[Movies] Pathfinder

Perhaps feeling a bit more butch than usual, Brian and I sat down to watch Pathfinder, a pretty shocking depiction of how the American Indians had to deal with early Viking incursions into pre-colonial America. The twist in the story involves a young boy left behind by one of the failed expeditions who is in turn raised by the Native Americans and must later face his former countrymen when they return 15 years later.

The movie is pretty gruesome and has some very stunning visuals but apart from that, there really wasn't much more to it than that. It would probably explain the somewhat lukewarm reception in critics circles despite all the effort into making this as good a film as possible.

The story centers around Ghost, who is played by Karl Urban. You may not remember him immediately beyond a sinking feeling that you should know him on sight until you start thinking of him as Eomer in the LOTR movies or his appearances in The Chronicles of Riddick and The Bourne Supremacy. I had to admit he looks pretty good as a scantily clad Indian Brave, haha.

The movie's strength lies in its fight sequences were are amazingly powerful and at times literally hard to stomach given how graphic they are. The director did a good job of capturing the sense of horror the natives felt when first brought face to face with the Viking horde in their fearsome armor and with their superior weaponry.

The movie was weakened however by the lack of character development, which makes it more difficult to really connect with any of them apart from Ghost, who wasn't very deep either. All we know is that they're Native American and that they're fighting the Vikings and the Vikings want to exterminate the savages. That's about as one-sided as it gets. The significance of being the pathfinder of the tribe is never fully explained and the movie has its fair share of gaping plot holes like how Ghost ever learned to wield a sword like that without extensive training all his life and how he still remembered how to speak Norse despite not being given the opportunity to keep in practice for 15 years. Did he think in Norse all this time?

Still, it's a fun feast on the eyes for the most part and pleasantly traumatic during the gorier parts, but that's what some people pay for after all. I doubt it'll trigger any amazing sequels in the future but Karl Urban has certainly showcased his physical prowess in terms of both skill and appearance, haha.