How this movie received an 8+ rating is beyond comprehension. I am a Canadian so have an idea and appreciation of the differences found in Canadian storytelling. However this is just plain bad. Apart from an awesome location and interesting costumes and makeup (although here also inconsistent using stainless steel rings in a stone age society) No discernible story line, incomprehensible dialogue, clumsy directing, editing, and acting (although in their defense they had so little to work with) Don't waste your time or money.
35 Reviews
Real Review
the_doofy2 October 2017
It is obvious that this movie had its viewer rating box stuffed to some extent, I see this kind of thing a lot, especially with the occasional big money project, although I don't think this is a BIG money project.
It is also obvious some people have written negative reviews on this movie who may not have even watched it.
There are some things about this particular movie that are exceptional. The costume and make up was done really well. Many of the actors have hideous scars and they are wearing pretty realistic post apocalyptic clothes. Now mind you, I never could figure out how they got the scarring, which seemed to be a central theme to the movie, or why the scarring was significant, nonetheless, the people who did the work did an excellent job.
The camera work was very good, and the cinematography was at times breath taking. This was complimented by appropriate decent sounding back ground music. The acting was also decent. (The weapons were kind of ludicrous though). Editing however seemed to be non existent, as one time a wad of snot came out of the male protagonist's nose, you would think the people in charge of the movie at the very least would have edited this out.
So some of the ingredients were there for a very good movie. The major problem with it is that after an hour a viewer still does not really know what is going on. We are given a synopsis of the movie, and there is a narrated intro at the start, but even with those it does not come together. I lay this squarely at the feet of director/writer.
I feel sorry for all the movie crew who did such good work, it was wasted effort. The guy who shouldered this project should have allowed constructive criticism at each stage of this movie, especially in the script and story boarding. It must be nice to have that kind of money to spend as you want, but its definitely not fair to those who turned in first class work on the project, hoping for recognition.
It is also obvious some people have written negative reviews on this movie who may not have even watched it.
There are some things about this particular movie that are exceptional. The costume and make up was done really well. Many of the actors have hideous scars and they are wearing pretty realistic post apocalyptic clothes. Now mind you, I never could figure out how they got the scarring, which seemed to be a central theme to the movie, or why the scarring was significant, nonetheless, the people who did the work did an excellent job.
The camera work was very good, and the cinematography was at times breath taking. This was complimented by appropriate decent sounding back ground music. The acting was also decent. (The weapons were kind of ludicrous though). Editing however seemed to be non existent, as one time a wad of snot came out of the male protagonist's nose, you would think the people in charge of the movie at the very least would have edited this out.
So some of the ingredients were there for a very good movie. The major problem with it is that after an hour a viewer still does not really know what is going on. We are given a synopsis of the movie, and there is a narrated intro at the start, but even with those it does not come together. I lay this squarely at the feet of director/writer.
I feel sorry for all the movie crew who did such good work, it was wasted effort. The guy who shouldered this project should have allowed constructive criticism at each stage of this movie, especially in the script and story boarding. It must be nice to have that kind of money to spend as you want, but its definitely not fair to those who turned in first class work on the project, hoping for recognition.
nice Alberta scenery
futuretype23 December 2017
I have to go with the low end reviewers on this (and there don't seem to be many mid range ratings). I couldn't figure out a plot, not even after ohecking wikpedia. Cygnus, the hero?, seems to get through without attending to his short well trimmed beard and without eating (as one reviewer pointed out).
Julian Black Antelope who plays Torik gives the best credible performance in this dystopian film. Unfortunately his henchmen just seem to stand around looking goofy, The others just seem to be on a set saying mundane lines. There is a bunch of aimless eaighting with many knockout blows struck that have little effect. The film had no effect on my wanting to see a resolution.
Julian Black Antelope who plays Torik gives the best credible performance in this dystopian film. Unfortunately his henchmen just seem to stand around looking goofy, The others just seem to be on a set saying mundane lines. There is a bunch of aimless eaighting with many knockout blows struck that have little effect. The film had no effect on my wanting to see a resolution.
Don't waste your time
strapsetter9 December 2016
OMG what was that all about? Someone should tell Benjamin that there is a big difference between being deep and being obtuse. It's bad enough that the acting is so stilted, but honestly, the story line is non-existent. My theory is that a group of first-year film students got lost in the badlands with nothing but a bag of drugs and a camera stuck in slow motion mode. I saw this movie with a large group of people,and afterwards everyone had lots of compliments for the scenery, the props, the costumes, even the stunt performers... but not one of them could tell me what the story was about, whether the movie had any kind of point to make, or why anyone would bother to produce this kind of self-indulgent garbage. Do not waste your time watching this movie.
Wow was that bad
glen_esq20 April 2017
The Northlander has perhaps the most inane dialogue I have ever listened to in a movie. The sound could have been shut off, or the movie shot as a silent and I would have followed the plot just as well.
I'm not really sure what this movie was about. There are nomadic tribes in a dystopian future. Cygnus the Hunter is sent on a quest to... I don't know what. Characters wax philosophical between poorly choreographed fight scenes, but the dialogue doesn't move the plot forward. It's all rather pointless.
Scenes don't seem to go anywhere. e.g. A tribesman is hauling in a fishing net from the river, he sees something horrible in the net, falls down screaming. While fallen over he spots a smoke plume on the horizon and yells to the tribe the bad guys are coming and scampers off in terror. But what the hell was in the fishing net? At least I assume he was fishing, no one eats or drinks in the year 2961, have humans evolved to live entirely on love? Well perhaps because the bad dudes can survive in the desert-like conditions of the badlands carrying no water or food.
One of the main reasons I went to see this was it is shot in the Drumheller badlands. And we see characters running up and down the clay hills and jumping on the hoodoos. Okay. The Alberta outdoor settings, prairies and badlands, I found disappointing - looks like it was shot in fall and filmed late afternoon each day casting long shadows and giving muted colours. Everything is brown, sepia coloured, drab. I've been there, in spring and summer it's quite colourful and beautiful. A chance lost by the film makers in my opinion, filmed the wrong time of year.
This movie appears to be a Mad Max ripoff, and unfortunately a poor one. The weaponry is likely purposefully goofy, you might get a kick out of some of the crazy spears and clubs carried by the warriors. Other than that, blech.
I'm not really sure what this movie was about. There are nomadic tribes in a dystopian future. Cygnus the Hunter is sent on a quest to... I don't know what. Characters wax philosophical between poorly choreographed fight scenes, but the dialogue doesn't move the plot forward. It's all rather pointless.
Scenes don't seem to go anywhere. e.g. A tribesman is hauling in a fishing net from the river, he sees something horrible in the net, falls down screaming. While fallen over he spots a smoke plume on the horizon and yells to the tribe the bad guys are coming and scampers off in terror. But what the hell was in the fishing net? At least I assume he was fishing, no one eats or drinks in the year 2961, have humans evolved to live entirely on love? Well perhaps because the bad dudes can survive in the desert-like conditions of the badlands carrying no water or food.
One of the main reasons I went to see this was it is shot in the Drumheller badlands. And we see characters running up and down the clay hills and jumping on the hoodoos. Okay. The Alberta outdoor settings, prairies and badlands, I found disappointing - looks like it was shot in fall and filmed late afternoon each day casting long shadows and giving muted colours. Everything is brown, sepia coloured, drab. I've been there, in spring and summer it's quite colourful and beautiful. A chance lost by the film makers in my opinion, filmed the wrong time of year.
This movie appears to be a Mad Max ripoff, and unfortunately a poor one. The weaponry is likely purposefully goofy, you might get a kick out of some of the crazy spears and clubs carried by the warriors. Other than that, blech.
Talking about fake ratings
armsve28 May 2017
This POS movie isn't worth even the time spent downloading it, the rating at most should be 2 stars, don't waste your time watching or you bandwidth downloading it.
Bad acting, bad special effects, even worse fight scenes.
Avoid it completely.
Bad acting, bad special effects, even worse fight scenes.
Avoid it completely.
Fake, Duplicate Reviews for Inflated Rating of Indie Film
PowerSheetAI27 May 2017
Hyped with tons of **fake, duplicate reviews by the cast and producers.** Notice how the written reviews on IMDb are nearly all around 2/10 stars, while the IMDb score is 8.4 based on only 500 reviews. You can see how all the written reviews on letterboxd are duplicates with the same review text in French written under different names (http://letterboxd.com/film/the-northlander/). Seems like an interesting Mad Max-like premise but its obviously an **indie film**, so don't watch expecting it to be even a B-list movie.
I can't believe i watched this? Serious WTF
bretzy29 April 2017
Pretty much the worst thing I've ever seen. I feel like this movie was written by creatures that were not human, communicating to their occult group. I still don't understand what I just watched. Felt like there was a hidden message deep in the symbols that were displayed in the movie. If ever there was a movie for the Archons, this is it. Not sure how this got ranked an 8.6... IMDb first time you've let me down. I still have love IMDb, 100% forgiveness for this epic disaster. No hate here, just a horrible movie that needs to be ignored by humans.
I enjoyed the scenery and some of the costumes. I also like that the actors were all slightly over weight (or normal) looking. You don't see that often in film, everyone is usually super fit.
I enjoyed the scenery and some of the costumes. I also like that the actors were all slightly over weight (or normal) looking. You don't see that often in film, everyone is usually super fit.
Awful Tripe, How can this happen?
jwimdb-032751 June 2017
I usually do not bother watching a movie with less than 60% on IMDb, in fact nearer to 70%, but I am a sucker for anything set in the future. I guess I am going to have to be stricter about this.
I find myself asking "how can this happen"? Quite how 900 people got this movie to 59% (at the time of writing) is beyond me. Is there some new way for studios to leave fake reviews on IMDb? This movie is SO SLOW it might as well be in slow motion.
It is actually painful to sit through, practically plot less, the acting is dire and there nothing here for anyone. Even the fight scenes look like badly rehearsed wrestling from the 1970's.
Some movies leave you wanting those 2 hours of your life back, but others make you determined to just forget it. This one only lasts 83 minutes but it feels like 5 hours! I gave it a couple of days and tried again, sadly it was just as bad.
The reason I felt compelled to come and leave you this review is so that you might at least be saved from watching this terrible movie. It is too late for me, but not for you, choose something else!! I love movies and will give almost any a go but this is complete tripe.
I guess that from now on I will have to wait until tens of thousands have voted if I am to trust IMDb scores.
I find myself asking "how can this happen"? Quite how 900 people got this movie to 59% (at the time of writing) is beyond me. Is there some new way for studios to leave fake reviews on IMDb? This movie is SO SLOW it might as well be in slow motion.
It is actually painful to sit through, practically plot less, the acting is dire and there nothing here for anyone. Even the fight scenes look like badly rehearsed wrestling from the 1970's.
Some movies leave you wanting those 2 hours of your life back, but others make you determined to just forget it. This one only lasts 83 minutes but it feels like 5 hours! I gave it a couple of days and tried again, sadly it was just as bad.
The reason I felt compelled to come and leave you this review is so that you might at least be saved from watching this terrible movie. It is too late for me, but not for you, choose something else!! I love movies and will give almost any a go but this is complete tripe.
I guess that from now on I will have to wait until tens of thousands have voted if I am to trust IMDb scores.
pretty but meaningless
judiejodia27 October 2016
Warning: Spoilers
While this movie was filmed at incredible looking locations (go Alberta!) and the costume department deserves a big A+, giving the movie an aesthetic that is unique and very pleasing to look at, the narrative and worldbuilding were utterly neglected. The cast is promising and their characters have potential as well, but the plot is a myriad of plot lines that end up a giant mess with a lot of loose ends that never get tied up. This story just doesn't seem to know what it's supposed to be, there is no proper explanation for conflict and no true resolution, leaving a viewer quite dissatisfied. Had the characters, and especially their pasts and goals, been more fleshed out, this movie might have worked out, but a lack of details (which is not inherently bad) in the right places just makes this story confusing instead of deep. On top of that, a lot of bad clichés are used that could have been avoided easily. The female lead can literally be replaced with a sexy lamp, and the plot would not suffer for it at all, not to mention romance without proper emotional setup, familial revelations á la George Lucas and kids losing parents which added nothing to the story. The lead character is nothing but more than a broody generic white guy, while the ethnic mix in the supporting cast is lovely, but the contrast between those two gives it a mighty-whitey vs exotic beauties feeling. I was fortunate enough to witness an interview with the creator afterwards, who described himself as an 'old soul' and mentioned wanting to emphatize with 'real people' (with a futuristic primitive story with a chosen one and fight scenes every other minute?), so suddenly it all became clear. I do have to say that I loved the idea of stories being etched or formed in people's skin, with even a sort of soul mate system behind it, but this was never explained or worked out, so that was sad. According to the professional reviews the message of the film was the difference between feeling and instinct, because 'to feel is to live', and while I can see it now that it has been brought to my attention, they abandoned this for tropes that were useless. Had this been more fleshed out or even more explicit it might have worked, but the story got tangled up. I'd say, drop the cliché action movie tropes, make it a peaceful but enduring quest for lost civilization/feeling and a goal to work towards a better future for real, (hire a screenwriter), and it might've been something. My advice is watch it for the visuals, but make sure it's muted.
Spoilers. Its so...
Jigsjigz31 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Bloody awful 1/10. How on earth did anyone make this! I feel sorry for anyone that invested money into this. The plot is terrible, the story is worse, the acting is poor, the direction is rubbish and the characters make no sense. Over all a waste of time... you would be better off watching paint dry.
Loved it
ninjaboytw28 August 2016
I watched this movie with my girlfriend and we both liked it very much. It is a dystopian adventure, put in the year 2961, where people are living a nomadic life and all the resources are scarce. The story is very well put together, without any major plot holes, and it kept me at the edge of my seat until the end. The actors were relatively unknown to me, but they did a decent job, and their performance was believable. CGI was not used too much, but I must mention costume and make up artist, who did an incredible job in creating a very unique atmosphere that I didn't see anywhere else in the movies. If you like adventures, with good action scenes and a good story, I highly recommend you this one.
Worth watching, missed an incredible opportunity
humbletruthseeker6 January 2019
This film had many beautiful elements to it I enjoyed and appreciated. The landscape shots were beautiful, majority of the cast I found to be good actors and well suited to their roles. The camera work was talented, and the costumes were stunning. There is one aspec to this film that weighs heavily on me, it was a lost opportunity to give rise and honour a heavily oppressed population. The film is set in the future, with an indigenous storyline, and a significant number of indigenous cast members. It was an incredible opportunity to invision a future for those native to Canada, where their culture and people could be brought to justice in a positive framework through the story and characters. A white male as the hero of the film is a lost opportunity to make a statement of how the hopes of indigenous people could unfold in the future, when a world has been laid to waste, but they can rebuild their people. Rebuild with the true strength of the Indian spirit. A people healing from the wounds of the past leading the way to a strong future, would be an excellent message.
In my opinion it should have been an indigenous character who forages the path. It is time for Canada to recognize the strengths of the people who first had relationship with this land, who built strong cultures and resilient people, on challenging land for humans to survive on. I believe film should serve a philosophical purpose of planting seeds the writer hopes to achieve some form of fruition in the viewers. A lot needs to be said about our people, often lost under a pile of discrimination and exploitation, which many Canandians lack compassion to see the real story of the past and present. If we cannot re-write the past, let our indigenous brothers and sisters forge a strong future, of hope, healing, and pride in the strong spirit and wisdom of the first people, who possibly end up as the last people. Let the original keepers of this land be the hero of the film, it's been a long time coming for them to be respected and appreciated for their knowledge and understanding. Overall a beautiful film in many ways, with talented contributors.
In my opinion it should have been an indigenous character who forages the path. It is time for Canada to recognize the strengths of the people who first had relationship with this land, who built strong cultures and resilient people, on challenging land for humans to survive on. I believe film should serve a philosophical purpose of planting seeds the writer hopes to achieve some form of fruition in the viewers. A lot needs to be said about our people, often lost under a pile of discrimination and exploitation, which many Canandians lack compassion to see the real story of the past and present. If we cannot re-write the past, let our indigenous brothers and sisters forge a strong future, of hope, healing, and pride in the strong spirit and wisdom of the first people, who possibly end up as the last people. Let the original keepers of this land be the hero of the film, it's been a long time coming for them to be respected and appreciated for their knowledge and understanding. Overall a beautiful film in many ways, with talented contributors.
Such a waste of time and money, production wise
sabribaouab27 May 2017
I didn't know that you can hire a crew to give a fake rating on IMDb. Such a good marketing technique.
There is absolutely no story in this movie, the music is horrible, acting is horrible, it is a nice Project Graduation for cinema students nothing more.
There is absolutely no story in this movie, the music is horrible, acting is horrible, it is a nice Project Graduation for cinema students nothing more.
Ratings gone bad
Snootz27 May 2017
I was amused by the diversity in ratings: 7.5 average from supposedly 500+ people. But only eight reviews? Six of those (evidently the honest ones) are very negative and all state the same thing: no comprehensible plot line. The other two reviews, both praising the film, are in the same chopped-English. Bogus positive reviews? Bogus ratings? Obviously so. First, a good movie doesn't get 500 ratings and only 8 reviews. Second, the chopped-English positive reviews make it pretty evident they were bought (or from foreign members of the crew). Result: I have better things to do with my time than watch an obviously scammed film.
Do not watch this movie!!!!!!
rpgreaper8 June 2017
This movie is a complete waste of time. Horrible acting and even worse directed action choreography. I can not understand how they even consider to release this movie without changing their name and hide in a cave for the rest of their days. This movie make "Nazi zombies from outer space" or "Sharknado" look like a masterpiece.
Terrible
kubinecmichal2 July 2017
Most terrible dialogues. Movie has no action. I could't see the movie until the end. That's all I want to write, but review must have 5 lines... Most terrible dialogues. Movie has no action. I could't see the movie until the end. Most terrible dialogues. Movie has no action. I could't see the movie until the end. Most terrible dialogues. Movie has no action. I could't see the movie until the end.
No story, amateur script, slow
vojtacermak2 July 2017
This movie doesn't seem to have any story, character development - or anything in general that would make it enjoyable to watch, and additionally most things make no sense for either being futuristic or primitive, characters and script suck, the whole thing stands on over-dramatic soundtrack and camera movements.. Being a fantasy fan, I got excited there is a fantasy movie out there with at this time 6.6 rating. I was not expecting it would be anything like LOTR, and quite honestly, even if it was like War Craft I would have been happy. But this movie truly offers nothing, giving 2 for at least nice scenery. No clue if so many people like it simply for being weird, or there are some fake ratings, but 6.6 makes no sense.
This is called The Last Warriors on Prime
EverydayIDecay26 April 2021
AKA The Last Warriors
ikcaj5 May 2021
I watched the whole thing hoping it would eventually make sense - it never did. It was really a missed opportunity as there were several ideas that would have been interesting to explore: who are these people, do the scars work, what happened to the humans? Instead we get leather-clad dad-bods fighting with sticks and stones. The story made no sense. I didn't know who anyone was or what they wanted until after it was over and I read a summary here on IMDB. Disappointing.
OFFS
UltraMaximal3 May 2021
There are issues with this film within the first 3 minutes. First it supposedly takes place in post apocalyptic 2962. Unbelievably though some of the clothings and set pieces have lasted that long, as well as eye makeup, rubber soled shoes and ample hair gel for mister GQ Eyeliner guy. That's just the first 3 minutes. How do up and coming film makers expect people to support them when they are either being actively lazy, willfully ignorant, purposefully stupid, or all 3.
A movie that does not respect my intelligence will not get respect from me
martin-andersson2229 March 2019
Oook, so here is the deal, the year is 2961. They live in a non racist society. And still have casted Africans, Caucasians, Asians and various other clearly defined contemporary races. Which would have dissapeared long long ago in such a society and such a time span. Superficial, disrespectful and silly. Turned it off as soon as I realized the movie did not respect my intelligence.
Exciting little adventure
gejmpua25 October 2016
I watched this movie at a festival, in my city, and both me and the audience were pleased after the ending. I wish there is more movies like this one, its story is set in a very distant future, but in that future, nature took over and humans are practically living in a post apocalyptic world. Humans are divided into clans where food and water is scarce. A charismatic guy named Cygnus is trying to save his people and this movie is about his journey. The script is very well written, and I liked the ambiance, the scenery is perfect, and all the actors did a decent job in portraying their roles. I strongly recommend viewers to give this movie a chance, I give it a 9/10 star rating !!!
well, I'm Stuned
arshammotamed15 May 2018
Absolutely worst movie ever made by humans by far (by way too far) from the 2nd worst movie (which i don't know what it is).
absolutely disaster and terrible in every point of view. some of the reviews say that the custom was nice but that was 100% trash too , the boy in the movie wears a kinda fashion jeans that could only be made by ppl of 1970-later and no way by nomadic ppl which uses skeleton for knife and knows nothing about anything.
so don't waste even a second on this thing.
Enjoy reading the fake reviews! They're more entertaining than the movie...
davidjdoyle-140-8923355 May 2018
Bad acting, production, videography and sound... such a terrible waste of time.
There's absolutely no way this POS has such a high rating other than fake reviews. The entire production crew must have been employed to create accounts and give fake high star ratings.
Don't believe the fake reviews!
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