Recap: Arn Magnusson grows up as part of one of a few feuding royal families, battling over a small country set in nowadays southern Sweden, his best friend Knut slated to become the next king. But a fateful day rivals kill Knut's father the king and usurps power. Knut is sent to safety in Norway, and Arn is sent to a monastery. Ironically, when Arn returns he returns a man skilled with the sword and Arn is mixed up in a renewed battle for the throne, as Knut has returned from his exile. But their enemy has powerful allies, among others the church, and Arn and his love Cecilia is sentenced to 20 years penance. But Arn's sentence is changed, he is sent to the Holy Land to become a Knight Templar.
Comments: The most expensive Swedish movie to date, and it shows that it is an ambitious project. The cast is large, and many well known actors stars in the movie, albeit in supporting roles only. But it shows most in the splendid and varied settings, from the plains of Sweden to Jerusalem (shot in Morocco) and with the massive amounts of equipment. Actually, it is a true epic with all of an epics elements. Simply put, it is grand.
However, even if the visual aspects and the surroundings are great, the story is not more than average. I do enjoy the genre, and I did enjoy this movie too. It runs for more than two hours and manages to entertain all the way. But it isn't so good that I want to own it. The story is nearly divided in two, Arn's youth and upbringing as one part and his adventures in Jerusalem as the other. The first part did seem a little long and slow at times, even though it left out some key development. It focuses heavily on Arn and Cecilia, but almost complete leaves Knut's struggle for the throne out. More of that instead of Cecilia's life in the monastery might have quickened the pace.
One should note that this is the first part in a two movie series. So the story is just halfway when the movie ends.
6/10
Comments: The most expensive Swedish movie to date, and it shows that it is an ambitious project. The cast is large, and many well known actors stars in the movie, albeit in supporting roles only. But it shows most in the splendid and varied settings, from the plains of Sweden to Jerusalem (shot in Morocco) and with the massive amounts of equipment. Actually, it is a true epic with all of an epics elements. Simply put, it is grand.
However, even if the visual aspects and the surroundings are great, the story is not more than average. I do enjoy the genre, and I did enjoy this movie too. It runs for more than two hours and manages to entertain all the way. But it isn't so good that I want to own it. The story is nearly divided in two, Arn's youth and upbringing as one part and his adventures in Jerusalem as the other. The first part did seem a little long and slow at times, even though it left out some key development. It focuses heavily on Arn and Cecilia, but almost complete leaves Knut's struggle for the throne out. More of that instead of Cecilia's life in the monastery might have quickened the pace.
One should note that this is the first part in a two movie series. So the story is just halfway when the movie ends.
6/10