Arn: The Kingdom at Road's End (2008)

Recap: Arn is still stuck in the Holy Land, and his new grand master is not about to release him. At home Cecilia is starting to doubt that Arn will ever return, as news about him is rare. And when news reaches Cecilia that the Templars has been defeated she gives up hope. But Arn has been rescued and sent home by Saladin. But home the situation is deteriorating. Birger Brosa is growing old, and the king Knut is fatally ill. And rival Sverker Karlsson has gained the support of the Danes. Amidst all this Arn dreams only of peace and at last being able to marry Cecilia.Comments: The sequel, and similar, to Arn – Tempelriddaren (2007). To enjoy and understand this fully, you need to see that one first. Otherwise it is very similar, Arn – Riket vid vägens slut (2008) does show the same ambition, the same epic scenes and battles, and the same style of telling.What should be noted is that this is not a pure medieval action, nor is the battles in main focus. Instead the love story between Arn and Cecilia is at the center of the story. That means that it changes pace and slows down considerably at times. You can't expect a complete high paced action, you will only get disappointed. Still I think that this sequel is better balanced than the first movie, it does change pace but doesn't get too slow anytime. That is an improvement and I did enjoy the sequel more.It is no masterpiece though. The scale and ambition is impressive for Scandinavian standards and comparable to fairly big sized budgets on the international scene. But the story is pretty average. It uses the standard turns and developments, and it gets pretty predictable and without much surprises. Actually some scenes are too obviously made up to be dramatic and suspenseful, but are much too predictable to succeed, it almost falls flat.It does entertain though, but it sure helps to like the genre as I do. Well worth watching after the first.7/10

This movie and the previous one is actually quite dissatisfying. If you, like me, have read the books. You will be quite disappointed. The movie does not live up to the standard of the books, unfortunately. There's so many things in the books which is not present in the movies, I actually had quite big hopes for the second movie. Unfortunately, the movie did not live up to my hopes.. I had hoped for so much more. Especially when it comes to the parts regarding the Holy Land. Unfortunately my expectations were a lot higher then I should have expected :S Well, the movie was alright. But the money spent on it was a total waste since they removed all the great parts from the story.. Excuse me for my poor drunken English, its not much more to say except that the movie was quite the appointment :(

I don't think I have ever been so disappointed as I was when saw this movie. I really enjoyed the first film as it was a really good attempt to make a movie that held somewhat internationally class, but this one did not continue that trend.This movies biggest weakness (not counting acting) is that it has so many useless scenes. The movie could without any real problems been cut in half.There was good moments though, seeing Swedes kick the asses of a bunch of Danish invaders is always a fun experience and the ending was in my taste. The landscapes are also pretty amazing but seeing people in profile looking out from Visingsö is not very good when you see it for the fourth time..If you liked the first one you are bound to see it otherwise I wouldn't bother.

It's 1187 and the time has come for Arn and his beloved Cecilia to reunite. They have their son who has grownup without his parents and they have their promises of everlasting love. Now our hero only has to go home and make a future for himself, his family and his people.The story is told with elements of love, war, friendship and deceit and visually impressive surroundings between the barren desert landscape in the south and the lush verdure on the north. This is where great battles and expensive special effects take place.Yet, it still doesn't become more than simple manners. No conflicts are deep enough to make it interesting, no characters are shaped enough to touch you and no surprising camera work is seen at all. Sofia Helin, Gustav Skarsgård and all the others can't do anything about the high-flown and ridiculous dialogue that makes you wonder why they wasted all that money on the casting.