The 13th Warrior (Film Review)

1999 Buena Vista Pictures
Directed by: John McTiernan and Michael Crichton; Written by: William Wisher, Jr. and Warren Lewis
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Diane Venora, and Omar Sharif
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 103 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 6/10

Ahmad ibn Fadlan slept with the wrong woman. Now, he's lost his cushy court poet position in 922 A.D. Baghdad, and has to go rough it on the road as an ambassador. This new life isn't so bad, until his party is attacked, driven off the road, and runs into a river-going group of Vikings. Ahmad finds the Vikings to be coarse and vulgar, but before he knows it, he's roped into a mission with 12 of them. The 13 warriors must head north to Scandinavia, to protect a village from a mysterious and ancient foe, the Wendol. There are several problems, though, chief among them that Ahmad is no brave fighter. It's going to take a resolve and strength he never knew he had to stand against this monstrous foe, while finding his place alongside his 12 new companions as...The 13th Warrior.
Michael Crichton sure wrote some yarns, but as for film adaptations of his work, it's arguable only one has been great: 1993's Jurassic Park. The majority of the rest have run the gamut from horrible to mediocre, though a small handful have at least achieved "okay" status. The latter is where 1999's The 13th Warrior lands. A troubled production from nearly the start, even eventually losing its director, it's a miracle The 13th Warrior is even watchable. The box-office flop suffers the most in its start and ending, where jumbles of shoddily edited sequences do more than hint at the trouble behind the scenes. However, the majority of this film finds footing on solid ground.
Perhaps it's just tough to go wrong with the subject matter. A cool-as-hell Antonio Banderas teaming up with a rowdy crew of Vikings to take on an army of savage creatures is hard to screw up, even with all of The 13th Warrior's production troubles. Banderas convincingly potrays Fadlan's journey from flighty fancy lad to confident, reliable warrior, giving the film a quite satisfying arc, while a group of mostly Scandinavian actors seem to be having a blast at his side. Meanwhile, the scenes shot by the film's original director, Die Hard's John McTiernan, make themselves known with dynamic camera work and beautiful composition, bringing the fiery battlefields and dark forbidding caves of The 13th Warrior's world to life.
It's tough not to wonder what could have been here, as this film is fun, yet disjointed and lacking in cohesion, only hinting at depth. Michael Crichton, the author of Eaters of the Dead, this film's source material, took over late in production and conducted major reshoots. This results in some disparate moments of the film that just can't come together to make something great. However, the fine bones of the story, the fun performances, and great action ensure that The 13th Warrior, despite its myriad flaws, is still an enjoyable way to pass 103 minutes.