Valhalla Rising is an English language Danish film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. The plot, as far as I could understand, is about a nameless warrior called One Eye (Mad Mikkelsen), who befriends a young boy and together they travel. The become entangled in a crusader quest to the Holy Land that goes badly wrong and the men end up far away from where they were meant to go; finding themselves outnumbered they must choose to fight or die.
I am a Nicolas Winding Refn fanatic, he is an acquired taste for sure, but for the most part he is a great, visionary director. However, even I must say this is a miss. Much like Only God Forgives, a later film of his that would prove to be incredibly divisive, this film feels like the definition of the saying style over substance.
A lot of the time you will have no idea what is going on as there is very little actually said and you can never be sure if what you’re seeing is real or one of One Eye’s visons; that he has frequently but the film never really clarifies. To say it is confusing would be kind.
It is also painfully slow, to the point of you wanting to turn it off. It goes on and on and you’re left begging for something to happen because it has become tedious.
However, there are some positives. If you like Refn’s style then there is a lot of it on display here, it is a very stylish film; that is something I enjoyed about it. Also Mikkelsen is also terrific, he has a great physicality and is very believable as a nomadic warrior, this film will make you want to see him in more action roles.
Overall, despite the coolness and Mikkelsen’s performance this is a bad film. It is overly long, boring and confusing. So pretty much a fail across the board, if you’re a die hard Refn fan then you might maybe find something of worth here, but it is doubtful.
Pros.
Mikkelsen.
Cons.
It is too long.
It is boring.
It is confusing.
Defines the phrase style over substance.
1/5
Reviewed by Luke
Another Millennial Reviewer 