Three years after it flopped at the box office despite being a critical darling with a 90% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, Alexander Skarsgård’s overlooked action epic now has a new streaming home. The actor has charted an impressive career with his award-winning part in Big Little Lies and his iconic portrayal of Eric Northman in True Blood, but one of his best roles yet was in a 2022 period masterpiece from Robert Eggers. That movie just joined Netflix as part of the streamer’s December arrivals.
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The bloody Viking movie The Northman started streaming on Netflix on December 3rd. The movie marked Eggers’ third film after The Witch and The Lighthouse and starred Skarsgård as Prince Amleth, a figure from Old Norse legend who notoriously inspired Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The film follows an exiled Amleth as he embarks on a bloody quest to avenge his father’s murder by his uncle. The star-studded ensemble cast also featured Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Gustav Lindh, Ethan Hawke, Björk, and Willem Dafoe.
The action-filled epic massively underperformed at the box office, grossing just $69 million against a $70 million budget, but was well-received by critics and even earned a “Certified Fresh” distinction on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Northman Is the Underappreciated Epic Revenge Story You Need to See
Despite its 90% critic score and a critic consensus that describes it as “a bloody revenge epic and breathtaking visual marvel,” The Northman remains a criminally underappreciated film. The movie posted an underwhelming box office performance of just $70 million against a reported budget equal to that, and audiences only gave the film a 64% score. But The Northman is truly a masterpiece and a cinematic achievement.
The movie reads as a brutal Viking revenge epic that is Eggers at his best. Through long takes, detailed production design, and a meticulous commitment to historical authenticity, the director crafts a visually breathtaking and immersive world, which is further brought to life through a pulse-pounding score. The movie doesn’t lack in action, delivering brutal but well-choreographed fight sequences with unrelenting intensity, but also proves to be an incredibly thought-provoking character study that explores themes of fate, destiny, and the brutal cycle of violence. The action-filled epic also features standout performances, particularly from Skarsgård, who delivers an emotionally raw lead performance as the driven Amleth.
What’s New on Netflix?
The mythological epic The Northman is one of several new titles now streaming on Netflix following a rush of new arrivals to kickstart December. On December 1st, Netflix added titles like James Gunn’s anti-Superman movie Brightburn, the monster film Godzilla, the first three Kung Fu Panda movies, and Quentin Tarantino’s iconic Pulp Fiction to the streaming library. Netflix also debuted Troll 2, the anticipated sequel to its hit monster movie.
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