Two out of Five stars
Running time: 100 mins

Gory but disappointing, Pathfinder squanders its terrific premise in favour of confusingly directed action sequences and poor characterisation.

What's it all about?
Set some time in the late 900s, the plot concerns a 10-year-old boy who is left behind by his marauding Viking tribe when they pillage a North American settlement. Raised by Wampanoag Indians, the boy grows into a skilled warrior (Karl Urban), named Ghost for his blonde hair, pale skin and haunted demeanour.

Fifteen years later, the brutal Vikings return to conquer America and Ghost embarks on a one-man war against the Norsemen to ensure the survival of his adopted people. His only allies are the woman he loves (Moon Bloodgood as Starfire) and a mysterious Shaman called the Pathfinder (Russell Means).

The Good
As you might expect from the man who directed the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Marcus Nispel doesn't skimp on the blood-soaked and gory death scenes. There's also a scene where the main character is attacked by a bear which is always good for a few laughs.

The Bad
Nispel spends too much time on getting the gory effects right and not enough time on the action scenes themselves as a result, they're poorly directed, to the point where you can't tell who's attacking who. That said, the scenes where Starfire kicks some ass are the best ones, but only because she's actually distinguishable from everyone else.

Whilst the camerawork is stylish it's far too dark, with the black-soaked palette only serving to obscure the action even further. However In addition, Urban is miscast (he's no-one's idea of a superwarrior even if he has appeared in two of the Lord of the Rings films) and there's even less in the way of characterisation than there is in the way of dialogue.

Worth seeing?
With a decent script, Pathfinder could have given 300 a run for its money in the impossible odds action flick stakes, but it's let down by poorly directed action sequences and non-existent characterisation.