Pathfinder (2007)

Director:

Marcus Nispel

Writers (WGA):

Laeta Kalogridis (screenplay)
Nils Gaup (1987 screenplay "Veiviseren")

Release Date:

13 April 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | Thriller | War

Tagline:

Two Worlds, One War. The Ultimate Battle Begins.

Plot:

A Viking boy is left behind after his clan battles a Native American tribe. Raised within the tribe, he ultimately becomes their savior in a fight against the Norsemen. |

Plot Keywords:

Native American | Native | Viking | Torture | Savagery

Cast

Karl Urban	...	Ghost
Moon Bloodgood	...	Starfire
Russell Means	...	Pathfinder
Clancy Brown	...	Gunnar
Jay Tavare	...	Blackwing
Nathaniel Arcand	...	Wind In Tree
Ralf Moeller	...	Ulfar
Kevin Loring	...	Jester
Wayne Charles Baker	...	Indian Father (as Wayne C. Baker)
Michelle Thrush	...	Indian Mother
Nicole Muñoz	...	Little Sister
Burkely Duffield	...	Ghost - 12 Years Old
Ray G. Thunderchild	...	Elder #1
Duane Howard	...	Elder #2
Brandon Oakes	...	Elder #3

Also Known As:

Pathfinder: The Legend of the Ghost Warrior (USA) (promotional title)
Conquistadores (Argentina) (Mexico) (Peru) [es]
A barbár (Hungary) [hu]
Desbravadores (Brazil) [pt]
El guía del desfiladero (Spain) [es]
Le sang du guerrier (Canada: French title) [fr]
Pathfinder (Greece) (cable TV title) [el]
Pathfinder - Fährte des Kriegers (Germany) [de]
Pathfinder - La leggenda del guerriero vichingo (Italy) [it]
Pathfinder - Le sang du guerrier (France) [fr]
Pathfinder - Legenda aavesoturista (Finland) [fi]
Rajaleidja (Estonia) [et]
Tropiciel (Poland) [pl]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong brutal violence throughout.

Runtime:

99 min | 107 min (unrated DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Icelandic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Malaysia:18SG | Germany:18 | Ireland:16 | UK:15 | France:-12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | USA:R (certificate #42805) | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:13 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Finland:K-15 | USA:Unrated (unrated version) | Brazil:16 | Peru:14 | Australia:MA | South Korea:18

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Actors wore hockey shoulder pads underneath their viking costume to make them appear larger and fiercer.

Goofs:

Continuity: (At 00:46:28) There is a wide shot of Ghost leaving the tribe after warning them about the Vikings being on their way to kill them all, and he is being followed by the mute character. In the first wide shot of the sequence you see them going right through the middle of the screen, the next shot is a close up of the same shot and you can see a trail in the snow ahead of them made by repeating the same shot. The next shot is made in some bushes but the next shot shows the same original wide shot with the same location but this time they are crossing on the bottom right corner, but you can still see the trail in the snow in the middle of the screen from the previous shot.

Quotes:

Ghost: Twig.
Pathfinder: Spear.

Movie Connections:

References King Arthur (2004)

Not as bad as some have painted it to be

If you went to see the movie expecting something like Mel Gibson's Apocalypto, you will be disappointed obviously. But why would you expect it to be Apocalypto if you've seen the trailer? It tells a mythical tale of a legendary Norseman who was raised by native Americans. They called him ghost. And it's this ghost who ended up protecting the tribes from the destruction of the Viking Clang who shared the same lineage with him. The plot line is just that simple. What kept me entertained was the action sequence, absolutely stunning cinematography and the overall presentation and atmosphere. The overall tune of the movie is dark, mythical and menacing, fit perfectly well for the theme. Vikings are presented more like beast than man, with giant statue and equally ghastly giant armors and weapons.

Some may argue that the vikings in this movie kill senselessly without any purpose. Does having a purpose makes evil more sensible? I have good news for people who are looking for reasons behind evil: they all have purposes and reasons, so don't waste time seeking one for them. Bad news for you: it absolutely makes no difference! Throughout human history, all aggressors had plenty of reasons to invade, ravish and destroy other culture and lives, the list goes from Vikings to Hitler... and it will probably go on forever. But does having reasons and purposes to kill make the killing more sensible? Absolutely not.

In this movie, Vikings are symbolic evil. Giving it a reason to kill doesn't make any differences as I stated above: they all have reasons, pick one and get over with it. On the other hand, the movie was trying to suggest that not only there's this battle of good and evil going on in the physical world, there's also a battle of hate and love in one's heart. When asked: who would won, Ghost was given the answer: the one you feed the most. It's a very interesting theme that I wish the director would explore a little bit deeper. But in the end, violence prevailed the screen time. The thought of inner struggle and loftier redemption was lost in the midst of killing and vengeance. No sin was forgiven and no bad deeds went unpunished. Though it's a more satisfying end, but a shallow one.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie for what it is. I'm not looking for complicated plot nor deeper character development. For an action movie, its visually stunning, fast paced and immersing. It kept me interested throughout the 90 minutes and left me pondering about some unfulfilled premises. It's not as bad as some have painted it to be.