SummaryFor years, the fearsome figure known only as One Eye has defeated everyone he's encountered, but he's treated more like an animal than a warrior. The only person he has any relationship with is the young boy who brings him food and water daily. Constantly caged and shackled, One Eye has drawn the attention of a new force now sweeping the countrys... Read More
Directed By:Nicolas Winding Refn
Written By:Nicolas Winding Refn, Roy Jacobsen, Matthew Read
Valhalla Rising
Metascore
Generally Favorable
61
User score
Generally Favorable
6.6
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
60% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
27% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
13% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
83
When it comes to crazy, violent, semidelirious, testosterone-laden, proto-Viking tales about a mute visionary one-eyed warrior who breaks skulls, Valhalla Rising is pretty great.
80
Director Nicolas Winding Refn, the prankster of last year's "Bronson," has never reduced his craft to such a sledgehammer of minimalism. Electric guitars drone on the soundtrack, bones crunch, and a mystical religiosity gathers around One-Eye; there's a midnight cult here for those who yearn for one.
User score
Generally Favorable
61% Positive
74 Ratings
74 Ratings
24% Mixed
29 Ratings
29 Ratings
15% Negative
18 Ratings
18 Ratings
Jan 25, 2024
10
Excellent. Mads Mikkelson is fabulous and terribly sexy. I watched this film many years ago and had a visceral reaction to it. I can understand the low ratings as I recognize that intellect varies greatly. I've since watched it several times since. Always great. Recommend for astute viewers.
Oct 22, 2016
10
Valhalla Rising is a revelation of a movie. That said, it is far from an easy-watch. The slow pace, the visual blank space, the lunar ebb and flow of Refn's imagining, require the viewer to slow down and devote 1h and 30 mins to becoming a passive observer. This is not an action movie, or a who dunnit, or a character study. It has elements of the above, yet it is truly a spiritual exploration, a stunning folk story capture in film. Mikkelsen's presence is pure charisma, shining as the hero, the villain, occasionally gracefully fading into the background when need be. The character dynamics powerful, the mood repressive and yet up-lifting. With the addition of the breath-taking Nordic backdrops and an evocative soundtrack, this is a must-watch.
75
Valhalla Rising has the misfortune of starting with its best chapter and steadily growing more ponderous from there, dragged down by a religious theme that's as thin as the filmmaking is relentlessly spare. Yet it's a beautiful head trip, too.
70
One is hard-pressed to imagine who the audience might be for this actually quite mesmerizing film. Its violence is way too intense for the art film crowd, and its glacial pacing and fascination with brooding on nothing will surely alienate those who've come for the blood and guts.
58
There's almost nothing to grab onto. It's like a gorgeous graphic novel with a protagonist and story that vanish utterly from the mind as soon as the last page is turned.
40
With very little dialogue, and even less plot, five chapter stops lend the movie a skeletal structure: "Wrath," "Silent Warrior," "Men of God," "The Holy Land" and "Hell." But any discussion of the Dark Ages conflict between paganism and Christianity is reduced to just grunts or insults.
25
Valhalla Rising is nothing more than an updated version of the kind of time-honored Hollywood Viking movie Kirk Douglas used to do in his sleep, which means lots of inhuman, bone-crunching violence and no plot.
Jul 3, 2012
10
You must appreciate the art of film making and foreign film to appreciate this one , which i did very much. I critic if anyone actually watched this movie or much less any film without the hollywood circle.
May 27, 2013
6
Posted on 5/19/13 06:55 PM I don't know I feel about this film I really like the way Refn films violence you know stylish and all i I even like the silence in his films. But this film borders the line between a slow pace and boring, I'll give it 3 and a half stars just because I admire the way he made the film have a certain feel to it ,a violent Opera is the best way to describe it.
Jan 14, 2017
5
Le guerrier silencieux mais brutal ne dit pas un mot et son regard, son regard unique en dit davantage qu'un long discours. Il n'a pas de nom mais le gamin l'appelle le borgne. Il a des prémonitions, voilà sans doute l'ancêtre archétypal des précognitifs... et "il est venu pour en finir". Mads Mikkelsen est un acteur extraordinaire, littéralement, et le réalisateur Winding Refn réalise des films bizarres avec des fortunes diverses et lorsqu'ils ne le sont pas, ses "films" restent bizarroïdes quoi qu'il advienne. Et ici, on est dans la mauvaise fortune... L'ambiance est dans la brume et les superbes paysages, les plans fixes, les contre-jours et la pose, car tous les acteurs prennent la pose à un moment donné ou un autre. L'esthétique est recherchée, la lumière est superbe, les dialogues sont rares et les quelques coups de hache font bobo dans de jolis "splatchs". Devant cette absurdité surréaliste (mais pas complètement), on se retrouve à faire bon coeur, fasciné par cette ambiance visuelle, cet environnement sonore si travaillé. Un film sans queue ni tête, une sorte d'expérience ratée, une étrangeté aberrante, quelque chose de pas fini... la vérité est ailleurs.
Jun 22, 2014
2
A very dull film. Very slow and just doesn't really move anywhere. The setting and the shots of the landscapes is just about the only thing worth noting in this film. The plot is very poor and just doesn't engross me as nothing really happens and the acting itself is not believable. So much potential as it looks like they drew up what could of been an interesting set of characters but they seem to fail to exploit it. I also do not understand how people can call this a masterpiece. Would of been better off as a documentary on landscapes and fog.
Jan 5, 2011
2
About as dormant, dreary, drowsy, dallying, dim, and dead a Viking portrayal could be depicted. Dreadfully poor lighting amidst complete and utter darkness. If you haven't caught on by now, than your sloooooow of mind is the perfect complement to this disaster. Exaggerated "D's" only fitting for a "D" movie. Enjoy!
Production Company:
- One Eye Production
- BBC Film
- La Belle Allee
- NWR Film Productions
- Nimbus Film
- Savalas Audio Post-Production
Release Date:Jul 16, 2010
Duration:1 h 33 m
Tagline:Slave. Warrior.
Awards
Danish Film Awards (Robert)
• 1 Win & 9 Nominations
Fantasporto
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
