Watched this movie at home the other night. Having read one of the reviews here beforehand, i already knew the main concept of the plot, which wasn't really mind-blowing, but i decided to give the movie a shot since the impression movies make isn't always 100% based on plot.
If you want a "long story short" opinion, then this movie, despite not being totally bad, does feel kinda plain and pale, more like a university project than a real thing. It does have some nice moments in it, and the nature shots are really beautiful. But that's not a nature documentary, and even if the movie doesn't pretend to be anything too big, you still tend to expect more from it.
It's what happens when the director thinks that good intentions are all that really matters. Yes, i already read here on IMDb that Momoa talked in his interviews about the problems concerning the crimes against native Americans. Okay, that's all very touching, but Jason, you still decided to make a movie, not to write a pamphlet. You can't just ask some difficult questions and think that it will do.
The acting was very mediocre. Seriously, Jason was much more convincing as Khal Drogo where he had to play by other people's rules, than in this movie where he was his own boss. Dragging his wife into this movie as a person of his character's romantic interest was another thing that made it look like a school project. She's very nice and all, but really, in their scenes together they look like they film their real-life behavior instead of acting their roles. Seriously guys, just get a room, and please, don't film what you do there, at least not for a wide audience. The only more or less believable characters were Cash - but only because he was already backwards enough that anyone who looked like a bum could have played him - and Khal Dro... ehm, Robert Wolf's father, but that might be due to the natives' inherent charisma.
But let's put the one-dimensional characters aside and look at more technical stuff. The action scenes were pretty damn fake. Momoa had a very decent performance as Conan and Khal Drogo, so he must know better about such stuff. Instead, we see the silly fights and a shaky cam that tries to hide the fact that the guys punch air or ground instead of each other. Sound editing was also pretty ugly, there are a lot of scene sequences when after a very quiet scene when you have to turn up the volume to hear the conversation there suddenly follows a very loud scene - not cool at all. More of it, in some scenes i could clearly see the lips and sound being out of sync, which is just unprofessional.
All in all, this movie is not the worst way to kill an hour and a half of your time, especially if you love the landscape shots and feel benevolent towards the movies that promote the "free spirit" attitude, or maybe you just love Jason Momoa's looks. But for the rest of you folks, this film can easily be skipped without losing too much.
If you want a "long story short" opinion, then this movie, despite not being totally bad, does feel kinda plain and pale, more like a university project than a real thing. It does have some nice moments in it, and the nature shots are really beautiful. But that's not a nature documentary, and even if the movie doesn't pretend to be anything too big, you still tend to expect more from it.
It's what happens when the director thinks that good intentions are all that really matters. Yes, i already read here on IMDb that Momoa talked in his interviews about the problems concerning the crimes against native Americans. Okay, that's all very touching, but Jason, you still decided to make a movie, not to write a pamphlet. You can't just ask some difficult questions and think that it will do.
The acting was very mediocre. Seriously, Jason was much more convincing as Khal Drogo where he had to play by other people's rules, than in this movie where he was his own boss. Dragging his wife into this movie as a person of his character's romantic interest was another thing that made it look like a school project. She's very nice and all, but really, in their scenes together they look like they film their real-life behavior instead of acting their roles. Seriously guys, just get a room, and please, don't film what you do there, at least not for a wide audience. The only more or less believable characters were Cash - but only because he was already backwards enough that anyone who looked like a bum could have played him - and Khal Dro... ehm, Robert Wolf's father, but that might be due to the natives' inherent charisma.
But let's put the one-dimensional characters aside and look at more technical stuff. The action scenes were pretty damn fake. Momoa had a very decent performance as Conan and Khal Drogo, so he must know better about such stuff. Instead, we see the silly fights and a shaky cam that tries to hide the fact that the guys punch air or ground instead of each other. Sound editing was also pretty ugly, there are a lot of scene sequences when after a very quiet scene when you have to turn up the volume to hear the conversation there suddenly follows a very loud scene - not cool at all. More of it, in some scenes i could clearly see the lips and sound being out of sync, which is just unprofessional.
All in all, this movie is not the worst way to kill an hour and a half of your time, especially if you love the landscape shots and feel benevolent towards the movies that promote the "free spirit" attitude, or maybe you just love Jason Momoa's looks. But for the rest of you folks, this film can easily be skipped without losing too much.