Hammer of the Gods – review

Farren Blackburn's likable debut transports us to Britain in 871, where the Viking Steinar (Charlie Bewley) must journey across hostile Saxon terrain to find his renegade brother, heir to the throne of the dying King Bacsecg (Game of Thrones's James Cosmo). His gang wanders into a few pyrotechnically gory skirmishes, but there's also a bizarre evening featuring some magic mushroom tea, where Steinar ends up armwrestling for his virtue with an Uncle Montyesque man of the hills. It's episodes such as this that show the film has a sense of humour, so when Steinar reaches his brother's encampment to find he's gone tribal-tattoo, Kurtz-style native – in medieval Britain – you just sort of go with it. Bewley is persuasive as the boy who would be king, while Michael Jibson stands out among the support as a foulmouthed berserker, along with Cosmo, who brings a touch of class without ever having to get up from his bed.