Review #3 Vikings (2013-2020)

Time for the first TV show review... 

Vikings has to be one of my all time favourite series, a bold claim I know and probably a giveaway on what’s to come in this review! There are officially 6 seasons but really there are 9 because the last 3 seasons have a part 1 and a part 2. So it is a large commitment but I have watched it all twice now and it’s more than worth it. The series is based on the true events of the famous Ragnar Lothbrok, one of the most famous vikings in history, as he leads the first Viking invasions of England! We also see the story of the Sons of Ragnar as they try to live up to their fathers legacy.

CAST & THE ACTING 

I have given a very strong score here because I honestly couldn’t think of anyone else playing these characters. There are plenty of familiar faces who show up throughout the series but the lead roles are played by actors such as Alexander Ludwig, Kathryn Winnick, Travis Fimmel, Clive Standen and Gustaf Skarsgård. The performances are excellent throughout the series and what I particularly like is how they play each character over the course of decades so we really see them develop and change as a result of the events we see on screen. I have to give appreciation to the accents used as well, we do have some actors from the core countries such as Sweden, Denmark etc but even some of them are putting on accents that are very convincing. What I also think is important for these type of shows and films is the fight scenes and how they are acted out, which is another aspect that is extremely well done in every season.

STORYTELLING & THE PLOT 

Another strong score here, this show is based on true events and although some artistic license is used to connect some of these historic figures you will find that most of the key characters in this series are actually based on real people, from Rolo to Floki. I am a person who really likes to research the things I am watching so this really was perfect for me because every season I had something new to read up on, comparing the plot to real, documented events. The directors and producers tell the story of these characters so well and although the series needed a few episodes to get into its stride the storytelling really is captivating from season 1 all the way through to the final season. You could really tell that this was initially made for the History channel because it provides a great insight to the beliefs of Vikings and their way of life, which feeds into this storyline so well.

CINEMATOGRAPHY & SPECIAL EFFECTS 

As I mentioned earlier the fight sequences are done so well and that’s not just down to the acting. The way these scenes are filmed really keeps the show exciting and believable. The special effects are top tier and in my opinion nothing looks fake like some gruesome scenes can be in other films/series. Other than the fight sequences there wasn’t to many special effects in this series which is good because you didn’t want anything that would juxtapose the time Vikings is set in (around the 9th century).

OVERALL (9/10)

This score really does reflect how I feel about this TV show... I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes action and history based shows. What I will say is please don’t give up after the first episode or two because like I said it does take a few episodes to warm up but that’s like most TV shows. 

I hope you like the first TV show review, get in the comments and suggest what I should be watching next!

Callan