Kon-Tiki
Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: April 26, 2013
7.2
USER SCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 61 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
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42
Mixed:
16
Negative:
3
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User Reviews

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9
MuffinrexApr 29, 2013
Great Norwegian movie about Thor Heyerdahl. The movie is exciting as well as dramatic, one of the best Norwegian movies ever made in my opinion. Must watch!
2 of 2 users found this helpful20
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8
VinceMMay 25, 2013
This was a moving experience to view. Mr. Heyerdahl had a clear goal to prove by his efforts that Polynesia was settled by sailors from Peru on rafts 1500 years ago and not by sailors from Asia. He had many doubters and obstacles toThis was a moving experience to view. Mr. Heyerdahl had a clear goal to prove by his efforts that Polynesia was settled by sailors from Peru on rafts 1500 years ago and not by sailors from Asia. He had many doubters and obstacles to overcome but his faith was unshakable. When he finally reached his destination after a long and dangerous journey (101 days), he wept when he touched the ground. So did I.
Now I understand why Oslo, Norway built a museum to permanently house Heyerdahl's raft as a fitting tribute to the courage of this man.… Expand
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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10
maggiepJun 23, 2013
This is a wonderful movie! It's the best film I've seen all year. Reminded me of "Life of Pi" but better.
The action is riveting with special effects that enhance rather than exploit the narrative. It's nice to see a return to intelligenceThis is a wonderful movie! It's the best film I've seen all year. Reminded me of "Life of Pi" but better.
The action is riveting with special effects that enhance rather than exploit the narrative. It's nice to see a return to intelligence in special effects movie making. But call me old fashioned; I like movies that tell a story.
And everyone knows it's a great story. This film is just an energy boost from beginning to end. And the music and acting are superb. I think this film will get some Academy Award notice. The Weinstein brothers nail it again. Bravo!… Expand
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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9
Luiz_FelipeAug 28, 2013
Very good film, kept my attention from the begginning to the end. The historical background is very nice, and the personality of the characters, especially that of the protagonist, are very interesting. For me it was impossible to not beVery good film, kept my attention from the begginning to the end. The historical background is very nice, and the personality of the characters, especially that of the protagonist, are very interesting. For me it was impossible to not be thrilled by the thoughts of being in their place, in the most isolated place in the oceans, with just a wooden balse, and travel thousands kilometers with that sometimes crazy leader. It is the kind of movie that I want to tell everyone I know to watch.… Expand
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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4
nutterjrMay 18, 2013
When I found out that this a film nominated for an academy award for Foreign film about a true story of an explorer's epic crossing of the Pacific on a balsa wood raft in 1947, i thought it would be at least dramatic if not intense. Instead IWhen I found out that this a film nominated for an academy award for Foreign film about a true story of an explorer's epic crossing of the Pacific on a balsa wood raft in 1947, i thought it would be at least dramatic if not intense. Instead I felt completely disengaged and completely bored by the whole experience. Only worthwhile moment of the film where the camera pans up all the way to space and back to the raft.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
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5
BikerjamesJun 3, 2013
Kon Tiki suffers a little from being released too closely to Life of Pi (a much better film). There are similarities between the two films. The version I saw also felt choppy, as though it was edited to take out most of the slow parts, soKon Tiki suffers a little from being released too closely to Life of Pi (a much better film). There are similarities between the two films. The version I saw also felt choppy, as though it was edited to take out most of the slow parts, so you don't get the character development that makes for a better film. The theater where I saw it advertised it as being 118 minutes long, but it was only 1 hr 25 minutes long. It always had that feeling like I've seen it before. There were no relationships developed between the men at all. The men all seemed to have the same temperament and personality and were indistinguishable. The best part of the film for me was the cinematography and special effects.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
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3
los_majklosFeb 20, 2016
A really bad film made on motive of great book. What a wasted opportunity.
The kon tiki itself is overly clean, whole time. The plot is overdramaed and hyped and every
thing is only made to create this stupid kind of wow effect. TheresA really bad film made on motive of great book. What a wasted opportunity.
The kon tiki itself is overly clean, whole time. The plot is overdramaed and hyped and every
thing is only made to create this stupid kind of wow effect.
Theres absolutely no need to do this when you have such great plot from the book.
Unfortunately the movies describes very different and in a way very unrealistic and false picture apart from what actually happened.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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7
lasttimeisawAug 21, 2015
Oscar's BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE nominee of 2012 from Norway, KON-TIKI is an ambitious endeavour from directors-duo Rønning and Sandberg (currently are recruited by Hollywood to shoot the fifth instalment of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEANOscar's BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE nominee of 2012 from Norway, KON-TIKI is an ambitious endeavour from directors-duo Rønning and Sandberg (currently are recruited by Hollywood to shoot the fifth instalment of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN franchise), to recount the story of Norwegian national legend Thor Heyerdal’s monumental near 5,000-mile expedition on a balsawood raft (named Kon-Tiki) sailing from Peru to Polynesia in 1947, to simply prove that it is possible for South Americans to migrate in Polynesia in pre-Columbian times.
keep reading my review on my blog: please google - cinema omnivore, thanks!… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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0
Qgal5kapMar 10, 2022
Sad to see so many good actors in such a terrible movie. Absolutely disappointing! Shame on you!
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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5
atrichornisSep 3, 2013
Based on a great story and beautifully shot, but the acting is overly theatrical and I can't remember the last time I saw so many clichés packed into one film. Very unsubtle.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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8
chwAug 20, 2014
Kon-Tiki is a really good movie, probably the very best foreign movie I've ever seen (Monsieur Lazhar was also good, so that's why it's PROBABLY the best).
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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8
alejandro970Aug 14, 2022
Como película de aventuras cumple su cometido de entretener a pesar de sus pocos 97 minutos de duración, pues nos hace experimentar en carne propia las emociones que vivieron aquellos valientes exploradores. Buena opción para un fin de semana.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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8
DeanomiteFeb 18, 2020
The photography is good, mixed between period and nature. The problem i have is in the goal he is trying to prove. Just because a raft can go from Peru to Easter island does not mean colonization happened that way. There was no fabricationThe photography is good, mixed between period and nature. The problem i have is in the goal he is trying to prove. Just because a raft can go from Peru to Easter island does not mean colonization happened that way. There was no fabrication of anything shown in the movie, but that's how Maiden was and it was excellent. Really, watching this right after Maiden just highlights what a great documentary that was. The shark scenes were good.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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7
DawdlingPoetNov 24, 2021
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a historical adventure film, based on a true story (and thus is biographical in nature) with themes featured including expedition and voyage, obsession, trust and scientific theory. Fairly early on, I found myself thinking it seemed like a Norwegian version of the Willy Fogg Around The World in 80 Days story - a case of one mans steely determination to disprove the opinions of the ruling elite, or thereabouts. The story is quite an intriguing one and while the dialogue is mostly in Norwegian, there are also moments whereby French and Swedish are spoken, as well as English. Suffice to say, if your really not keen on subtitling, then you may want to bypass this title, as there is a fair amount of it present but I was pleasantly surprised to see that said subtitling was quite large in font size, thus not too awkward to read from the screen and also that there was less of it than I'd initially assumed.

Cast wise, the main character of Thor is depicted by Pal Sverre Hagen. He depicts Thor as a somewhat stubborn, motivated and very keen explorer. He has what could perhaps be regarded as a bit of a rugged look about himself, minorly, he doesn't exactly seem like he's spent too long in the wilderness but he did seem, to me, like a credible explorer type, if that makes any sense. He has a bit of a 'gung ho' look to himself. Other cast members include Anders Baasmo Christiansen, who plays Herman Watzinger, Tobias Santelmann, who plays Knut Haugland and Gustaf Skarsgard, who plays Bengt Danielsson. There is a definite camerarderie present between the various crew members (Thats not to say there's no bickering - there is) - there are some amusing moments via the witty dialogue but it still seemed mostly quite believable or realistic.

I thought it seemed quite a historically nostalgic film, well at the start certainly - the classical music score helps to lift our spirirts, as viewers and I found it easy to hope for the best outcome for Thor. I liked the cinematography present, with some scenes featuring fairly impressive camerashots of the relevant area - it felt pretty atmospheric as a film in general, which is (obviously) good. I also liked the presence of some old black and white photos which are shown on screen at certain times, to highlight other explorers who have set out on perhaps/presumably similar expeditions. I was surprised by how quickly the tone of the film changed from optimistic and even somewhat light hearted to one of danger and peril, with a definite feel of the underdogs being thrown out to fend for themselves. I supposed I shouldn't have been but I was a bit - it did seem quite sudden, although thats no bad thing. I liked that the various characters are relatively well developed, as it made me feel more keen to see what the ultimate outcome would be for them.

Content wise, the film contains some moderate violence including some bloody injuries shown, scenes of a threatening nature, some moderately strong language and fairly mild partial nudity, with no real sex scenes as such depicted. The film has been given a 15 rating to reflect this.

I thought this was a well made film, which featured an intriguing plot and some good characters, so I enjoyed watching it. Its not as predictable as I may have initially expected and so I appreciated it as being a decent film.

Yes I would recommend this film, as I felt the story was quite interesting in and of itself but also its well cast, surprisingly atmospheric and it features interesting characters. It does rely on subtitles quite a lot, although they are fairly large in text size and thus should be easier to read than perhaps other foreign films. It may not appeal to everyone but I enjoyed it and would recommend it based on that.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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10
DogeGamer2015Nov 13, 2021
Es una aventura muy épica; es excelente y merece mucho más reconocimiento del que recibe. ¡TOTALMENTE RECOMENDABLE!
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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