The 13th Warrior (1999)

(In theaters, August 1999) This is, from a detached perspective, a pretty bad film. Enormous plot holes, muddily-shot night battles, bare-bone characterisation, straightforward plot… But it does work well when you watch the film, provided you don’t expect much more than a gritty pseudo-realistic medieval battle fantasy. Antonio Banderas’ screen presence adds enormously to the film and the battle scenes are occasionally impressive. Though there are no doubt tons of anachronism, the Viking village looks suitably realistic on screen. Worth the time on TV.