If you’re not in the mood for soccer, you can watch an underrated adventure film starring Antonio Banderas on Saturday evening. But he doesn’t deserve the financial failure
There are flops along the lines of “too bad, but it happens”. The 13th Warrior does not belong in this category. The historical action film from 1999 lost up to 130 million dollars at the box office (via Filmsite ). Enough to ruin studios or end careers. Yet it is very good. It will be broadcast on Tele5 on Saturday evening and is an ideal (re)discovery for all those who are tired of soccer.
On TV: Colossal action flop tells a unique story
In The 13th Warrior, the Arab poet Ahmad Ihn Fadlan (Antonio Banderas) is expelled from his country and encounters Nordic warriors on a Baltic coast. The group led by Buliwyf (Vladimir Kulich) is to save a village from cannibal monsters. Fadlan joins them as “the 13th warrior.”
Watch the German trailer for The 13th Warrior:
Fadlan’s journey with the Vikings is superbly staged right from the start. The protagonist learns the language of the Norsemen in a series of unique campfire scenes in which a kind of primal Scandinavian slowly transforms into comprehensible German (or English). Once the language barrier has been overcome, the sword can be used.
The masterfully filmed action scenes were praised even in the many negative reviews (via The Guardian ). When the Vikings plunge into battle in the village fortified in the style of The Seven Samurai, the movie really builds up the atmosphere. Torches, mud, sludge, flashing swords and terrifying grimaces in the darkness
The 13th Warrior deserves a reappraisal
The film thrives on its mood: the barren Viking village surrounded by eerie hills, the gloomy caves of the mysterious cannibal tribe. The lighting and costumes create a captivating world.
The fact that it is not a masterpiece is due to the torn soul of the film: writer Michael Crichton and director John McTiernan fought over creative control. The result, for example, is an ending that couldn’t seem more contrived.
What it lacks in plot is more than compensated for by the excellent performances of Banderas, Kulich and acting legend Omar Sharif. The 13th Warrior has flaws, just like a diamond in the rough. Perhaps it’s fortunate, in the meantime, that it failed so historically at the box office. 23 years later, this might spark just the right amount of curiosity in action fans to give the movie a second look.
