The Last King (2016)

And not in an enjoyable way. As far as creative license goes, this tries to take the cake, eat some of it, but still have it too. Apart from hilarious scenes of skiing that were more pointless than the olympics in this day and age, the abysmal dubbing was hard to watch, as was the poor voice acting. Although there was a great budget for the look of this film, that is to say the way it was shot, vast mountain tops, landscapes etc, that must have been where most of the money went, because it shows little in the rest of the film. Unwatchable unless one is already drunk, like the northern brigands these movies try to sensationalize.

This film failed miserably. It couldn't capture the viewer's attention at all. I won't say I'm disappointed, as I have already watched a more hyped Norwegian piece ("The King's Choice") and didn't like it either. But "Birkebeinerne" is certainly a misadventure.Unlike European films in general, it is very formulaic and predictable, expect for a couple of moments. The background real story itself isn't attracting. The Norwegian civil war was pretty much limited to skirmishes, so any film on this topic betting on "axes and blood" would fail, because there isn't really much raw material.So, one'd think the director concentrated his efforts on the palace intrigue, the dynastic feuds. On the contrary. The plot's greatest potentiality was miserably neglected, as the director dedicated 90% of the running time to the baby's journey and the 10-20 men "battles". The major villains only starred briefly, and their dialogues were always flat and cheesy. Princess Christina, the chancellor, the imprisoned brother Inge, the "Norwegian Colonel Tavington", Egil and his sister -all these characters were nothing more than woodsticks designed to fill big plot holes the director didn't care to assess. Even the two loyal fellows who were on screen the whole time weren't convincing enough. It was particularly sad when they presented the young king at the viking-styled party; those bucholic men were persuaded to take part in a highly dangerous task just like they'd be persuaded to go to a summer camp. They weren't offered any incentive or reward or anything. I expected a powerful speech, at least.The final part was severely unrealistic. Mr. Tavington could've killed little Haakon as soon he approached him, but he chose to calmly check it. And then he was grabbed into a fight by our good hero, who seems to be rather invencible (hit by an arrow in the shoulder just some minutes before, Skjervald managed to resist the better equipped Bagler).In general, this film has some cool effects, but that's pretty much all its merit.

A bunch of guys named Sven ski around and shoot arrows in order to save a baby who would be king, Inside the palace the elder King was poisoned as if in a Shakespearean play. Great history if you like snow, arrows, axes, and skis.Based on a true story. The story while interesting may have been better as a short. They did what they could to create drama and over-the-top action, short of turning our two heroes into X-treme skiers with back flips and skiing off a cliff with a baby on their back. I like histories. BTW, Church bad, Norway good.Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.

I always enjoy historical-type movies. This one is no exception. I did stream with English 5.1 instead of subtitles, but it really didn't take away from the movie. The film depicted this era of Norway as quite brutal. I'm sure it was. Kings & heirs, civil war, brutality. It was all here. I don't judge acting so I really didn't notice if it was not perfect. I liked the plot & the movie flowed smoothly enough to follow without questioning what was happening. The scenery, well, when it wasn't overcast or snowing, was great. Lots of ski action too. Some of the scenes caught me off guard but I won't say which ones. There may have been a few hiccups, but overall I found it to be a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.