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Pathfinder (2007)
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Reviews Counted:72
Fresh:8
Rotten:64
Average Rating:3.6/10
Consensus: A few rousing action sequences can't make up for Pathfinder's non-existent plot and silly dialogue.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong brutal violence throughout
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:Apr 13, 2007 Wide
Box Office: $10,232,081
Synopsis: Wearing its R rating for violence like a badge of honor, PATHFINDER bears more resemblance to a horror film than most of its historical action-film brethren. Director Marcus Nispel cut his teeth on... Wearing its R rating for violence like a badge of honor, PATHFINDER bears more resemblance to a horror film than most of its historical action-film brethren. Director Marcus Nispel cut his teeth on the remake of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and that experience has left a bloody thumbprint on this film. PATHFINDER shares the horror movie aesthetic, with its generous use of blood, jump moments, and shadow. Centuries before Christopher Columbus reached American shores, the Vikings carved a bloody path through the continent. When a shipwreck kills a boat full of Vikings and their Native American captives, the only survivor is a young blond child. Adopted by the People of the Dawn tribe, the boy grows up into a warrior. As an adult, the former Viking, now named Ghost (Karl Urban, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING), is an important member of his tribe with only disturbing memories to tie him to the Norsemen. When another ship of Vikings destroys his village and all he knows, he vows revenge. This remake of the Norwegian film OFELAS boasts several innovative action sequences, one involving a shield used as a sled in the snow. With his work in the Lord of the Rings films, Urban has perfected his talent at swordplay, and his prowess is evident here. His character takes on the Viking invaders almost single-handedly and stalks them, picking them off one by one. This is an action-filled film that doesn't let dialogue get in the way of the elaborate fight scenes. [More]
Starring: Karl Urban, Jay Tavare, Nathaniel Arcand, Moon Bloodgood
Starring: Karl Urban, Jay Tavare, Nathaniel Arcand, Moon Bloodgood, Clancy Brown, Russell Means, Ralf Moeller
Director: Marcus Nispel
Director: Marcus Nispel
Screenwriter: Laeta Kalogridis
Producer: Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer, Marcus Nispel
Composer: Jonathan Elias
Studio: 20th Century Fox
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Release:
Mar 31, 2009
Blu-ray Disc Features:
- Region [unknown]
- NTSC
- Keep Case
- Unrated
- Full Frame - 1.33
- Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
- 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio - English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - French, Spanish
- Subtitles - English, French - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Documentary: "Clancy Brown: Cult Hero"
- Trailers: Concept Trailer
- Alternate Scenes: Deleted Scenes (8; w/Optional Director's Commentary)
- Audio Commentary: Marcus Nispel - Director
Behind the Scenes:
- 1. "The Beginning"
- 2. "The Design"
- 3. "The Build"
- 4. "The Shoot"
- 5. "The Stunts"
- 6. "We Shoot Now! Marcus Nispel on the Set of PATHFINDER"
Reviews for Pathfinder
The fault here lies in the film's dead rhythm, which never lights the sparks necessary for an action film. The plot and action progress like an eroding lakeshore, but the energy and excitement are washed away in every scene.
Without anything more to offer, the choreographed carnage gets stale very quickly.
Pathfinder’s main appeal will be to connoisseurs of gore, who will find no shortage of graphically rendered stabbings, shootings, smashings, severings and slicings.
Imagine a heavy metal album cover come suddenly to life and you pretty much have the measure of Pathfinder.
The plot and action progress like an eroding lakeshore, but the energy and excitement are washed away in every scene.
Never has an idea of such splendid nuttiness been so squandered to the god of neurotic style.
The movie is filmed in a way that makes it seem like the camera has epilepsy and the color desaturation renders everything murky. Someone should remind director Marcus Nispel that there's a difference between making a music video and a feature film.
Metal heads will be in Valhalla; everyone else should find a different path.
Pathfinder is simultaneously action-packed and a total bore, a strange movie that never seems to move even though it consists of almost nothing but violence.
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who think slow-motion is cool and those who do not. If you are of the former, I can recommend Pathfinder.
All basic interest, to say nothing of excitement, is sapped whenever the big, brutal battle sequences come to a halt and inane dialogue takes over.
It's a movie that belies its title, showing neither a strong sense of direction nor the drive to do anything other than display a whole lot of slashing and stabbing.
Boasting a prettified brutality that rivals that of 300, Pathfinder also explores a similar theme, the manly pursuit of revenge at any cost.
I was so irritated that I paid money to see this that I snuck into two movies afterward to feel better about my investment. Boooooooooring.
I didn't think it was possible to make a movie involving Vikings worse than 1978's The Norsemen starring Lee Majors, but director Marcus Nispel and company have accomplished just that with this formulaic piece of poorly made PC trash.
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April 28, 2007:
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