The indie Vikingdom: The Red Eclipse has come to DVD and it has a good measure of action and adventure. Working the plot with very good costuming, green screen and computer graphics, the film takes you to an age when kingdoms vied for supremacy and wealth. While the filmmakers do put a lot of their funds in the production end, the lack of good direction, storyline and acting turns the effort into lackluster entertainment at most. If you are a diehard fan of Vikings and hand to hand combat however, then it may be worth a watch.
The film opens with King Eirick (Dominic Purcell) getting killed on the battlefield and turning his kingdom over to his brother Beothric (Tim P. Doughty). Years go by and Eirick finds himself returned from the dead and gets word that the ‘God of Thunder’ Thor (Conan Stevens) has been searching for items that would make him powerful. Eirick asks his friend Sven (Craig Fairbrass) to join him and they quickly find two others, Yang (Jon Foo) a Chinese warrior who knows martial arts and a very badass female Brynna (Natassia Malthe) making them a kind of ‘fantastic four’.
Thor has been raiding and killing villagers with his hammer of death. He’s looking for the Necklace of Mary Magdalene and Odin’s Horn that together with his hammer will unleash their collective powers and allow him to conquer the world. Eirick sets out in a boat with his crew and sails into an adventure that takes him close to death trying to stop the mighty God from destroying all things on earth. When Eirick dives into the sea and finds the Horn of Odin, Thor sets up a battle to the death with the Horn being the prize.
The movie does have some nice sets, locations and costumes that add to the entertainment experience, but the film really lacks the power of believability. It just isn’t the shivering realism that films like 300 and Beowulf bring to the screen. Most of the lines are delivered as if on a stage instead of a set, dialogue gets insipid and the fighting choreography is way off kilter making it look more like a dance than a battle. Most of the contact between warriors looks phony and there’s not much ‘realism’ in the actors’ performances. While I do give consideration for the fact that the project is ambitious and that being an independent production doesn’t allow for the multi millions to make it look like the television show Vikings, but you may want to just rent Vikingdom before you decide to make it part of your collection.
There are a couple of Bonus features:
- “Making of Vikingdom: The Blood Eclipse” that shows how the filmmakers made the film with interviews from crew and cast.
- “‘Dark Cloud’- a music video by Mojo”
The video quality on the DVD is ok, but I would have liked to have seen it on Blu-ray. The format does allow full 16×9 TV screens though and that’s a plus. The images on the DVD are a little darker than I would like to have seen. The use of bright reds and blues as a focus point was actually distracting rather than a unique idea because the rest of the background during those shots is washed out by the color intensity.
The sound quality using the Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround or Dolby Digital 2.0 is very good and special sound effects do come across nicely. My woofers were able to pick up the boldness of Thor’s hammer and side action during the battles.
Vikingdom: The Red Eclipse has not been rated by the MPAA but contains violence, gore and language.
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: Dominic Purcell, Natassia Malthe, Conan Stevens, Tim P. Doughty, Jon Foo and Craig Fairbrass
Director: Yusry Kru
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Genre: Adventure, Action
Running Time: 1 hr 54 min
Video Release Date: January 21, 2014
Original Film Release Date: October 4, 2013
Language: English
Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround or Dolby Digital 2.0
Video: Widescreen 16×9 Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
Subtitles: None
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: Epic Pictures
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
