Hammer of the Gods (2013) Reviews

• Brutal Journey to Hell

  claudio_carvalho2013-12-07

  In 870 AD, in Britain, the Vikings under the leadership of King Bagsecg (James Cosmo) are in war against the Saxons. When he is mortally wounded in a battle, he summons his younger son, Prince Steinar (Charlie Bewley), to meet his to other sons Harald (Finlay Robertson) and Vali (Theo Barklem-Biggs) at his death bed. King Bagsecg asks to Stainar to seek out his missing brother Hakan the Ferrocious (Elliot Cowan) to return with the next king of his people. Stainer travels with his friends Hagen (Clive Standen), Grim (Michael Jibson) and Jokul (Guy Flanagan) and his half-brother Vali to search the warrior Ivar (Ivan Kaye) that might know the whereabouts of Hakan. When they meet Ivar, he joins the group with his mate Agnes (Alexandra Dowling) in a brutal journey to hell. "Hammer of the Gods" is a weird and violent movie about the quest of a young prince to find his older brother that has been expelled from the kingdom by his father. His unexpected discovery of the truth about his family changes his behavior. Unfortunately the movie is too brutal and the choreography of the gore battle scenes is very poor with successive cuts and very few warrior due to the low-budget. My vote is six. Title (Brazil): "Martelo dos Deuses" ("Hammer of the Gods")

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• A Solid British Film No Less Historically Accurate than "Vikings".

  alan-51-1119742013-08-17

  I'm Welsh, so forgive me if I fail the US spell-check. Firstly I'm bewildered, amused and dismayed by many of the comments: "Funny British Accents" (they're English accents), followed up by "Would be OK in Trainspotting II" (which is a Scottish film with Scottish accents), yes there are three countries in Great Britain. It's not called Great because it's great, it's to distinguish it from Brittany in France, formerly known as Little Britain after some Britons fled the Saxons and colonised the area. There's a bit of history for you. Then we get into the historical accuracy of it all... and "Vikings" is held up as a better example, when most of "Vikings" is historically wrong. Unlike "Vikings" this is a fantasy, it's not supposed to represent history, it's also not a Hollywood film, it's a "British" (English) one, that's why everyone talks with a "Funny British Accent". There's also a fair amount of Old English and a snippet of Old Welsh, I don't think I've heard those languages used on film before. It's main flaws are in trying to pander to the U.S. market (make it simpler and dumber)... yet it has strong performances throughout, a great lead in Charlie Bewley, fantastic settings, a solid although somewhat bipolar score, solid cinematography and a half-decent script. People lap this stuff up in Game of Thrones yet as soon as you fix something which is obviously a fantasy to a point in history it get's pulled apart? It's a solid 7. I'd have given it a 6 yet I find my patriotism roused by indignation at ignorance. If you want to find something that completely lacks historical accuracy, only happened a couple of hundred years ago yet is revered as a great film, please watch Lincoln.

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• No thunder...

  stefgrig2013-06-02

  I tried to like "Hammer of the gods", tried really hard. But it reminded me of a bad version of the excellent series Vikings, having none of what is good about it. No character is developed enough, the action feels cheap and forced. Focus is lost constantly throughout the movie , and the story lacks cohesion. Violence serves no purpose, it is uninspired and dull , even disturbing at times. It is very disappointing to see a classic story and a chance for something good , wasted as much. Acting is not so bad, I kinda liked Eliot Cowan (Hakan) and Clive Standen (Hagen) whose role is the same as in Vikings, and hes rather good at it. The rest felt direction-less and anemic. They should have copied Vikings more.

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• A gritty Viking quest story, only failing to entertain

  siderite2013-06-02

  The film started well with a bunch of Vikings coming to reinforce their military presence in Britain. Immediately, though, they learn that the king is dying, hence the quest. The actors were a bit weird, but I thought it lent veracity to the whole misfit Viking group concept. There were some intrigues and possible betrayals, beautiful scenery, actual Viking behaviour (haven't met any, but I could believe this was something they did) and high production values. It was all set for greatness. And then it faltered. I don't know exactly when it did, but it did and the rather brutal finale did almost nothing to shake the feeling that something is terribly off. Perhaps the different pieces of the puzzle that didn't fit together was the problem. Indeed, looking back, almost none of the perils through which the group passes are actually leading the story. It feels like a bad horror movie where people die one by one for no real reason other than to leave the guy and the girl alone in the end. Bottom line: too bad that from something that could have easily become a cult hit, like The 13th Warrior, it went to a sub par film. And the ending was abysmal.

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• confused!

  nickmancyboy352014-11-03

  when did this film ever pretend to be any more than it is, a very watchable good adventure film with a good plot and cast. Is this now the world of highbrow film reviews well your watching the wrong movie. It is a good film for what it is, a fast paced adventure with a cast who pull it off well, anyone with an interest in Vikings will enjoy this why try to find more, it is exactly what it sets out to be..bloody good fun and well worth a watch....I like Vikings the TV series who don't! I presume you spotted Rollo, I think the lead in this film played it very well and he had that Raganar swagger and played it well. stop bad mouthing this movie world its bloody good....

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