This is one of the best "medieval" movies I have ever seen, and I've seen a lot of them: El Cid, Braveheart, Excalibur, The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring series, Ivanhoe, Adventure of Robin Hood, and the unlisted Prince Valiant. I have watched The 13th Warrior over 20 times.The music is very good, the story is believable: hominid anthropology overlap credible, holds together well, and I have always thought the film's portrayal of Ibn Fahdlan's learning transition, learning Old Norse by listening quietly to the other characters, makes his (our) transition to understanding all of the characters speech quite believable. Good job, there.The battle scenes are great, well constructed, lots of long-shot perspective, avoids cheap close-ups, the cannibalistic bear warriors fierce, the horse riding first rate, and the cave fight scary. As I do not like enclosed spaces, this portion is very believable.While the only notable actor, besides a short cameo by Omar Sharif (Melchisidek), is Antonio Banderas (Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan); I thought the ensemble acting of the others including Dennis Storhøi (Herger) Vladimir Kulich (Buliwyf) were very good. I have yet to see these actors, except Tony Curran, anywhere else.The only complaint I have is the geography. As a geographer, I know full well that Scandinavia can be, for the most part, short on coniferous forests. I deduced that the filming was done, not on location, but in Canada, which I found later to be true. Admittedly, it was probably cheaper to shoot in Canada, and made the story more enjoyable with a few more trees.I am amazed that there are those who've submitted reviews on this site, who rated the abysmal Conan The Barbarian higher the the The 13th Warrior! Honestly, after reviewing the movies on the Best Medieval Movies Of All Time, I cannot think of a better movie than The 13th Warrior.

This movie is a bit contradictory to me. It's a movie worth seeing if we just want pure entertainment, but it does not have enough quality for us to think of it as a really good movie. The action centers on the participation of an Arab ambassador in a Nordic military expedition, sent to protect an isolated village that was being attacked by some sort of evil creature. And the weaknesses of the plot begin to appear before us: what would motivate an Arab sultan to want to maintain diplomatic ties with the tribal peoples of Northern Europe? They could never help in case of war because they are too far away, and commercial relations were impracticable at that time because of the enormous distance between them. It seems the idea did not come from the script, but from a novel in which the film is based, but it does not matter. It's still hard to swallow. Another point that drew my attention in the negative is the portrayal of the Norse as an illiterate people who needed an Arab to write their own story. The writer certainly forgot that the Norse are the inventors of a particularly well known writing system, the runic alphabet. Even for an age where teaching was rare, it is believable that Beowulf, as a prince, had at least some notions about this writing system, thus not needing a foreigner to "draw sounds" for him.The strong point of the film is the combat scenes. They were thought out in detail and deserved the attention of the technical team. The idea of ​​"bearsmen" is also good, but it is difficult for me to believe that the Norse, warlike as they prove to be, believed in that story of the creature of fire. There is a huge contradiction latent in that: if the Norse are bellicose and bragging, why would they flee from an army with torches thinking it is a hellish serpent? In the first attack it is quite evident that they are men, not frightening creatures out of our worst nightmares. There's no sense in really believing that.António Banderas is literally the man of the movie. He appears, he shines, he makes a good participation. Omar Shariff also deserves an honorable mention for his fleeting appearance. He's an old-timer, with excellent diction and he is perfectly at ease in the role. The sets and costumes are good, they make the audience feel truly Northern Europe and the Viking environment. It's a shame that the script has not been reviewed and improved, as this would have made this film substantially more positive.

The 13th Warrior (1999): Dir: John McTiernan / Cast: Antonio Banderas, Diane Venora, Omar Sharif, Vladimir Kulich, Clive Russell: Savage blood bath of fear as cannibals behead victims in all its gory detail. It doesn't make one bit of difference what number Antonio Banderas is. We know he is suppose to fight off these cannibals and basically kicked their asses. These warriors come across a village that live in fear of cannibals known as the Eaters of the Dead. They attack when the mist is out and take the heads of the victims. The warriors realize that they may have to seek out the cave of the enemy. Predictable, repetitious and extremely graphic. The visual elements succeed and director John McTiernan provides tension. This would seem fitting material for him, having previously made Predator. Both films are similar in that faceless warriors are killed by a nearly unseen force, and it boils down to one person to make the difference. Banderas labors under flat material. He never emerges as a personality. He fears, trains then goes out and fights. During this retaliation more warriors are slain in graphic detail. Diane Venora, Vladimir Kulich and Omar Sharif are wasted in cardboard appearances. This film is so relentlessly graphic that it is about as much fun as witnessing a live birth. Pointless encore of brutality and disgust that should be placed in a grinder. Score: 2 / 10

Ahmad Ibn Fadlan (Antonio Banderas) is a carefree poet in Baghdad. After falling for the wrong woman, he's banished to the barbaric far north as an ambassador. His caravan is attacked by Tartars and is rescued by a passing Viking longboat. Melchisidek (Omar Sharif) is his loyal companion. He is shocked by their customs. An ancient evil that must not be named threatens the Vikings and their seer prophesy that 13 warriors must be sent. The 13th must be no Northman and Ahmad is pushed into joining.I really like the idea of a cultured Arab trying to fit in with the crude Vikings. It has a bit of fun with the fish out of water concept. Director John McTiernan is too in love with the dark muddy battle. Most of all, the Vikings don't stand out as individual. Thirteen is probably too many. There is a long cinematic tradition with seven. If the group could be reduced, some of them have a better chance to stand out.