“Hate is all I’ve ever known… I wish to be free of it”

Wasn’t sure what to expect going into this; hell I don’t think my local theaters played a single trailer for The Northman, despite having a massive cardboard cutout for it in the lobby for MONTHS. I’m happy Robert Eggers has this big of a budget to play with, though the film’s strengths for me lied more in it’s script than anything. That being said, there’s some hardcore Viking action and some great Ooga Booga energy from the cast that I think would’ve been lost on a smaller budget, so I approve.

The Northman is a neat revenge flick that feels a lot cleaner and safer than anything else Eggers has made to date. That’s not a bad thing per se; I think the film has some amazing set pieces and some memorable kickass scenes. My main complaint is that it feels too long in segments. This needed to be half an hour shorter for sure. I just don’t think there’s enough to say about revenge to warrant this runtime, and there’s lots of fluff between scenes. I really had to try to not check out during a few moments in this. 

Aside from that though, The Northman is great! Not sure if it’s something I’d watch again, but getting to see Eggers with a budget is cool!  It’s not where his strengths lie, but he does some cool stuff here that you wouldn’t get out of most flicks like this. Music rocks, pretty cinematography. LEAGUES better than anything The Green Knight had to offer, gotta say it. Strong 7!

“One does not know if they will be a king or a slave by Yuletide…”