Hammer of the Gods (2013)

By CinemaSerf

This reminded me a bit of the "13th Warrior" (1999) as a group of Vikings have to undertake a perilous task to track down 'Hakan the Ferocious" (Elliot Cowan). He's the brother of Prince "Steinar" (Charlie Bewley) and both are sons of the dying king "Bagsecg" (James Cosmo) who is looking to decide which of his sons ought to succeed him. With a small band of loyal friends at his side, and his half-brother "Vali" (Theo Barklem-Biggs) tagging along too, off they go on their quest. Wary of the warring Saxons, he reckons that his best chance for help comes from finding "Ivar" (Ivan Kaye) - but that's not without it own risks, especially when the funniest scene of the film challenges "Steinar" to a drinking game that could see him becoming the man's sex slave for the night if he doesn't win! Thereafter, it's a standard fantasy adventure set amidst the dark forests of Britain. There are plenty of combat scenes and Bewley does enter into the spirit of this low budget enterprise enthusiastically. Don't expect a great deal from the writing or the dialogue, and most of the acting is pretty rigid cue-card stuff, but it's still quite a well photographed and imaginatively directed film that does quite a lot with not a lot. Not remotely memorable, but if you like the genre then it's perfectly watchable.