This is a slow, plodding, violent and gory movie. It's funny, depending on your faith or beliefs, who is or isn't a savage. Mads Mikkelsen is good as a brutal killing machine. However, I have no clue what this movie was about.

A Broody, brutal, Slow burn. A subtle menacing throughout with no real enemy to be had. MelKelson (I think) was awesome. The fact he didn't speak but had such a presence about him. As they say "The quiet ones are the ones you gotta watch". I can see why some ppl may not enjoy this simply bc there's no explosions or cheap one liners. Give it a chance you might be surprised

Visually superb, this is a brutal film with stunning performance by Mads Mikkelsen, without speaking throughout the film, he portays the One Eye character with subtlety and quiet menacing brutality to all, except for the boy. I drawn in from the beginning and was held until the end. A wonderful tour de force from Mikkelsen

A very misunderstood film. It left me with the sense of how empty, meaningless, brutal and cold the world can be without some kind of belief, either to act or to comfort ourselves at the end. It show cases a wonderful Mads Mikkelsen, I've been a fan of his work for many years.

Oof. A navel-gazing "art house" film, packed with self-importance and desperate to showcase its symbolism. Sadly that left no room for a plot. Student film vibes abound.

I don't get the bad reviews. One of the the most unique films I have ever seen. Watched multiple times. It's very different so maybe people who need the same studio recycled script over and over don't like it. If you like different, watch it.

Late at night, when you need not get up early to work, and feel like a brooding reflection upon the brutality of mankind, pour a whiskey, sip it very slowly, and stay in the mood of this film. This is a slow-moving partially inverse-Apocalypto, all leading to the same end.

Rubbish! A true waste of 90 minutes... and of Mads Mikkelsen! It evidently attempts similar as to what we would later see in 2022 with (the excellent) 'The Northman', though simply falls flat in every department for me. The whole production just looks so cheap and low-budget (which it wasn't), without even noting the (admittedly intended) pure misery of the look of it all too. Editing, notably with the needless chapter breaks, is also a negative. As mentioned already, a mute Mikkelsen is completedly wasted... may as well have cast Joe Bloggs. The rest of the cast have very little to work with either, though minutely interesting to see Gary Lewis and Jamie Sives involved. I wouldn't say anyone onscreen deteriorates the film (it does so itself), but they also don't do anything to improve it either. I was anticipating 'Valhalla Rising' to be an entertaining one. It wasn't. Thankfully they had the awareness (or were restricted?) in keeping it 'short' at 90 minutes... a dreary 90mins, albeit.

Visually, this movie is stunning! Valhalla Rising really immerses you in the atmosphere of apprehension and dread.

Their is an engaging story here in this brutal Viking tale that beats the nail on the head of when they took the definition of an odyssey to a whole new level.

Loved it, it's stayed in my mind all these years. Totally understand why it could be polarising though.

Special Effects: 0,5/Sound Effects: 1,0/Acting: 0,5/Story: 0,5

5.0/10 — "Poor"/"Inferior"/"Amateurish"

Moody, beautiful, brutal.

My absolute favorite movie from Refn and one of my personal top 5. The whole movie is like looking at art. While I enjoy it, none of the people I've watched it with liked it nearly as much as me. Sometimes scenes are nearly silent with no character dialogue. So if you don't like the cinematography you probably won't like this film.

A stark, brutal film following One-Eye, (forebodingly portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen) fighting-slave to a band of highland folk who have been pushed to the outskirts of their lands by Christian invaders. Emphatically violent and visually rich, the pleasure of this film comes from a notable juxtaposition of the vaguely mythical unreal dream, drug, and fog sequences and the all too real hyper-violence. You don't really watch Valhalla Rising, you read it like it's an ancient saga. Ultimately an allegory of violence and a commentary on the nature of religious faith, it's worth watching for the right fan. Director Nicolas Winding Refn is usually worth keeping an eye on, and it helps to smoke weed first. For someone looking for conventional stories with largely predictable outcomes, morally 1 dimensional characters, and lots of filler, it's to be avoided like the plague- as are all his films.

Great composers say "don't write any unnecessary note, no fragment you don't need or gesture you can delete. Less is more. Nicolas Winding Refn seems to obey this "composers rule" in Valhalla rising. This movie is an abstract masterpiece. Bruce Beresford's" Black robe" shares in many ways similar "storytelling" style and aesthetical expression to Valhalla rising.

I love this movie. I will admit that it is an aquired taste, much like the Turin Horse, so it may not be for everyone. Definitely not for date night.

With a visual style like a bad Instagram filter and dialogue straight out of asinine Instagram captions, one could say that I was not en*thrall*ed with this

This is one crazy movie, and I imagine many viewers will find it too slow, or too graphic, or too obtuse or any combination of the three. Yet, it is also mesmerizing, gorgeous and somehow hypnotic. The ever gripping (and in this film, completely silent) Mads Mikkelsen plays a Nordic/Viking warrior-type in the early middle ages who is being held as a slave by a group of pagan Vikings. He is used to fight battles to the death, perhaps for money, and his brutally effective and creative in staying alive. His only "friend" is a young boy who is also a slave and seems to be incredibly devoted to Mikkelsen, whom the boy dubs One-Eye, and that's the only name he has. Eventually, the two escape and end up on the crew of a Viking boat, manned by converted Christians who are determined to go to the Holy Lands and fight in the crusade. These guys are fanatics: their credo appears to be "convert or die" as they are first encountered at the scene of a slaughter of their own doing. Things don't go well, and their journey becomes hopelessly lost and ever more cryptic. The men are consumed by greed or religious fervor, yet tormented by personal demons and driven to the brink of madness by what I can only call the "alien-ess" of the land they've encountered. We may have an inkling of where they are, but eventually, they believe they are literally in hell. Imagine thinking you've just sailed to hell. You're maddened by fear, or by desire to leave or for some, the opportunity to claim even this land for God. Meanwhile, One-Eye soldiers on to his own drum. Sometimes helpful, sometimes a team player and sometimes brutally cutting down his compatriots, he is a deeply inscrutable character. The movie looks terrific. No doubt director/co-writer Nicholas Winding Refn had a low budget for this singular film. And he takes advantage of it. Landscapes are sometimes sweeping, but for the most part, he stays tight on his people. Lots of closeups and many early moments in particular are filmed on hillsides (so that the mise en scene can be contained more easily). Many scenes at night or dusk or in the fog. It all feels contained, and yet very specific. The idea of being in 11th century Europe is convincingly conveyed. The music in the film is extremely effective and forward. It's a fairly modern score, but works well with the portentous goings-on. It'll give your sub-woofer a spin if you have a good sound system. And the costumes and makeup are great; everyone looks suitably muddy and unaccustomed to bathing. And in the midst of it all is the wonderful Mikkelsen, who (aided, I'll admit by some great makeup) is always riveting. His is a performance of complete physicality, and it's amazing to watch. But I'll conclude by circling back to what I said at the beginning. The film is very slow. Despite the fight scenes, there are MANY moments of men walking, sitting or staring. It's tough. And the fight scenes are quite graphic. I found them very in keeping with the tone of the film, but many will certainly cringe. And the film clearly grapples with many themes: religion, fervor, imperialism, faith and man's inhumanity to man (to name a few). And it's tough to say it all ties together. Yes, it seems really full of meaning, but good luck feeling like you've understood the film. I think everyone CAN come up with a meaning and underlying theme. But it's doubtful there is one "right" answer, and you'll never feel you've fully grasped it. If you can live with that, and if you're up for a challenge, I think VALHALLA RISING is a fantastically creative and original film, unlike anything you've seen before.