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Pathfinder (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:73
Fresh:8
Rotten:65
Average Rating:3.6/10
Consensus: A few rousing action sequences can't make up for Pathfinder's non-existent plot and silly dialogue.
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
US Box Office: $10,232,081
Synopsis: Wearing its R rating for violence like a badge of honor, PATHFINDER bears more resemblance to a horror film than most of its historical action-film brethren. Director Marcus Nispel cut his teeth on... Wearing its R rating for violence like a badge of honor, PATHFINDER bears more resemblance to a horror film than most of its historical action-film brethren. Director Marcus Nispel cut his teeth on the remake of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and that experience has left a bloody thumbprint on this film. PATHFINDER shares the horror movie aesthetic, with its generous use of blood, jump moments, and shadow. Centuries before Christopher Columbus reached American shores, the Vikings carved a bloody path through the continent. When a shipwreck kills a boat full of Vikings and their Native American captives, the only survivor is a young blond child. Adopted by the People of the Dawn tribe, the boy grows up into a warrior. As an adult, the former Viking, now named Ghost (Karl Urban, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING), is an important member of his tribe with only disturbing memories to tie him to the Norsemen. When another ship of Vikings destroys his village and all he knows, he vows revenge. This remake of the Norwegian film OFELAS boasts several innovative action sequences, one involving a shield used as a sled in the snow. With his work in the Lord of the Rings films, Urban has perfected his talent at swordplay, and his prowess is evident here. His character takes on the Viking invaders almost single-handedly and stalks them, picking them off one by one. This is an action-filled film that doesn't let dialogue get in the way of the elaborate fight scenes. [More]
Starring: Karl Urban, Jay Tavare, Nathaniel Arcand, Moon Bloodgood
Starring: Karl Urban, Jay Tavare, Nathaniel Arcand, Moon Bloodgood, Clancy Brown, Russell Means, Ralf Moeller
Director: Marcus Nispel
Director: Marcus Nispel
Screenwriter: Laeta Kalogridis
Producer: Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer, Marcus Nispel
Composer: Jonathan Elias
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Reviews for Pathfinder
It's a tedious experience in almost every way: The acting is numbingly one-note, the CGI work is unconvincing and often downright shoddy, and the action is poorly staged and framed so close you can never tell for sure who is lopping off whose head.
The movie is filmed in a way that makes it seem like the camera has epilepsy and the color desaturation renders everything murky. Someone should remind director Marcus Nispel that there's a difference between making a music video and a feature film.
It's not our idea of a good time, but we'll bet that plenty of adolescent boys will be doing their best to look 18 years old this weekend.
Imagine a heavy metal album cover come suddenly to life and you pretty much have the measure of Pathfinder.
Once the actual fighting begins, the film turns dull and lifeless. From beginning to end, the film plods when it should pulse.
Even an epic film with the best of intentions can be badly directed. And here's a fine example."Pathfinder," with its silly melodrama of a script, is proof of this.
Loud and overbusy but never exciting, Pathfinder is an action film only insofar as airborne prop heads and severed appendages equal action.
All grunting, all goring, the witless action flick Pathfinder has little to recommend it.
This latest bit of historical balder-dash stands in direct defiance of proven action-movie formulas, trusting its brutal concept and striking visuals to overcome a lack of star power.
Blood flows freely here, but the movie never creates a keen sense of involvement or mystery. Even a major cliffhanging (literally) set piece winds up blurred by the addition of a blinding snowstorm.
All basic interest, to say nothing of excitement, is sapped whenever the big, brutal battle sequences come to a halt and inane dialogue takes over.
After the first 1,000 or so beheadings, impalements and severed limbs, Pathfinder's slash may just induce sleep.
Cool concept and stylish visuals aside, Pathfinder isn't strong enough to offer the type of prolonged escapism one might expect from a movie that pits Vikings against Indians.
A chaotic piece of storytelling, told with the dull flash of quick-cut editing, ugly cinematography, and clichés that apparently pre-date Columbus' journey to the New World.
Turns history into the equivalent of a horror movie, one with a less-than-stellar cast and some serious plot holes.
Latest News for Pathfinder
April 28, 2007:
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