Karl Urban makes a good job of the hero, bearing in mind the film's failings.
Herald rating: * *
Verdict: The Neanderthal result of a horror and music video director hijacking an expensive action film.
It's not a good sign that the name of this film alone conjures images of a ride-on weed-whacker. Still, whacking weed may help to pass the time watching this cartoonish remake of the 1987 Norwegian film Ofelas.
Pathfinder leaves an impression that's like its Vikings: lumbering oafs out
to conquer something, but too dumb to know what it is.
For all the film's inanities, New Zealand leading man Karl Urban does as good a job as possible playing Ghost, the Viking child left behind during a violent encounter with Native Americans, who bring him up to be a noble fighter.
He's a man on a personal journey, most of which is spent showing off his prowess with a sword, while clad in a catalogue of nice-looking furs.
But Pathfinder is what it is - a big-budget, brawn-over-brains action film, not a history lesson. The characterisation is as simple as a fairytale: the goodies are the Indians, living a simple, humble life; the baddies are the Vikings, who will stop at nothing to eradicate the Indians and take over the land, even if that makes them look like idiots on many occasions - whether grunting their way across perilous ice, chaining themselves together on a skinny mountain ledge, or wiping out the enemy.
Director Marcus Nispel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake) has a penchant for comic-book violence, which means the target demographic of teenage boys will probably thrill to its more stylised, bloody moments. The rest of us will be hankering for a plot with more heart than the token romance between Ghost and the beautiful Starfire (Bloodgood).
The landscape and bold cinematography are something to behold, but it's hard to get past its po-faced nature, particularly a repeated studio shot where a flock of birds flits poignantly across the night sky. If it had more intentional humour, perhaps Pathfinder wouldn't be so tedious.
Cast: Karl Urban, Moon Bloodgood, Russell Means, Jay Tavere
Director: Marcus Nispel
Running time: 99 mins
Rating: R16
Screening: Village, Hoyts
