An average Monty Pythonesque movie set in Dark Ages about a Barbaric warrior, Erik : Tim Robbins, who grows dissastified with his Viking way of life at the era Ragnagok , then he decides to set out to encounter the mythical Aagsgard kingdom, by blowing three times a supernatural horn, and where Norse Gods inhabit. By the way he joins a misfit and motley crew :Tim McInnerny, Freddie Jones, Anthony Sher. .., embarking into an orgy of fighting, destructiveness and battles . Our hero attempts to execute a prophecy told by a cave-dewelling witch-seer-hag, Freya : Eartha Kitt, to arrive in Hy-Brasil : Atlantis, ruled by a nasty king, Terry Jones, who has a beautiful daughter : Imogen Stubbs falling for Erik, and towards the edge of world by blowing the Horn Resounding in a legendary island, to get awakening the Gods dewelling at a fantastic location and achieving them to release the sun that formerly has been swallowed by Fenrir the Wolf.
This weird movie is a blending of Monty Python farce with Simbad the Sailor but no much laughs and amusement . An indulgent delight in making fantasies come to life, including wonders, irreverence, sense of wonderful style, researched detail, and a lot of incidental pleasures. Here a Viking hero meets villians, Gods as Thor and Odin dwelling at Walhalla and strange adventures. The picture is filled with bizarre roles and rare nombres as Thorfinn, Sven the Bersek, the blacksmith Loki and the very evil indeed Haydon the Black played by John Cleese giving a dry delivery . Fashionable camera work by cinematographer Ian Wilson , splendidly photographed mainly in white and brown , as well as rousing, epic musical score by Neal Innes . This is the scattershot tale of how Erik, a real character, arriving in the edge of world, and he attempts to terminate the age of warfare by besting a dragon on the North Sea. The movie results to be mediocre, athough there are a few laughs and chuckles mainly provided by an invisible sheet who wears Tim Robbins and the dry delivery by villain Halfelam wryly played by the always great John Cleese. Too tall Tim Robbins plays a kind of lovelorn gentle and simple , dismayed by the daily drudgery of rampage, ravage, conquest, pilllage and rape. This Tim Robbins vehicle proves as ramshackle as a Viking hut, as unwieldly as a Viking sword. Support cast is good but frankly wasted. Acting range from hysterical to exaggerated. There intervene notorious secondaries as Mickey Rooney, Imogen Stubbs, John Cleese, Tim McInnerny, Freddie Jones, and brief interpretations from Jim Broadbent , Eartha Kitt, John Sinclair, and Terry Jones himself. And Samantha Bond, subsequetly MoneyPenny in James Bond saga. it contains decent production design and lavish scenaries, adding traditional as well as modern special effects.
The motion picture was middlingly directed by Terry Jones, one of the main members of Monty Phyton. This is a post-Python frolic inspired by his own Norse saga children's book. It is not very fun movie, nor well directed, not exciting but being entertaining enough . Jones wrote and directed various Monty Phytonesque films as The Holy Grail,The meaning of life, Life of Brian, Personal services and Mr Toad's wild ride. Rating 6/10. Passable and acceptable but a so-so film and it is inferior than other Monty Python movies.
