User Reviews

There are only two negative reviews for this film. It's a shame really to have any but you will always get one person moved to write a review who thinks every movie has to be high art. Then yet another paranoid soul who is convinced every good review of a B grade independent movie must be associated with the production.

Thankfully neither of these things is true and if you want a solid Conan style action flick set in a dark ages type period this lives up to that wish.

The movie has a good feel and moves along nicely after the first twenty minutes. It takes a while to fit all the players into there places but once the action starts you will know who's who and enjoy watching their story arcs play out.

I also see other reviews criticising the costuming, weaponry etc used. I thought they did a good job but I guess there is no accounting for taste.

The Scythian

The story is fit for epic proportions, for the bards to sing songs and elders to tell tales for generations to come. Though perhaps predictable at times, it's a classic, in the sense of such myths as Jason and the Argonauts or even Odysseus for example. It is perhaps shadowed a little by somewhat forced dialogue at times. I am not entirely convinced though as I'm not that adept at Russian and don't know how solid or accurate were the subtitles, so the fault may lie in that as well.

Acting seems to fit for the most part. Nothing that feels overly awkward. As they are the men of action, they let their fists and daggers and swords and bows and axes do the talking for the majority of the film. The lead seems out of place occasionally and I can't put my finger on it why exactly, but it's really not a that big of a concern because the decent pace will not allow to linger on any particular scene too long.

Visually it has good with the bad. Set design and costumes are on point for the most part and feel authentic, but some the locations seem off. Fighting scenes and camerawork are quite well done, though editing seems a bit flimsy at times and therefore some key moments might fall a bit short. Literally even. Unfortunately it also seemed to be yet another retelling of not just the times when the men were Men, but when ugly was Ugly and beautiful was Beautiful. Which is pretty much every film since the invention of camera. A minor issue of course and most likely goes with the mythic theme, but still.

Music fits well and helps to emphasize the scenes, sound mixing is enjoyable though, and it might be the language barrier again, I think I detected some syncing issues, but it might totally be my own imagination. Otherwise the scenes' and scenic atmosphere is well created.

The adventure is engaging and despite some missteps, you'll enjoy the ride. The action is satisfyingly brutal and better than in many Hollywood's high budget projects. Perhaps mostly because the executives aren't as greedy to force PG-13 ratings on just to cash in slightly more dough. Irrelevant, but I bet that The Dark Tower, for example, would've produced completely different results without these utterly stupid restrictions. But I digress.

It's not going to be the best film of the year, but you will enjoy it. Perhaps even enough to watch it again sometime, should you catch it from the telly. It is a solid effort. The pace will carry you through before you know it. Perhaps even leaving you longing for more.

This is actually a pretty good movie. It does suffer a few clichés but most movies do. The story is ok, the characters are better than average.

The real winner is the presentation of the different tribes or cultures, a lot of effort has gone into developing different looks and behaviours etc that really stand out as some of the best examples I have seen.

The mistake: I watched an English dubbed version and it was horrible, it really detracted from the overall movie to the point where I nearly stopped watching it. I'm so glad I didn't. Definitely go for the Russian version.

I had no idea what to expect from this movie but the good reviews made me give it a shot. An enjoyable ride from start to finish with great action and a decently moving story. This movie has achieved things which huge Hollywood movies can't even do. It's not perfect but for what it was trying to do it did very well. One of the better action movies I've seen in a long time. Give it a watch! If you like epic bloody action, this movie is for you!

Liked this film watched on Amazon Prime Video , said it was in the time of Vikings but it had Scythians in it witch would place this at least 300 BC. This separated these peoples by about 1000 years ... well that's ok it is about a tribe trying to rid themselves of the nomadic bandit ways of the Scythians ...it is well acted directed and fight scenes are superb .

Would have given it an 8 but the subbed English made it lesser for me.

The Scythian is a mediocre medieval-historical-action movie. The story is very thin and most of the time only serves as an excuse for small fights. While these fights are very well choreographed they're very boring and the movie doesn't have any interesting moves or weapons or setpieces that would elevate them to entertaining action scenes. The characters, or the few that even have one, are so one-dimensional without any depth, backstory, motivation or conflict. The cinematography is sometimes interesting and experimental but can't save this boring mess of a movie. Even when you just want to see some medieval action, save yourself some time and skip this one, there are many better movies out there even for this very small niche.

This movie is great for one reason, the action. Camera movement is really good, minimum amounts of quick cuts, and amazing action. The choreography is some of the best I've seen, with really smooth fighting without having to use doubles or cgi. The story is ok, doesnt really pull you in, but it works for what the movie is trying to focus on it.

Short review today: This movie is generally about two guys traveling together from point A to point B, having a few fighting moments "en passant". The story is simple, honor-packed ending ... acceptable. As far, nothing convincing. Yet there's something interesting in this movie, lets start from the smallest things to the best:

Good fight scenes, especially sword fights of. Lyutobor.

Great choreography and camera.

Awesome sceneries and overall "mediaval" look including costumes (in my opinion just the music was little ... monochromatic). Plus for believable portrait of uneasy coexistence of multiple religions, yet with no deep thoughts or hidden aims, just as it should be.

What this movie shines with are two main characters, Lyutobor and Konitsa. Perfect choice of actors for these two, Aleksandr Kuznetsov really fits and shines. Together they make the movie very enjoyable..

Closing though: Should their journey be longer with less words told and honor and nobility intrigues suppressed, this movie could become a legend.

But it is still worth watching.

As we're conditioned to watch mainly Hollywood productions, last night I saw this Russian fantasy-drama and am deeply disappointed. Of course it's refreshment to explore other cultures and see something else but Hollywood movies once in a while. Fight scenes were fine (could've been done better), minimal FX fine as well, but the storyline itself really sucked... badly! Take what some might know as ancient Slavic masked "Koledari" tradition. To begin with, Koledari were not "king's band" to play music and have a fun whenever the occasion (like in the movie). In stead, it used to be one-day-a-year tradition which would be equivalent to what we today know as Xmas. Furthermore, they portrayed worshipers of Veles as (11th century) primitive tribes, living literally in trees. Not to mention the fact that around that time Christianity was well established, and so was statehood. To give you an idea, Serbia (also Slavic nation) around that time already had fully functional state, and 100 years later also an Empire (ruled by a tsar) stretching out from the Adriatic Sea, all the way to Black Sea at east and Mediterranean in south... Then how could Russians live in trees? Obviously, there was no serious research done here at all. In short, the creators of The Scythian proved they know nothing about these things. A such waste of time and money. Total fiasco.

Its not a great scripts, its good and its ok. And its not hollywood acting and surpreme VFX art and CGI. But it is gritty, dirty and violent with a beautifull setting, with actors who really are doing their best to tell a good story. Its is like watching Conan again, and I loved it. If you are a film snob and only love movies for their what ever hidden agenda, its not a movie for you.

This is a dirty, small budgettet, B movie with half naked ladies, violent men in a setting that leaves nothing but a raw taste of blood in your mouth.

This is a good old fashioned historical action movie absolutely crammed with guts and violence. It's a got a strong cynical Russian feeling, the participants are macho beyond belief, and they spend a lot their time wounded and covered in gore, slashing and chopping and betraying one another. But the best things about this movie are the huge open skylines, the wonderful ethnic costumes and armour, the dances and grotesque masks, and the completely over the top makeup. It seem everyone but the women is plastered in gold leaf and tattoos with the occasional all white ash suit with splatters of blood. It's also got a feeling of historical accuracy, even if it isn't really, because the storyline is merrily sprinkled ancient religious beliefs and rituals. Much more convincing than a sentimental Hollywood attempt would be.

Horrible action scenes, too much gore, very dumb stereotype of the barbarians and on top of everything it has nothing to do with scythians or just history in general. Would probably appeal to immature idiots without a taste but normal people won't waste their time on this. I regret every second of it. The writer of this story should make some action horror instead a pseudo-historical garbage. :)

In the best moments of Skif, it reminds me of Vikings (with Ragnar!) - we get good and bloody action scenes, nice costumes and settings and here and there even some fine surreal moments (like in Mad Max - the woods tribe and the gladiator scene remind me a lot of the scene in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome). Without any modern Hollywood p.c.-regulations Skif is a really enjoyable and entertaining experience. Recommended if you like movies such as The 13th Warrior, the Conan and the Scorpion King movies etc. To sum it up: no masterpiece but good.

DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT waste one minute on this crap. 6.3? How bout -1? This film is just that bad and you got these clowns who disguise themselves as the average viewer posting fake good reviews, when all along they are in direct association with the production of crap like this. AVOID AT ALL COST!

Gratuitous gore, propagating the idiotic stereotype of the blood-drenched, face-painted, fur-wearing, bone-club-wielding barbarian.

The film follows a really muddled timeline that is made up. The action takes place during the 11th century, but the protagonist is supposedly "the last Scythian", a civilisation that disappeared 700 years before the era of this movie.

The movie stumbles and manages to fall into every cliche of fantasy movies: back scabbards, blood-soaked murderous barbarians, bad costumes, bad armour, bad weapons.

The plot is generic and the acting is bland. It's mostly running around, screaming, wide-eyed gazing and growling. The production is shoddy, straight-to-DVD quality, with no personality, no attention to detail and no interest in world-building.

The cinematography isn't horrible, as the scenery is beautiful and the scene composition is entertaining, at times. However, it all breaks down because of its multiple flaws. If it were a 5-minute music video, one might have been able to give it a pass. But as a full movie? And one with claims of historicity, no less? Definitely a massive failure.

Great locations, great landscapes. The story is captivating. absolutely not trivial. And the same goes with the characters, very interesting, all of them. I liked a lot also the fact that the setting is not the standard "knight" o "samurai" one, so many of the storylines were pretty new to me, and I would guess to most of the audience. The fight scenes are ok, so does the music. Do not expect too much from dialogue, at the end it's an action movie. I didn't like too much the leading actor, and some FXs (not sure it they can actually be called this way). These however were to me very small flaws. Overall it was a positive surprise, if you are looking for a cloak and dagger movie, and you are willing to explore not-mainstream channels, you won't be disappointed.

For me it was entertaining, the costumes, setting, actors all worked very well together. But something that totally ruined this movie for me was the Editing and the camera work. The opening scene of the movie could have been so great... but than you have a fast shacky close up camera that distracts everything.

Based on unfamiliar history, it's just too rough and uncomfortable. The image of male 2 is much fuller than that of male 1. The plot is somewhat awkward. Although there are not many lenses, the female princess still has a high face value.

It was so bad...like when one of the warriors says "Lets head them off at the pass!" Really? Don't waste your time unless you want to laugh your ass off at the lines.... The worst....

I have a small collection of Russian fantasy/adventure. And I always go for original language with English subtitles. This was a great film! Gripping, bloody, gory and suspenseful. As jaded as I am, I actually squealed and covered my eyes a couple of times. It will go into my Frequently Watched stack for when I'm knitting or crocheting. (Yes, I am a bloody-minded granny.)

Saw it English dub, uncensored .watchable. Would be nice to see in original language wt sub.

I like the tribal/gods props and costumes .

gory and barbaric ways at times.

most fights very decent. .recommended!

When I grew up I watched movies like Conan the Barbarian and still love the genre. This movie is the first for a long time that captures that "feel" again. I absolutely loved it!

At first it start like very slowly - many scenes are different from USA movies - it's different - but very good different - real lands, nature, sounds, costumes, fights, music and everything with action mystic story.