The 13th Warrior

From the Department of Token Praise: give director John McTiernan and writer Michael Crichton credit for making a film in which the protagonist is an Arab, even if the Arab is played by a Spaniard. Antonio Banderas stars as Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan, a 10th century poet and diplomat in Baghdad who, banished to an unpleasant nomadic embassador-ship, encounters--ahem--a tribe of flesh-eating warriors. It's a swords and shields romp with dimly lit battles, inhuman foes and much bonding between brothers in arms. That the bonding occurs between polytheistic Norsemen and a devout Muslim gives the film a funky anachronistic flavor--Dungeons and Dragons for the "why can't we all just get along" '90s. Unfortunately, too much attendance to subplots and subtext, without providing the framework for a decent adventure, hurts the film in a narrative sense, while the adventurers themselves are so lacking in personality they need to be described in the credits with an adjective ("Helfdane (Fat)," "Ragnar (Dour)"). Thank heaven for the occasional battle scenes, which serve their visceral purpose enough to please the blood 'n' guts crowd, but not enough to recommend this generally. (S. Renshaw)