so this was good. I honestly rank all of Eggers' movies almost exactly on par with each other, I LIKE them a lot but don't quite love them, and more than anything I admire the unique/bold directions they go in while still feeling incredibly faithful to their setting
I really can't believe Skarsgard is 45, holy shit. He really was perfect for this role even though I'm p sure he's playing someone like 20 years younger. tbf he mostly just had to scream and look hulking but boi did he pull both off with aplomb
|
I think one thing holding this back for me was how rushed some developments were. Like I feel like they could've had another scene developing the brothers' relationship before the betrayal to make it hit harder, as it was it kinda felt shrugged off just to get the revenge thread going
And the other one was the romance between Amleth and Olga. Once they get to Iceland she's like "Would you lay down your life for me like you are for your mother??" and I was like...WUT?? They'd barely even spoken yet! To be fair I can't blame him for falling instantaneously for Anya Taylor-Joy but still. I also feel like in general she didn't get enough to do, like I was kinda excited when they had that convo where she basically said you'll be the brawn and I'll be the brains, but she didn't really seem to do a whole lot of scheming after? But maybe I'm forgetting some thing(s)
Those are really my only major complaints tho. I think the primal vengeance was portrayed incredibly well, I don't think I've ever heard that much screaming in one movie (: Really did JUSTICE to the setting and to the northMEN. Best scene for me was the village raid near the beginning where Amleth is in full battle mode and ends with him fucking biting a man's throat out and howling. I wish there was another scene that topped that one as far as his raw primality goes, even the volcano battle didn't feel quite as brutal |
Lighthouse > Witch = Northman? All solid 7s for me in any case | 
