The 13th Warrior

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution | Release Date: August 27, 1999

7.3	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 83 Ratings

USER RATING DISTRIBUTION

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Watch Now

Stream On

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Review this movie

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Please sign in or create an account before writing a review.

Check box if your review contains spoilers

0 characters (5000 max)

User Reviews

User score By date Most helpful

TokyochuchuSep 23, 2012

The 13th Warrior is a nice little flick about Norsemen badassery. They clang swords, best man and beast and drink mead 'till vallhalla come. Not much to say beyond that except I thought it was fun.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

All this user's reviews

lususgreeneMay 13, 2011

Not a bad little action movie, not high art but entertaining. Antonio Benderas from back when he was kinda cool. I think the smarest thing was that they don't drag the movie on and on, a quick, nice little action esk movie can be nice fromNot a bad little action movie, not high art but entertaining. Antonio Benderas from back when he was kinda cool. I think the smarest thing was that they don't drag the movie on and on, a quick, nice little action esk movie can be nice from time to time.… Expand

2 of 6 users found this helpful24

All this user's reviews

RavenX301Aug 19, 2007

Does anyone realize this is a complete rip from Seven Samuri? or does your filmogly even compute that?

0 of 1 users found this helpful

FilipeNetoApr 25, 2018

This movie is a bit contradictory to me. It's a movie worth seeing if we just want pure entertainment, but it does not have enough quality for us to think of it as a really good movie. The action centers on the participation of an ArabThis movie is a bit contradictory to me. It's a movie worth seeing if we just want pure entertainment, but it does not have enough quality for us to think of it as a really good movie. The action centers on the participation of an Arab ambassador in a Nordic military expedition, sent to protect an isolated village that was being attacked by some sort of evil creature. And the weaknesses of the plot begin to appear before us: what would motivate an Arab sultan to want to maintain diplomatic ties with the tribal peoples of Northern Europe? They could never help in case of war because they are too far away, and commercial relations were impracticable at that time because of the enormous distance between them. It seems the idea did not come from the script, but from a novel in which the film is based, but it does not matter. It's still hard to swallow. Another point that drew my attention in the negative is the portrayal of the Norse as an illiterate people who needed an Arab to write their own story. The writer certainly forgot that the Norse are the inventors of a particularly well known writing system, the runic alphabet. Even for an age where teaching was rare, it is believable that Beowulf, as a prince, had at least some notions about this writing system, thus not needing a foreigner to "draw sounds" for him.

The strong point of the film is the combat scenes. They were thought out in detail and deserved the attention of the technical team. The idea of "bearsmen" is also good, but it is difficult for me to believe that the Norse, warlike as they prove to be, believed in that story of the creature of fire. There is a huge contradiction latent in that: if the Norse are bellicose and bragging, why would they flee from an army with torches thinking it is a hellish serpent? In the first attack it is quite evident that they are men, not frightening creatures out of our worst nightmares. There's no sense in really believing that.

António Banderas is literally the man of the movie. He appears, he shines, he makes a good participation. Omar Shariff also deserves an honorable mention for his fleeting appearance. He's an old-timer, with excellent diction and he is perfectly at ease in the role. The sets and costumes are good, they make the audience feel truly Northern Europe and the Viking environment. It's a shame that the script has not been reviewed and improved, as this would have made this film substantially more positive.… Expand

0 of 6 users found this helpful06

All this user's reviews

[Anonymous]Apr 21, 2006

This Crichton adaptation is nothing more than an expensive piece of mediocrity. Battles that should've been exciting are poorly edited and lit, meaning they're not all that fun to begin with. There's little, if any, thematic This Crichton adaptation is nothing more than an expensive piece of mediocrity. Battles that should've been exciting are poorly edited and lit, meaning they're not all that fun to begin with. There's little, if any, thematic coherence. They've taken a lavish budget and made something ordinary and unexciting out of it. Skip this and get gladiator. If you wanna watch this, don't expect anything special.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful