Thursday, September 12, 2013

Vikingdom: The Blood Eclipse Movie Review

Above Pic: (C) KRU and Epic Film Productions

Above Pic: Cast Banner for Vikingdom

Check out my 2012 interview with cast member Natassia Malthe on Dan's Movie Report @ http://dansmoviereport.blogspot.com/2012/01/natassia-malthe-interview-c-2012-dans.html Watch for further updates and exclusives from Dan's Movie Report! www.dansmoviereport.com 

Before I start this review, again let me preface by saying two things, I love anything to do wth Vikings and that this is a 15 million dollar budget film not 200million. I am not paid by anyone on this production, my views are my own The banner above shows the main charaters! From Kru Studios in Malaysia comes Vikingdom, a 3D theatrical released film in Asia.

The plot is actually pretty cool. In this story Thor is an angry God, a provocative twist. Vikings and allies are sent to Hades to search for Odin's Horn, thus controlling the rage of the ruthless self proclaimed god. Displaced rage is a dangerous thing, and yes Thor is mighty pissed haha!

Discussing some of the innovative film tricks. Cleverly using a steady cam mounted to a ATV allowed horses to be followed closely with very little camera jitters in Vikingdom. Some scenes were shot in 3D and some were later converted to 3D based upon the problems and locations. Many extras are used giving the  film the "epic" feel, even on a budget 1/20 a Hollywood flick. Watch for some cool locations like caves, underwater etc! The final battle scene includes 500 warriors and 50 horses!

Actor Conan Stevens portrays Thor, states that the character fits him, and displays copious rage, and that "Berserk mentality"! Watch for him as Bolg in the "Hobbit" trilogy. Natassia Malthe  (Brynna) plays a boat captain, and yeah she gets in on the action and fighting as well.  plays Eiric yes that is the correct spelling, essentially the Eirik the Red character from the legend, and leader of the quest for Odin's Horn. Watch for  who interestingly enough plays a wayward Chinese slave who was once a warrior joins the quest Foo speacks in Chinese, his parts are subtitled. All of that coupled with the excellent stunt crew of Fist! Check them out @ http://www.filmindustrystuntteam.com.au/FIST_-_About.html

The quest on Vikingdom is rather unique as the story is, having Thor as the antagonist represents a man against God situation, exact opposite of Thor comics. Since the myths predate the comics why the hell not.

Battles, Demons, an alluring sexy Freja played by  make for a great way to spend an afternoon if you like Norse, Odin, etc! The film is out now in Malaysia and blasts into th USA October 4th! Kudos to Director  and KRU studios for their hard work and warrior spirit on a limited budget. I rate "Vikingdom: The Blood Eclipse" an 8 out of 10! Draw your sword HAHA, let the haters hate!

Like them on FB @ https://www.facebook.com/Vikingdom

Order the film now on Amazon, Order through Dan's Movie Report, and be registered for 2014 giveaways!


Update 10-5-13 Actress Natassia Malthe Chats Vikingdom! Exclusively on Dan's Movie Report!

Some the the action in Vikingdom looked very intense, even though you have done several action films in the past, did some scenes like the twisting dive challenge you, were they harder?

The dive was hard actually not much help with it and I had to jump myself and twist myself , to get it right was very hard especially with props and landing on them each time . All the fights scenes were intense . I had to really concentrate .
Even though Vikingdom was a huge production from KRU what are some of the differences you encountered between that and the Elektra film you worked on, sets, attitude, organization etc..

Elektra was a way bigger budget with extremely experienced people in every single department . But I think that isn't really important . The intention and drive to make a good film and work with what one has is what gives a film uniqueness and soul . Sometimes high budget studio movies mess up the story and the story becomes generic...To commercial .... there was more of a community feel on Vikingdom. 

Very true on community, additionally Vikingdom has a unique story in that Thor is portrayed as a maniacal God, in my review I liked the portrayal as I think it offered something different, What were some of the things that attracted you to accept your role in Vikingdom, the strong character you would be playing, the unique story etc..
I was attracted to the mythology and that my character was strong . I liked the genre alot .

How were the relationships on the set of Vikingdom, everything was relaxed, etc..

Um.. I was mostly hanging out with my bf at the time Jon foo ... We kind of did our own thing kept away from any drama . But everyone was nice and friendly . 
Are there any rumblings you heard from other big budget releases from KRU. a sequel etc..

I have heard of sequel talk.... One, two, three but you know I hear that on every movie and until its happening its something I try not to pay attention too ...


Hope it happens, Vikingdom is a cool project, any new projects in the work you can chat about?

I am in talks with a TV show but I have also been thinking of studying at a university and getting a degree ...... I feel like a change ....

Wish you the best Natassia chat soon.


Thanks for the interview.




62 comments:

  1. Yup, got the chance to see the movie last nite, It's a good show, within 20mil ringgit, it's okay.
    Bold step taken by KRU, new milestone for Malaysia film industry.

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  2. Another Movie Guy CriticsSeptember 13, 2013 at 12:42 AM

    Just saying... When Jon Foo speaks mandarin , it sounds really "unconventional" .
    But overall, I love the plot twist in the movie.

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  3. Good and reasonable review makes me wanna watch.

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  4. Proud with this production. ;)

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  5. I think you did not consider basic film makings like simple editing works..editing in this movie is rubbish. I'm from malaysia and i think we should just limit the screening in malaysia.

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  6. What's more the voice dubbing sucks. Hate that.

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  7. If u think that u can make better...go ahead...I wanna see your movie...stupid....3rd minded mentality.....

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    1. Asking someone to do a better movie just because they didn't like this one is the REAL 3rd world mentality.... Why? Only blockbuster movie directors can criticize a movie is it?

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    2. Well.. when Mr Creative is not creative..

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  8. The story is okay, the twist was not properly executed I am not convinced with their acting. Almost all except for Yang and Bryanna.

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  9. I just watched it last night and I agree with anonymous above. Gotta give KRU credits for the efforts but sorry, it wasn't good enough. I was squirming in my seat thinking how horrible the scripts, the WIGs and how FAKE they look and the bad acting just couldn't convince me enough.

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    1. couldn't agree more... i was surprised (in a good way) that Malaysia involved in this movie's production. Yang n Brynna is okay n intrigues me. but Thor's dialog is a bit..... off. n his action is a bit off too... the wigs is so unreal, at least make it real a bit with red hair dye.. but overall is ok. 6 out of 10 points given..
      -fey-

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  10. Kudos to Kru for their effort for this film. I agree with anonymous, this film wasn't good enough to be screen out form the country....

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  11. Saw the movie today and I just can't say much.. It could be a better movie if kru studios have a couple more extra millions to spend...some of the set design are average looking but still doable..John foo looks like he just in it for the money...Dominic Purcell can do way better acting compared to this film...I just don't feel the energy that he portrays in this Viking flick...
    If only mr yusry could get rid of that fake hair on those characters.hehehe...
    Aren't Viking horses supposed to be way bigger than a normal human being size. ? 13th warrior reference..that Antonio banderas flick
    Anyways this flick is way better than merong mahawangsa..kudos to kru brothers

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  12. ive watched it at the day when it released. i waited for the movie for a long time but it dissapointed me. myself as a malaysian feel disgrace because the background editing is weaker than 1990's movie. my chinese friends even laugh when the actor play a role of a chinese is not a chinese. why do they have to make a fake chinese that speak lousy mandarin. what is the meaning of this?

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  13. I just watched it last night and I agree with anonymous above. It's a good show, within 20mil ringgit, it's okay.Gotta give KRU credits for the efforts but sorry, it wasn't good enough.

    Bold step taken by KRU, new milestone for Malaysia film industry.

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  14. I just watched the movie. Within that 20 million budget, i think for this kind of a film, it's quite an average movie.

    The acting were kinda boring...it lack the emotion.
    The CGI / costumes / sets were quite okay (for 20 mil budget).
    The storyline is okay actually..but yeah..probably need Kabir Bakhtiar as the director.

    Overall 6/10.

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  15. From a local standpoint, Vikingdom is a great milestone to steer the Malaysian film industry to greater heights but yet to match Hollywood level kind of film, which it can make a good TV movie. Yusry's direction of the movie has been good though he has potential to do it even better where there's room for improvement for vfx, props and production design from B to A grade. The team behind Vikingdom could analyse the movie and compare with 300 and Lord of the Ring to find areas for improvement especially honest feedback from the public. Keep going and keep it up!

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    1. Fantastic observations, yes with better VFX and more money and time to film, they can move up.

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  16. One of the worst Film so far

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  17. Sesame Street is more character driven and charismatic compared to this Viking movie flick.

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    1. HA HA yes Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch have character, not liking the character development on Ernie and Bert though!

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  18. It's pretty obvious the major let down was the budget. Perhaps by forgetting about 3D, they could employ an award winning cinematographer. Correct colour and lighting can reasonably hide cheap props, makeup and costumes. As it is, feels like watching low budget Hong Kong serials. Yet why do we watch those? Story. It's all about the story. Vikingdom has a good story. I walked out of one horrible, shaky cam, swedish, monster movie once. Best example of an excellent low budget movie is Chronicle. Of course you can't employ such technique with this sort of epic film. Purcell might have been underwhelmed by the cheap props and costumes, but I think most of the key players held their own well. Minus the 3D budget and give us an awesome CGI hellhound, for crying out! The location shooting saved the movie too.

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    1. Actually they should have shot in 2D I agree with you, yes the extra money saved could have been put to use, in cinematographer.

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    2. Actually they should have shot in 2D I agree with you, yes the extra money saved could have been put to use, in cinematographer.

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    3. Actually they should have shot in 2D I agree with you, yes the extra money saved could have been put to use, in cinematographer.

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  19. A good start for kru. Didnt enjoy it at all. Bad acting esp scenes in the ship...and in this movie the wig looks like a wig. Overall , 1 star for effort.. need to improve on techiques..

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  20. For all those who can't take criticism and think that the movie is brilliantly made, you will always be a bottom feeder and never improve. Why don't you just admit it's a poor effort. Yes, it's low budget but at least be practical by realising that there are scenes that can't be made with that budget and omit them. At least get the cinematography right. That's the least they could have done. Total embarrassment!

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  21. Cheap and fake looking props. Make up in bad taste. Incorrect lighting and poorly conceived effects. Tightening the frame on actors to "conceal" the set (which was probably poorly made). Only saving grace was a plot which was unfortunately poorly acted out. Miserably FAILED!

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  22. 15 mil? Really? C'mon guys. If you know you can't make a decent movie with that budget, please don't go ahead and make a fool out of yourselves. Give that cash to the needy

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  23. anon 5:15am, agree with you.

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  24. I am malay and I find the movie stupid.

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    1. What's with you being Malay has got to do with that comment of yours?

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  26. "The quest on Vikingdom is rather unique as the story is, having Thor as the antagonist represents a man against God situation, exact opposite of Thor comics. Since the myths predate the comics why the hell not."

    The movie is a decent fantasy action adventure, all things considered - but it has absolutely nothing to do with vikings or with norse myths at all. The comics are actually closer to the myths and legends than this movie is.

    So, replace any viking references with some made-up fantasy reference, and you're good to go.

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  27. It's a good effort. Besides, Yusry is young in the industry. Most directors out there are older than him (in the industry) but still produced the same range movies. Not much improvement. Yusry did an amazing job though it wasn't good enough, I bet more years to come he'll do better. I am malay and I don't find the movie stupid, it's just a starter to something bigger in the future. Come on look at our film industry, sucks. This, will bring change. Duhhhh.

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  28. I love the movie...manusia2 yg bg komen -ve di atas hanya mampu berkata-kata...ko mampu??? Harammm...betina fadhlin sakina...u stupid...-krufan-

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  30. The story line actually good and I'm agree with a comment that say editing works is really suck!Some important plot are missing! All the acting looks terrible,cinemagraphy and scene set up are looking cheap than 15M budget. I'd watch this movie and not worth it! Feel like throwing my money to a junk yard! Just want to express my opinion

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  31. Thor, defender of Midgard, the deity who the myths state over and over risks everything to protect the world, is now evil. That's about as offensive to me, as Mohammed being depicted as a transvestite prostitute might be to you.
    Just letting you know.
    I suppose if we heathens were as unable to accept bad fiction, as our Middle Eastern counterparts, we'd have to declare a fatwa on you all. Thankfully we are more enlightened and prefer to stick to writing nasty reviews in hopes of pointing out where you went wrong.

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  32. Looking at the cheesy lines & primary level english in their facebook, I think they better stick with movies like tragedi oktober or samarinda drama.

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  33. The basic/main plot is okay... But the details are bad...

    There are unnecessary characters in the movie, the dialog and script could use a good touch-up, and a lot of poorly executed scenes!

    I actually expecting it to be better that Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (quite a good movie from KRU Studios)...

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  34. I quote:

    "The quest on Vikingdom is rather unique as the story is, having Thor as the antagonist represents a man against God situation, exact opposite of Thor comics. Since the myths predate the comics why the hell not."

    In the myths Thor is also the protector of mankind. For many Pagan people this twisted portrayal of Thor as the enemy of mankind would be as insulting as me saying that Mohammed was actually gay would be to a Muslim.

    I don't think I'll go see this film. Also, I won't bomb Malaysia.

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  36. actually they portray thor in movie accurately,and it fit the norse mythology about thor being red hair,fierce eyed and red bearded god

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  37. I would like to see Arnold Swneggarnezzar in Part 2 Vikingdom.. he may be cheap and have done the Conan the Barbarian movies to know the role. As for Purcell, this director should make a movie on escaped from the infamous Pudu Jail

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  38. objektif buat filem ni pun dah bangang.. nak harumkan nama Malaysia dgn cerita viking? puiiiihhhh...

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  39. Good movie. Watch it whenever you get a chance. Dans Movie Review an awesome, well written and unbiased review. Loved reading it... :)

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  40. I thought the acting was good. Horrible VFX though. Many flaws in the movie if you have a sharp eye. 0.5/10

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  41. Started out good but went downhill into an abyss after. Fight scenes were nice in a way. Complete rubbish acting coupled with bad visual effects killed this movie. The part where I actually felt excited for a brief moment (blind guardian dog), I was completely bleeding my eyes out after seeing it. Looks like a two legged dragon crossed with painted toilet papers and a lantern. Eirik's character is completely hopeless. Holds a sword like a whimp, completely no swinging action and talks almost to himself with his monotonous facial expression. Thor's hammer weights 500grams and wtf!!! Don't the characters get dirty????? And I swear I saw two white hair emo ewoks in the show. Conclusion, bad movie but kudos to the 300 feel to it. Next!

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  42. The worst costumes I have ever seen. somebody needs to call central wardrobe and burn that person at the stake. was so bad I thought I was watching a conan the barbarian movie

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