I know an upcoming movie with that theme!
Not Thor 2
Although it may be tempting to Ricochet the trailer for Thor 2: The Dark World (2013) with references to Thor (2011) and the changes to story or crew that may make the sequel better or worse, but I just don't care.
Instead I'm aiming for a film with that exact title:
Hammer of the Gods (2013)
Viewer advisory: Violence
The synopsis goes like this (IMDb): Action epic sees a passionate young man transform into a brutal warrior as he travels the unforgiving landscape in search of his long lost brother Hakan The Ferrocious, whose people are relying on him to restore order to their kingdom.
Action Score
There won't be extended battlefield scenes, since a trailer of this kind would definitely show them or at least hint at them. Instead, there will be many small but brutal skirmishes, personal combat and physical stunts. Sounds like a good time for stage combat.
Early Reviews
With no real ricochet to follow regarding the director, writer or actors to allow us to evaluate it's potential, I went looking for early reviews. And they're not good.
Essentially, the overall view is that the acting is weak, the story is weak, and the score is often inappropriate. Outdoor shots feature too many similar-looking bleak mountain vistas, and all indoor scenes are in dim torchlight to avoid showing too much detail of their low-budget sets and costumes.
Heart of Darkness
One thing the reviews mentioned is that it followed very closely the plot of the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, except transposed to a wilderness of mountains and forests instead of the jungle.
Another excellent alternative movie if Hammer is too terrible to watch: Apocalypse Now (1979). It too is a film adaptation of Heart of Darkness, but is widely considered excellent filmmaking in every respect.
But no Vikings. What's an excellent Viking movie as an alternative?
Valhalla Rising (2009)
This one draws different reactions, but it is clearly meant to be allegorical, since the main character is "One-Eye", even more Odin than the character in Thor.
So some people don't appreciate myth movies. Even so, the lead is Mads Mikkelsen, who is currently playing the title character in Hannibal. He first came to prominence as the villain in Casino Royale, and was a highlight of that film (second to the parkour sequence at the start).
Or perhaps we should go legendary, and take a look at The 13th Warrior (1999) which is a retelling of Beowulf... or jump straight into the CG embarrassment of Beowulf (2007).
What's the Lesson?
Sometimes the bloody violent trailers are for poor quality movies. Funny that.
And we still need an awesome Viking movie.
Head of Stage Combat at Academie Duello and certified Instructor with Fight Directors Canada. Head of Bartitsu at Academie Duello, the longest continuously running Bartitsu program in the world. Read more from David McCormick.