The 13th Warrior (1999), Director: John McTiernan, rated R for bloody battles and carnage

An Ordinary Man...An Extraordinary Journey!

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Diane Venora, Vladimir Kulich, Dennis Storhøi, Omar Sharif, Richard Bremmer, Mischa Hausserman

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #40 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of The 13th Warrior

"Your fate is fixed. Fear profits a man nothing." - Herger, the Joyous

Why watch this? It took McTiernan and Crichton to create superb Viking film.

Plot Summary: In 922 A.D., an Arab envoy named Ahmad Ibn Fadlan travels north and encounters a group of Viking warriors. When a nearby village is threatened by a mysterious and deadly foe, Ibn Fadlan is compelled to join the Vikings as the thirteenth warrior to face this unknown enemy. Together, they embark on a dangerous quest to protect the innocent and confront the formidable force terrorizing the land.

Dad's Preview: Antonio Banderas and director John McTiernan, somehow pull off perhaps the greatest film EVER about Vikings. The superb plot comes from prolific writer Michael Crichton's book, Eaters of the Dead. McTiernan was wise to spend time early on to develop these characters. We get to know each Viking and their unique personalities and skills. As the various skirmishes ensue, we feel genuine loss when one loses a head or takes a quiver full of arrows into their chest. This epic is vast, heroic, and so much fun to experience!

Touchstone Pictures; Buena Vista Pictures Dist.