Director: Jim Weedon
Cast: Ed Skrein, Annabelle Wallis, Karel Roden
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 87 minutes
Synopsis: When a Norman prince returns to his homeland after years in slavery, his code of honour demands bloody retribution of his father.
Game of Thrones has a lot to answer for. Since George R R Martin’s series of doorstop-size novels were converted into a HBO show there have been a string of copycat films. The latest in the long line is Sword of Vengeance a story set in medieval times.
I use the word ‘story’ lightly as at the end of the almost ninety minute run time I’m still a little befuddled as to what actually happened. Each scene runs into one another, punctuated by a battle sequence of some kind. Dialogue is kept to below minimum meaning that it’s exceptionally hard to piece together what is unfolding, other than just the blood spurting across the screen.
It certainly is savage however, capturing the blood-thirsty nature of the era is one thing that Sword of Vengeance does well. Within the first minute we’ve seen a man separated from his hand with a healthy dose of gushing red liquid. Visually the film is very stylish, using sepia tones to mask the limited budget. This filtering decision was very clever of director Jim Weedon, as it elevates the look of the film way above its peers.
Were Weedon to have given the same amount of thought and attention to the script then Sword of Vengeance could have been so much better.
Fans of similar films like Vahalla Rising will adore Sword of Vengeance. Those looking to get into the sword-fighting/medieval genre will struggle to follow exactly what is happening.
Sword of Vengeance is released in limited cinemas on 29th May and will be available to own on 1st June.
