♥♥
+ Biggest Career-Killer of the Year: John McTiernan + Costliest Flop of the Year: 95.36 mil. $ range
 |
| Star Antonio Banderas look hostile under an iron shirt on this menacing poster for John McTiernan's The 13th Warrior |
An 11th century Arab becomes the 13th warrior in a Viking's raid North, where among other things they are faced with a man-eating tribe...
The 13th Warrior is written by William Wisher (Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)) and Warren Lewis (Black Rain (1989)), adapting the novel Eaters of the Dead (1976) by Michael Crichton (Prey (2002)), and directed by New-Yorker master filmmaker John McTiernan (Nomads (1985)), whose 9th feature it is, with Crichton directing uncredited re-shoots.
The film features impressive sets and props and good practical effects, but they cannot salvage a fundamentally unexciting film. Antonio Banderas' (Of Love and Shadows (1994)) lead character never means a thing to us as audiences, - and one wonders how on earth the executives backing the film could bet this big on an Arab hero, who time and again praises Allah and the prophet Muhammed?
The Vikings never become more than raw, granite-cut he-men, who often laugh good-spiritedly together without apparent reason. The 13th Warrior is a sad chapter in McTiernan's career.
Related posts:
John McTiernan: 1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Top 10: Best cop movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Top 10: The best adaptations reviewed by Film Excess to date
Top 10: The best action movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Die Hard (1988) - McTiernan's action masterpiece
Watch a 2-minute clip from the film here
Cost: Reported 160 mil. $ - including marketing however
Box office: 61.6 mil. $
= Some uncertainty; at least a huge flop and possibly even a mega-flop (returned between 0.38 - 0.56 times its cost)
[The 13th Warrior was released 13 August (Portugal) and runs 103 minutes. Shooting took place from June - November 1997 in British Columbia, including Vancouver, with re-shoots in 1998. Test screenings were disastrous, and the film was deemed 'unwatchable'. A new score and new shoots were planned. The budget had gone from 85 mil. $ to 100 mil. during principal photography and would now rocket up to 160 mil. $. - Though this is a figure that reportedly includes the film's unknown marketing budget, normally not included in a film's cost figure. The final cost for the film could very well be 'just' 110-120 mil. $. The film opened #2, behind holdover hit The Sixth Sense, to a 10.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weekends in the top 3 (#3-#3) and grossed 32.6 mil. $ (52.9 % of the total gross). Roger Ebert gave the film a 1.5/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. Financially it was the biggest flop of 1999, losing upwards of 129 mil. $. Veteran star Omar Sharif, who plays a part in the film, in 2003 called the experience "humiliating" and called the final film "so bad that it is not even worth exploring." McTiernan returned with Rollerball (2002). Banderas returned in The White River Kid (1999). The 13th Warrior is rotten at 33 % with a 4.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of The 13th Warrior?
No comments:
Post a Comment