Hammer of the Gods (2013 film)
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Theatrical poster
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| Directed by | Farren Blackburn |
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| Written by | Matthw Read |
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| Music by | Benjamin Wallfisch |
| Cinematography | Stephan Pehrsson |
| Edited by | Sam Williams |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Magnet Releasing |
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Release date
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Running time
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103 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $641 (US) |
Hammer of the Gods is a 2013 British action film directed by Farren Blackburn and released on 5 July 2013. In it, a dying Viking king sends his son on a quest to seek out his older brother, the clan's only hope for defeating an approaching enemy horde.
Britain 871 AD. Young Norse prince Steinar arrives in England with a complement of 500 reserve warriors to combat a Saxon uprising that is crushing the occupying forces led by his father, King Bagsecg. Arriving at his father's camp, Steiner attends a family meeting with his father, his older brother Harold, and their younger half brother Vali, who is disliked by everyone but Steinar for being half Saxon. Absent is Steinar and Harold's older brother Hakan, who has not been seen for over a decade due to a bitter animosity between him and their father, the cause unknown to Steinar.
Bagsecg, who is bed ridden and dying, dreads of leaving the throne to Harold (now next in line due to Hakan's absence) whose insistence that diplomacy being their best option would instead put their clan under English tyranny. He orders Steinar to kill Vali for cowardliness, to test his strength as a leader.
He refuses and warns Harold off who attempts it himself to gain favour with their father. Furious, Bagsecg dismisses Harold and Vali and charges Steinar with a near impossible task. Despite still harbouring contempt for his eldest son, Bagsecg orders Steinar to venture deep in to the hostile English lands to find Hakan and bring him back so he may assume the throne.
Steinar departs with his closest comrades: his close friend Hagen, a Berserker named Grim, and Jokul; a superstitious believer in omens. Later they are joined by Vali who warns he has witnessed Harold secretly meeting with the Saxon King. Despite the urgency to return, Steinar pushes forward.
They approach Ivar the Boneless, a Viking recluse and paedophile who lives with a slave girl named Agnes and a mute catamite. He agrees to lead them to where he believes Hakan to be and departs with Agnes while abandoning his latter.
The group however are pursued by hooded men who slay Grim and later capture them all. Revealed to be soldiers of the Christian faith, their captain confirms that Harold has been secretly negotiating a surrender, on condition he remains in power over his people. But the captain proposes to Steinar that he would be best suited to rule his clan, if he agrees to submit to Christianity. Steinar refuses; knowing the stranglehold it would have on his people. Vali however switches sides to save his own neck and is taken to a nearby church, while Ivar is castrated for biting off the ear of a soldier.
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Wikipedia