Director: Peter Flinth
Starring: Joakim Natterqvist, Sofia Helin, Stellan Skarsgard, Michael Nyqvist, Mirja Turestedt
More info: IMDb
Tagline: In a Time of War and Betrayal, a Hero Will Rise
Plot: Based on Jan Guillou's Crusades trilogy about Swedish Knight Templar Arn Magnusson (Joakim Nätterqvist), this adventure saga follows the son of nobility from his monastic education to his return to the family to help fight for the crown of Sweden. That mission is interrupted, however, when Arn impregnates his lover and is sent to the Holy Land, where as penance he must become a warrior for Christ in the battles of the Crusades.
My rating: 6.5/10
Will I watch it again? Nah.
ARN has all the right ingredients for a good adventure story. It's got action, adventure, good performances, knights and swordplay, a big score, gorgeous location shooting over different parts of the world. It's got all of these things but one - I didn't find it compelling and I can't put my finger on why not. Natterqvist did just fine in the lead. He was a damn sight better than Orlando Bloom in KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (2005). I wasn't drawn into the story like I should have been. Maybe it needed more tension or danger. Or maybe Arn needed to be more dynamic. I'm at a loss. I'm stymied. ARN is a beautiful and well-crafted film. It's just missing that something that keeps it from being a great film - or at least a very good one.
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