The Ash Lad: In the Hall of the Mountain King

So, Norwegian critics have been pretty much butchering this movie. Which is a little strange. On the other hand, Norwegian movie critics don't typically like this kind of movie. No. Boring, dark, dramatic movies that no one (other than the critics) really wants to see, that's what they like! So when someone tries to make an entertaining movie, a movie that sort of breaks the mold, oh yeah, let's reign fire down upon it!

Anyway!

Askeladden (or Ash Lad as it is internationally) starts off really good. It looks great. I like the visual style. Very strong colors, (something critics have been complaining about), nice nature shots, some cool set pieces. I thought it suited the story very well.

It's very well paced, never boring. Has some actually pretty awesome scenes. There is especially one scene, or sequence that I just loved. It's really cool, and the rest of the movie can't quite keep up, because it's that cool. But that's my personal opinion of course.

The acting is decent for the most part. Some of the actors speak in a different dialect than they actually have, so for a language person like me, some lines are a little stiff. The script is not the best, but I don't think it's that important. This is a family movie, more for kids than adults, and I don't think the dialogue is that extremely important. (unlike other critics)

There are lots of references to different fairy tales, exactly what I wanted. There are also several effect shots, which I thought was pretty damn good. Maybe once or twice, it's not quite as good as it could have been, but that's a very minor issue.

I liked the first half or so the best, but all in all I was entertained. I hope this one does well in the theaters, because I want more!