SO MANY QUESTIONS, SO FEW ANSWERS IN `13TH WARRIOR'.Byline: Chris Hewitt Chris Hewitt is a sound engineer, manager and entrepreneur best known for his contributions to the British music industry, particularly in the North West of England , specifically Rochdale, and in particular his close association with the cult rock band Tractor. Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder (IPA: /ˈrɪdɚ/) was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Newspapers With its elaborate costumes, manly grunting, gruesome bloodshed and hand-to-hand combat
Hand-to-Hand Combat is the twentieth episode[1] of Mobile Suit Gundam. Plot summary Tempers flare as Ryu and Fraw stand in Amuro's cell. , the medieval war movie ``The 13th Warrior'' is like the WWF See Windows Workflow Foundation. , but with horses and entrails en·trails pl.n. The internal organs, especially the intestines; viscera. . That's not what director John McTiernan wants us to be reminded of. He'd like us to remember ``Braveheart,'' which, like ``The 13th Warrior,'' combined gruesome, medieval battle scenes with the kind of macho sentimentality in which big guys climb off their deathbeds in order to get themselves butchered. The thing is, in ``Braveheart,'' we knew who Mel Gibson was and what he was fighting for. In the often bewildering be·wil·der tr.v. be·wil·dered, be·wil·der·ing, be·wil·ders 1. To confuse or befuddle, especially with numerous conflicting situations, objects, or statements. See Synonyms at puzzle. 2. ``The 13th Warrior,'' you never get answers to the most basic questions: Who are these Nordic warriors? What do they hope to achieve? And, given all the pillaging and the decapitating they do, where do they find time to apply all that eyeliner? Antonio Banderas plays the title role, an Arab who travels to an unnamed, eyeliner-loving northland north·land also North·land n. A region in the north of a country or an area. north  land to join unnamed warriors in fighting ``a terror that must not be named'' for reasons that must not be named either, I guess. The ``terror'' is a bunch of man/beasts who look like bears and who like to eat flesh. The battle scenes are stitched together with lots of voice-over narration, which is usually a sign of a movie that has some storytelling problems. That's certainly the case here. ``The 13th Warrior'' is handsomely made and persuasively acted, but there's either not much going on, or a lot going on - I can't decide which. I do know that, by the end of the film, I had forgotten what happened at the beginning. And, when I was watching the closing credits, which list such characters as ``Screaming Boy,'' ``One-Eyed Man'' and ``Sleeping Girl,'' I wanted to add ``Puzzled Viewer.'' The Facts The film: ``The 13th Warrior'' (R; extreme violence, gore). The stars: Antonio Banderas, Omar Sharif, Diane Venora. Behind the scenes: Directed by John McTiernan. Written by Williams Wisher and Warren Lewis. Produced by McTiernan, Michael Crichton and Ned Dowd. Released by Touchstone Pictures. Running time: One hour and 43 minutes. Playing: Citywide. Our rating: Two and a half stars. ?PHOTO: ``The 13th Warrior'' pits a brave group of men against flesh-eating beasts. CAPTION(S): Photo |
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