Gåten Ragnarok (2013) Reviews

• Ragnarok: an interesting movie.

  niutta-enrico2014-05-11

  It's always interesting to watch non-English movies. Those overtly original and peculiar to their own roots and culture are undoubtedly instructive and they made Cinema history. Among foreign films, however, I prefer to watch those made on Hollywood models, like the present one. They intrigue me the most. Ragnarok is a very well written, acted, edited and directed Family Adventure movie. The overall result is not dissimilar from American films of the same genre: a nice film. Some differences, however, are noteworthy and at the first place stands the complete inversion of roles in the couple: in this film the girl is strong and the guy is pretty. He has beautiful hair, good manners and is sweet. She leads the group, takes all the risks, makes all the decisions and physically saves him. And this is probably where he falls in love with her. I don't want to speculate about how this could reflect different points of view of different societies (about which I know nothing). Everything happens in the most natural way and it is so nice to watch. I guess that many girls will like it. It should also be noticed that the musical score is Cymbal-free and that characters motives are more simple and realistic than in most American films. But these, of course, are details.

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• A decent family film

  younngl2015-01-07

  I absolutely love Scandinavian cinema, and really this was a fun and entertaining film. Like everybody else said it is a family film, but I don't feel that it is something just directed at kids, either. That being said the most glaring issue I had was no real substantial resolution at the end. They build this entire mythos, based on Norse mythology, and surrounding this monster. However, once we get to the final battle the monster stares the protagonist down and then slithers away. Norse mythology is a fantastic jumping off point and is relatively neglected compared to Greek mythology. I really just wish the ending was more satisfying than it turned out to be. Still a decent movie to watch, and appears to take a more Hollywood approach in terms of style.

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• Entertaining Matinée

  claudio_carvalho2014-06-22

  In Norway, the archaeologist Sigurd Svendsen (Pål Sverre Hagen) is obsessed with the mythology about Ragnarok that he had researched with his deceased wife that died of cancer. Sigurd raises his children Ragnhild (Maria Annette Tanderød Berglyd) and Brage (Julian Podolski) alone and expects to receive a donation for the museum where he works to proceed with his research with runes that had been found in the Oseberg ship but the contributors refuse to donate money for his work. Sigurd meets his colleague Allan (Nicolai Cleve Broch), who also research the myth about Ragnarok, and they decide to go on an expedition with the also archaeologist Elisabeth (Sofia Helin) and Ragnhild and Brage that are on vacation. Allan hires the guide Leif (Bjørn Sundquist) and they travel to a no man land in the border of Norway and Russia. They cross a lake in a wooden raft and they find some relics in a cave but they are stolen and left behind by Leif. Elizabeth spends the night with the children in a container but Sigurd and Allan continue to explore the cave. Soon they discover that the real meaning of the runes is a warning about the danger in the location where they are. "Gåten Ragnarok" is a Norwegian B-movie with a story similar to "Anaconda" with an ancient serpent in a lake. This predictable movie is an entertaining matinée for the family in a Saturday afternoon and has wonderful cinematography and locations. My vote is six. Title (Brazil): "Ragnarok"

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• Of course the wannabe critics hated it...it's really good

  Jml1422015-01-04

  Watch this movie if you love a good story and want to be interested, thrilled and entertained. I'll skip the critic jargon others posted and cut to the chase. All the characters are completely believable. The good guys are good. The bad guys get what they deserve. Lessons are learned the hard way and relationships are made. Refreshingly, the baddass is a she who is still sensitive and feminine. Do not watch this movie if you are a self-aggrandizing amateur movie critic who confuses complexity with quality or a history buff who gets put off by the slightest inaccuracy. In fact, if you are either, don't bother watching any movies. And certainly do not review them here. Although I saw this movie at home, my guess is the theater was full of gripped armrests, cheers and screams of "Look out!" (Or the Norwegian equivalent) during its screening. To the critic who stated in his review that a board of directors would never scoff at an amazing discovery that flies in the face of what it accepts as fact, check your history. It has happened, happens today and will happen in the future. That is one of the lessons of the movie. It seems you didn't learn it. The movie is definitely worth watching. (I'm a 41 year old man.) Young children will be frightened, so screen it first before letting them see it. I'm rating it 10 to balance the dolts who gave it a 1.

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• Good, if only a more imaginative ending

  keith-7742015-04-22

  I liked this film. It was a solid 7 until the end. I'll get to that in a moment. As others have mentioned, the landscape is gorgeous, the CGI is better than average, and the acting was nowhere near as bad as the Nords think it is. It's a good popcorn movie. I especially liked the Soviet link. Where the story lost its imagination was first, the guide (who ended up a stock character) and second, the ending, where I saw very little Ragnarok and far too much Jurassic Park III. I almost subtracted another vote for calling the thief Allan, but I'm feeling generous (if you don't understand why, go watch Jurassic Park III). Regrettably, novelty and originality is often hard to find. Oh, well. I'd watch it again, though.

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