Submitted by cinemascope on Sat, 2007-04-21 14:20. :: Contemporary
Movie title:
Pathfinder
Starring:
Karl Urban, Moon Bloodgood, Russell Means, Clancy Brown
Directed by:
Marcus Nispel
Written by:
Laeta Kalogridis
Genre:
Action Adventure
Year:
2007
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Runtime:
1 hour 39 minutes
Imdb:
Rating:
Synopsis
On the East Coast of America a thousand years ago, a Native American woman finds a young Viking boy left behind in the wreck of a dragon boat. Taken in by the tribe and raised as one of their own, Ghost (Urban) faces difficult decisions when years later, marauding Vikings arrive to burn and pillage the Native American settlements. In the face of Viking brutality, he sides with his adopted family against the invading horde.
On the East Coast of America a thousand years ago, a Native American woman finds a young Viking boy left behind in the wreck of a dragon boat. Taken in by the tribe and raised as one of their own, Ghost (Urban) faces difficult decisions when years later, marauding Vikings arrive to burn and pillage the Native American settlements. In the face of Viking brutality, he sides with his adopted family against the invading horde.
Review
After the huge successes of recent movie adaptations of graphic novels (Sin City, 300), it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that in the production notes for Pathfinder, director Marcus Nispel (who directed the recent Texas Chainsaw remake) states that he wanted his movie to look like a graphic novel. Trouble is, it isn't based on one, so quite where the visual cues come from is a mystery - it certainly isn't history, as the Vikings in this movie sport huge horns on their helmets (which archeology says they didn't), and ridiculous fantasy goth outfits including what appears to be heavy black eyeshadow. Presumably influenced by Frank Miller's graphic novels, the colour is saturated out until most of the movie appears to be shot in a very grainy series of greys and browns, with only regular splashings of scarlet blood as another poor soul is decpitated - this is a very (and pointlessly) violent movie. What amounts for a plot is wafer thin, and the characterisations are pantomimic, the Vikings especially getting little to do except swing heavy weapons and snarl. And isn't the idea of natives being 'saved' by an adopted white man raised as their own, a bit, well, outdated at best, and at worst, racist?
After the huge successes of recent movie adaptations of graphic novels (Sin City, 300), it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that in the production notes for Pathfinder, director Marcus Nispel (who directed the recent Texas Chainsaw remake) states that he wanted his movie to look like a graphic novel. Trouble is, it isn't based on one, so quite where the visual cues come from is a mystery - it certainly isn't history, as the Vikings in this movie sport huge horns on their helmets (which archeology says they didn't), and ridiculous fantasy goth outfits including what appears to be heavy black eyeshadow. Presumably influenced by Frank Miller's graphic novels, the colour is saturated out until most of the movie appears to be shot in a very grainy series of greys and browns, with only regular splashings of scarlet blood as another poor soul is decpitated - this is a very (and pointlessly) violent movie. What amounts for a plot is wafer thin, and the characterisations are pantomimic, the Vikings especially getting little to do except swing heavy weapons and snarl. And isn't the idea of natives being 'saved' by an adopted white man raised as their own, a bit, well, outdated at best, and at worst, racist?
