Plot Summary – Prince Amleth is on the verge of becoming a man when his father is brutally murdered by his uncle, who kidnaps the boy’s mother. Two decades later, Amleth is now a Viking who raids Slavic villages. He soon meets a seeress who reminds him of his vow — save his mother, kill his uncle, avenge his father.

★★★★ 

Watched on 21 Apr 2022

I have so many thoughts about this movie. Firstly, I’m a bit embarrassed that I didn’t realize from the trailer that this has the exact same story beats as The Lion King. During the movie, I went on a small Wikipedia deep-dive and learnt that this movie was based on the Norse epic that Shakespeare based Hamlet on and The Lion King is an unofficial adaptation of Hamlet so it all makes sense. I loved The Lighthouse so naturally had high expectations from this movie and for the most part, it delivered. It had Eggers’ signature style while not sacrificing a gripping storyline. It also dealt with a multitude of themes with simultaneous grime and nuance. I just felt that Skarsgard isn’t a very charismatic actor and I found it to be really tough to connect or even root for his “Amleth”. Despite this, the film manages to be extremely gripping and really explores the depths of each character and had a surprising twist on the usual story that left me thinking about the morality of all the characters in a totally different way. It goes without saying that the cinematography was absolutely gorgeous throughout the film. Eggers is a master of getting really specific visuals on the screen and you see his deft touch in almost every frame. I also liked the Nordic accents that all the characters had, it added a very fun touch to the movie. Anya Taylor-Joy’s character left me wanting more as well, I didn’t really understand her motivations and actions for a lot of the movie. This movie had me on a rollercoaster of emotions about it and in the end, I came out of it pretty pleased with what I saw. I doubt it will have much lasting impact on me like The Lighthouse did though. I definitely recommend this for people looking for something dark and gritty.