My new review is for Antonio Banderas' Directorial Debut The Thirteenth Warrior. This is the long awaited (by me anyway) movie version of Eaters of the Dead, by Michael Crichton.

It's the story of an Arab named Ahmed Ibn Fadlan who is found guilty of sleeping with another man's wife.

As punishment, he is sent to the North, where he is to be Ambassador to the Vikings. There, he meets up with a Viking named Buliwyf who hears of a kingdom, even farther north, that is eing attacked by an evil whose name you dare not speak.

Needless to say, he decides to go fight. Eleven other men join him, and Fadlan gets chosen to be.... The Thirteenth Warrior.

SO, they travel to the north, and go to Heorot Hall. (If you have read the story Beowulf, then you know that this is essentially a sequel). There, they hear abou the Wendel, and how they are destroying the city bit by bit.

SO, they help the people, and over the next three nights, they fight the creatures. Then, when they seek the council of the Village Elder, she tells them that to defeat this evil, they must defeat their Queen, and their... or lack of a better word, General-King.

Once they defeat these two, then the Wendel will lose the will to fight, and leave, and never return.

So, the surviving members of the Viking's party travel to the lair of the Wendel, to kill the two figureheads.

The movie started out slow, and since i saw trhe late showing, i was a bit surprised at myself when i fell asleep. THough that may sound like a bad thing, it was SLOW. But once the first action scene hits, the movie picks up, and get's a WHOLE LOT BETTER.

The only problem with the action scenes is that they are very jumpy. scenes jump in and out quickly. Action is very shaky. It's hard to tell what's going on.

The movie did, however follow the book really well, and wavered only a bit at the beginning, and at the end.

Over all, I give it 3 3/4 Field Mice. Banderas is, unfortunately, a better actor then he is a Director.

There was no cursing, but there was a lot of violence, and one scene of what I assumed was post sex.

over all, i give it 3 1/2 Field Mice in the morality rating.

And, as usual, Ebert can have the balcony, the Sneak Preview guys can have the aisle seats, i want the exact middle!