On the weekend of August 31, 1999, a little movie that took the world by surprise kept its place atop the box office. The film, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense, premiered at the beginning of the month and would eventually gross over $600 million worldwide, rendering most of its competition moot. It was in this unexpectedly competitive climate that John McTiernan’s historical epic The 13th Warrior came out, and the results couldn’t have been more different than Shyamalan’s little movie that could.
By now, The 13th Warrior‘s story is well-known. A trainwreck in pretty much every conceivable metric, the film was widely panned by contemporary critics and grossed only $61 million worldwide against a production budget of $160 million. The 13th Warrior was one of the year’s most notorious flops, but how does it hold up in 2024? It might not be fair to call The 13th Warrior a masterpiece, but it’s equally unjust to deem it one of the decade’s worst. The truth is somewhere in the middle because, for all its flaws, there’s genuine value in The 13th Warrior, making it a surprisingly underrated gem from the ’90s.
Between ‘historical’ and ‘fiction’
Based on Michael Crichton’s novel Eaters of the Dead, The 13th Warrior follows Ahmad ibn Fadlan (Banderas), a court poet who is exiled from Baghdad after having an affair with the wife of a wealthy noble. Appointed an “ambassador” to the Volga Bulgars, he soon finds himself with Norsemen from the Volga River after his caravan is attacked by raiders. There, Ahmad is reluctantly included on a quest to protect a northern kingdom from attackers described as “an ancient evil.” Joining 12 other warriors, Ahmad ventures into the wild, experiencing a life-changing adventure that tests his wit and courage.
Describing The 13th Warrior is a fool’s errand. Presented ostensibly as a historical action epic, the film often believes itself to be something entirely different. It’s best described as a piece of historical fiction, although it flirts with the fantasy genre at points — indeed, the film’s most notorious flaw at first glance is its inability to indulge its clear desires to explore the vague supernatural elements of its story. Indeed, Crichton based the second half of the novel on Beowulf, the Old English epic poem about the titular hero who slays monsters and dragons during his quests.
Like the novel, The 13th Warrior attempts to maintain some sense of historical authenticity; it doesn’t present its story as outright truthful, but it doesn’t say it’s fiction, either. In doing so, the film tries to have its cake and eat it, too. It hints at the presence of older, supernatural energies that guide seers and empower the primary antagonists, the “Wendol,” bear-skin-wearing savages who collect their victims’ heads and are obviously based on Beowulf‘s primary antagonist, Grendel. Thus, The 13th Warrior can’t help but feel like a half-baked pie. You can taste the flavor, but something is missing: the very necessary dash of spice that enhances the sweetness.
Crichton’s intentions were noble and admirable. Updating one of the oldest poems in English history and attempting to ground it in reality is no easy feat, and his approach is actually quite clever. Ahmad ibn Fadlan was a real historical figure who indeed traveled with Vikings and wrote about them extensively. However, the allure of Beowulf relies on its mystical, supernatural, and borderline terrifying elements: the monstrous Grendel, his tantalizing mother, the mighty dragon, and Beowulf’s inexhaustible strength of will. In short, not a single person in the world was clamoring for a realistic version of Beowulf. It’ll be like seeing Zeus without his lightning or Odin without his spear — what’s the point?
Who needs perfect when you have… well, this
If The 13th Warrior messed up its narrative approach, it at least made up for it in sheer, quaint, and clumsy spectacle. I’ll be honest here: The 13th Warrior is not a great movie: It’s uneven, oddly-paced, amateurishly written, and often ineptly staged. Yet, this inexperienced approach gives the film an appreciated and often delightful tone that makes the story more believable. After all, these 13 warriors are supposed to be close to a ragtag crew doing their best to defend a small kingdom from a horde of savages, and the film really sells that; so what if half the warriors can’t be told apart from each other? The five that get defined personalities are the ones who make it until the end, anyway.
The 13th Warrior also doesn’t get enough credit for its influence on Hollywood’s depictions of Viking culture. Although never as popular as, say, the Greeks and Romans, the Vikings had their fair share of movies during the peak of the sword-and-sandal genre of the 1950s. Yet, they remained largely away from the mainstream, with Hrafn Gunnlaugsson’s Viking Trilogy as the only noteworthy pictures before The 13th Warrior. Because they draw from Ahmad’s real writings, The 13th Warrior is also quite good at depicting Viking culture, from their costumes to their overall behavior. Its popular Viking prayer has also been recited elsewhere, too, including Thor: Ragnarok, with movies and shows often treating it as gospel.
Lastly, the film’s now-infamous production gave un an all-time Hollywood scandal. Director John McTiernan was replaced with Crichton himself after test audiences reacted poorly to the film during early screenings. Crichton changed the ending and the score, causing the film to be delayed over a year and inflating the budget to stratospheric heights. The tale is still fascinating to many, especially since it keeps being brought up. A year ago, McTiernan sat for an interview with Home Cinéma and disregarded Crichton’s contributions as “minimal,” proudly standing by his film and claiming it is, indeed, his film.
An underrated gem
The 13th Warrior is a classic case of a movie trying to be something it’s not. It’s clearly ’90s pulp with above-average production values and a big name as the star. Yet, it very obviously aims to be one of the best epic movies of all time, Lawrence of Arabia from the perspective of the foreigners rather than the Europeans — it even goes so far as to cast Oscar nominee Omar Sharif in a minuscule role. To its credit, this bizarre pride doesn’t really hinder it; if anything, it makes it weirdly charming, like when you see a child wearing their parents’ clothes.
There’s no shame in owning up to one’s nature, or at least there shouldn’t be. There’s nothing better than a B movie that knows what it is and wears that label proudly. Some self-awareness is missing from The 13th Warrior, but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining. If one goes into it expecting a riveting, larger-than-life, and rewarding historical epic, I’m afraid they will leave rather disappointed. However, if one comes looking for an unserious, often unintentionally funny yet undeniably entertaining action adventure with unexpected heart, then The 13th Warrior is a good choice.
The 13th Warrior is not a perfect movie, despite its best efforts. However, it is a worthwhile movie; whether you like it will probably come down to their willingness to overlook certain flaws and stick with a deceitfully slow plot, but there are just as many bright spots here, including seeing Antonio Banderas away from his Latin-lover roles for a change. We live in the age of nostalgia, and it’s about damn time that we rediscover The 13th Warrior; it couldn’t happen to a more deserving movie.
The 13th Warrior is available to rent or purchase on Amazon and other digital vendors.
