The Northman (2022) review

Little Prince Amleth (Oscar Novak) watches his Father King Aurvandill War-Raven (Ethan Hawke) get slaughtered by his Uncle Fjölnir (Claes Bang), who then steals his Mother Gudrún (Nicole Kidman) and orders his followers to kill him, forcing him to escape by boat; as an adult (Alexander Skarsgård), he is solely dedicated to revenge after being kept a slave for decades.  Like The Green Knight, this is what happens when you take a folk tale and throw a ton of money at it: sure the cinematography, sets and costumes are top-notch, but it also lacks any regard for subtlety, and is sometimes so "serious" about itself it becomes somewhat comical.  I suppose Eggers, working with Icelandic poet and novelist Sjón, is trying to appeal to the Millennial/Gen Z video game crowd, because it looks a lot like the medieval fantasy games Dark Souls and Elden Ring - at one point, Amleth has to acquire a "magical sword" and then fight a boss, behead him and then stuff his decapitated noggin' up his own rear end ... which just so happens to be a perfect metaphor for the entire movie.  Level up!