Review of Pathfinder (2007) by Caspar R — 13 Dec 2009

Pathfinder is a rare breed of movie where for the entire length, I kept asking myself why I'm watching this.

Perhaps its greatest weakness is its cinematography, which is dark and pale and hence, incredibly uncomfortable to immerse yourself in. Action movies don't tend to thrill me either, if I cannot see a purpose. So although this hour and a half is full of slicing and gutting, none of it is ever quite imaginative or original enough to feel rewarding. The situations are a lot of the same we've seen in other movies and even just moments before in this movie. Viewers will know everything that's coming.

So why am I watching this?

Pathfinder is an historical, sword and armour action flick. I think the premise is astonishingly good, as it talks of Vikings coming to the New World long before Columbus, and how those marauders savaged the natives. Granted, the movie never really goes into any sort of detail about that basic foundation, but watching with foreknowledge will certainly improve the experience. Meanwhile, the presence of native American actors and their culture in this film is extremely interesting and always worthwhile to support. Those like Russell Means and Moon Bloodgood are not masters of the acting craft by any means, but they really do their best here and they suit the story perfectly. On top of that, the costume design for both the natives and the vikings is a stroke of genius.

So although Pathfinder has its positives and can be enjoyed in spurts, the spurts often end with an itch to find out what MORE is going to happen, and whether this movie is ever going to do anything ELSE. Pathfinder is watchable if you enjoy it's kind, but sadly, there isn't any mighty light at the end of the tunnel.