A Random Choice Results in a Pleasant Surprise!
Ragnarok (2013)(Original title: Gåten Ragnarok) – A Norwegian team sets out to find the meaning of ancient runes and discover an ancient threat.
Directed by Mikkel Brænne Sandemose
Starring – Pål Sverre Hagen Nicolai Cleve Broch Sofia Helin
Why I Liked It – A solid suspense story with just enough of everything.
When I’m watching movies with this blog in mind, I often have a plan. I try to mix up when the movies are produced to give as wide a range as I can. So there’s a master list of decades that I use to fill in titles. But sometimes I just flip on one of the many streaming services that offer movies (is this a great time to be a movie fan or what?) and look for something interesting. It doesn’t always work, but sometimes I get lucky.
This low budget Norwegian film is not part of the Marvel MCU. Ragnarok (literally “The twilight of the gods”) comes to us from actual Norse mythology. It’s a series of events that lead to a great battle where the Norse pantheon of gods doesn’t do well. Here, a single father and archeologist takes his two children and a couple of other experts on a search for the meanings of some ancient runes. They travel into the “no man’s land” between Norway and Russia, known as Finnmark. There, they will confront ancient realities that have been buried for centuries.
The movie isn’t perfect. There are some illogical parts. Like Dad taking his two kids (one looks to be 11, the other 8) into the Finnmark, a place no one has gone in years. You can see the budget limitations in the less than industry standard CGI. There’s not a lot of groundbreaking stuff here in the plot either. People do dumb things, some of them die. Character development is a little thin, as well.
With all that to one side, the rest of the movie is quite good. The script and director do a nice job of maintaining the suspense as the characters stumble from one challenge to the next. Even if the monster is a little cheesy, I wouldn’t want it to catch up with me. The chase scenes play very well. Also, credit to the creators on making the resourceful “I got this” character a woman. The men stare blankly at the problems in the wilds of Finnmark, while Elisabeth (Helin) keeps pulling their butts out of the fire. Overall, it drew me into the story, and I enjoyed the ride.
Yes, this movie has subtitles.
After the string of big budget turkeys I’ve watched this year, this was a very pleasant surprise. Focused more on story and character, “Ragnarok” is a pleasant surprise and a fun little movie.
Rating – *** Worth A Look
Stories Are My Life 
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