The Place For The Latest Movie Reviews
Cast: Dominic Purcell, Craig Fairbrass, Conan Stevens
Hollywood, Calif. – Epic Pictures Group announces the home video release of VIKINGDOM through their U.S. distribution arm, Epic Releasing, on January 21, 2014. A 15 million dollar action/fantasy production, the film stars Dominic Purcell (TV’s Prison Break, Straw Dogs, Killer Elite), Craig Fairbrass (Devil’s Playground, The Bank Job), Natassia Malthe (Bloodrayne, Elektra), Conan Stevens (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) and is directed by Yusry Kru (Clash of Empires.) Based on Viking mythology, a forgotten King Eirick (Dominic Purcell) battles from hell and beyond to retrieve the mystical artifact, Odin’s Horn, before Thor and his army can unleash its powers to conquer the world. VIKINGDOM will be available on DVD for an SRP of $14.99. Special features include interviews with the cast.
VIKINGDOM first premiered in theaters on October 18, 2013.
Current Epic DVD and Blu-ray releases include the cult hit Big Ass Spider! which hit stores on January 7th and the upcoming supernatural thriller, I Will Follow You Into The Dark, starring Mischa Barton, which will be available on January 28th. Visit VIKINGDOM on Twitter @vikingthemovie and Facebook.com/Vikingdom.
Epic Pictures Releasing is the theatrical and home entertainment distribution division of Epic Pictures Group. Headquartered in Hollywood, Epic Pictures Group is a worldwide film and television sales organization specializing in the financing, production, and distribution of commercial feature films and 3D animation.
Epic Pictures Group’s releases have grossed over 40 million dollars in worldwide box office with such titles as Darren Lynn Bousman's “11-11-11,” family animation “Space Dogs 3D,” “Deadline” starring Brittany Murphy, and Sundance darling “V/H/S.” Most recently the company has financed and produced the 15 million dollar film “Vikingdom 3D,” starring Dominic Purcell, Craig Fairbrass, Conan Stevens, Jon Foo, and Natassia Malthe, and creature feature “Big Ass Spider!” starring Greg Grunberg, Ray Wise, and Lombardo Boyar. Upcoming releases include family adventure "A Tiger's Tail" and the 25 million dollar sequel to the massive hit, “Space Dogs 3D.”
This is not about your Marvel's Thor, the Thor here is a god who is angry at civilization for abandoning their worship of him in favor of Christianity. Enter Eirick, a Lord who was killed in battle only to be brought back to life by a goddess who could not bear to see him gone. Years go by and then Eirick is visited by the god Frey. He is told he must travel to hell to get Odin's horn in order to defeat Thor. After getting a team together Eirick heads out on his quest and it is where this Viking Epic begins.
Now lets honest here, this is a low budget film and you mix low budget with such an ambitious idea things usually do not work out well. For starters I cannot figure out why they would want to put something like this is theaters, you are just asking for beat down from critics and movie-goers alike and that is what the film got. But I am here to give you my take on the film so here it goes, I found the film to be a mix of some good things and bad. I enjoyed the story a lot and I thought some of the effects were very well done but on the other hand some of the effects and settings were just too weak. For example they could of done something a bit better with hell and the Hound was laughable at best. The film has a big heart it just did not have the budget to match it.
I liked the way the film began, I loved Thor's early fight scenes and hoped for a lot more of it as the film moved along but there was not much more in the way of Thor crunching head after the beginning. The rest of the fight scenes in the film were pretty well done and the story had a nice pace to it. The film also tosses in several twists and turns a long the way to keep the audience off guard and interested.
The acting in the film was also a mixed bag, Dominic Purcell gives a good performance as Eirick and the rest of the lead actors are all pretty good as well. There are some weak performances in the film but nothing too bad. So, the conclusion here is I enjoyed the film and I admired it's huge heart. I also give credit to Director, Yusry Kru and his entire cast and crew. This could not of been easy to make with the budget they had. Most reviews out there are not very kind to the film, I do understand some of the bashing but I also think the film deserves a little more credit than it has gotten. This is going to appeal more to Independent film lovers than mainstream folk simply because of the film's budget. Available on Digital Download and DVD, the DVD comes with Special Features that includes:
Making Of
Featurette and Interviews
Music Videos and more.
You can order the DVD HERE.
I enjoyed the film for what it was, I recommend it to anyone that likes a good Viking story but just do not expect a lot from it and you should be fine.
Released by Epic Pictures
** 1/2 Out Of *****