings who believe a giant nasty creature will eat their babies...but so what!?!

3 out of 5 stars