Highly Overrated But Still Good

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Boring costumer about the love affair of a Celtic queen and a Roman general while the Celts and Romans battle it out in ancient Britain. Despite the title, it doesn't have a damn thing to do with Vikings. The misleading title is the sort of thing I'd expect from Roger Corman, not Hammer. It's all very dull. Even the action is unexciting. The only times it got a reaction out of me were the times I laughed at the silly dialogue, particularly from Donald Houston's eccentric Druid priest. A fine cast of mostly British actors playing dress up. Finnish actress Carita plays the lead in her only starring role. She does a decent job. Of note, perhaps, to Doctor Who fans because this was the movie Patrick Troughton was filming when he got the offer to be the Doctor.

(17%) Although not as awful as many have claimed, this is still really quite poor. The direction is very average to say the least, and is not up to Hammer's usual high standard from around this period, also the editing is really awful at times, and the script is pretty dire. On a plus note the costumes, particularly the Roman ones, are really well done, so at least someone was on the ball, and for a PG there is a surprising amount of bare naked (well almost) ladies on screen, but it is not enough to save the movie from its very poor action sequences, dull pacing and lack of decent performances. One for Hammer die-hards only, everyone else should stay well away.

This is the one and only appearance by the Finnish actress called 'Carita' (Carita Järvinen) and the American, Don Murray. Considering this is about the Druids/Celts in Britain and the Romans, the casting does seem a bit odd. I guess I can understand casting Carita, as she was gorgeous here. Her command of English was quite good though the accent a bit thick and unlike anyone else in the film. And, I must say that when she was being tough and warlike as she swung her sword, I thought it was adorable...though hardly scary or inspiring.The film is set around the year 100 (give or take a week). The Romans are occupying part of Britain and the locals, not surprisingly, are not at all pleased. For a while, the Queen (Carita) and Roman Governor (Murray) get along great and it seems they like each other and co-rule well. Eventually, however, their queen (a local--not some Viking despite the title) leads a revolt because of mistreatment of her people by some evil Romans--much like the real life one Queen Boadicea and her people (the Iceni) waged against the occupiers. Why, then, they keep calling her a Viking is beyond me, as the Vikings didn't arrive until about the year 800. Perhaps it made the film more marketable or the folks making it just knew nothing about history. Or, perhaps "The Viking Queen" simply sounded better than "The Iceni Queen"! And, why do the Iceni keep referring to Zeus--the Greek god?! The film comes off as not only historically inaccurate, but also suffers from two other serious problems. First, it's incredibly talky and often the dialog is horribly bad. Second, although the battles with Rome were epics (with tens of thousands killed), the film seems to show that both armies numbered in the dozens! And, mostly, the soldiers just stand there--doing very little. As for the Queen--she seemed about as scary and powerful as a Teletubby. The overall effect is cheap and a bit silly...and quite titillating at times (which only increases the cheese factor). And, it may well make you laugh--it sure did with me.By the way, some of you might recognize Patrick Troughton in the film. He later played one of the Doctors from "Dr. Who"--one of the more obscure ones. Seeing him here in Celtic garb was interesting to say the least.

Sometimes, some movies are so bad that they becomes good.Everbody knows what I mean. This is one of that kind. It's also a true Hammer film : very cheap but with sex in it. See the viking queen goes to war against the Romans in mini-skirt! See the slaves! Add a little bit of Ben Hur in it, just for the laugh (chariot race). That girl, Salina, is very awful. That was her only film. Don Murray looks like a used car saleseman dress in Roman. Ah! Those great trash Z-Movies of the 1950's and 1960's! There's a lot of those today in the USA, but they have million dollars for the shooting and the publicity. You know Armageddon, Independance day and all those things. I prefer the cheap for the past. They were bad, but they have a kind of sincerity.