The Northman (2022) is an action film about a viking prince on a quest to avenge his father’s murder directed by Robert Eggers.

I didn’t really enjoy this film as I found that the story was too fantastical for suspension of disbelief. It feels like the film either wants to be a cautionary tale about how revenge is bad or a mindless but satisfying and glorious action film about revenge, but fails to do either.

In one sense, the film could be seen as depicting how the stories and greatness that the respective characters tell themselves and believe in propel and empower them to act in ways they do not at first naturally feel inclined to do. However, this also often resulted in the world of the film bending in order to fulfill these stories. This lack of internal consistency was annoying to me.

For example, at the beginning of the story the main character Amleth swears to avenge his father Aurvandill should he ever be killed. This happens during a ceremony his father takes him to, and right after the ceremony concludes Aurvandill is conveniently slain by Amleth’s uncle Fjölnir. Amleth runs away, and the story cuts to when Amleth has grown up, now part of a band of berserkers pillaging villages. Despite not having any plans to exact revenge, he is spurned back onto that path when he sees a vision of a woman in a temple who tells him that he must.

Now that he’s been turned onto the path of revenge, he goes through many events to achieve the “best” kind of revenge. Even though he gets several opportunities to kill Fjölnir, he decides not to, instead opting for the outcome that his visions tell him to follow.

This is prominently shown in the scene when Fjölnir has Amleth tied up in a building. Amleth chides Fjölnir, telling Fjölnir that he cannot die because it’s not yet his time — referencing the story that he believes will be his true fate. And, in fact, Fjölnir doesn’t even try to kill Amleth and leaves.

In another scene, Fjölnir finds his son and wife in a room after having been slain by Amleth. Despite Amleth being there, Fjölnir sheaths his sword and demands that they fight at the gates of Hel as prophesized.

In general, this convenient shuffling of the plot in deference of the fate that the characters believe in feels heavy-handed and cheesy.