Pathfinder

I was a bit bored this evening so I checked out the On Demand movies on HBO. I saw an interesting sounding movie called Pathfinder that sounded like it had potential. I hit play and settled in to be entertained. The movie really wasn't bad. I didn't pay anything extra for it and still watched it from beginning to end. The good outweighed the bad in this movie so I would recommend it, but not highly. NOTE: This review will reveal minor details about the plot.

The writing left a little bit to be desired. When you have a Native American film, there is a tendency to add a little bit of Indian Wisdom, which can be a bit cliche. The screenplay was written by Laeta Kalogridis who writes for The Bionic Women. The writing was always smooth, and was predictable. The tidbits of wisdom were sometimes campy. Take for instance this exchange (which I will paraphrase since I don't remember the exact words): "There are two wolves fighting in your heart, one is hate and the other is love"..."Which one wins?"..."The one that you feed the most." Not bad writing, just cliche.

I drew the comparison of A Man Called Horse and Conan the Barbarian because I had to. This story is based on a Barbarian Viking child being left behind in the New World after a vicious attack on the native people. The child is taken in as one of the tribe (A Man Called Horse) and raised as a Native American. The concept actually works, even if it is not totally believable. It's fantasy, so you are allowed to enjoy the entertainment without picking everything apart. There were some obvious errors in the movie, but overall the concept worked for me.

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