Karl Urban's Ambitious Viking Movie Flop Was A Remake Of An Oscar-Nominated Gem
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Remakes of movies are not inherently good or bad. It's all about the approach. Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot "Psycho" remake was a bold experiment, but largely viewed as pointless. John Carpenter's "The Thing" is one of the most beloved horror and sci-fi movies of all time, but it's a remake. In the case of 2007's "Pathfinder," which stars Karl Urban ("The Lord of the Rings") in the lead role, there was a lot of ambition in the undertaking, it just didn't pan out.
Directed by Marcus Nispel, who previously helmed 2003's hit "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" that ushered in the slasher remake craze, the '07 epic was based on a 1987 movie of the same name that was actually nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Directed by Nils Gaup, it's rather well regarded. Nispel's remake? Not so much.
The original "Pathfinder" takes place around the year 1000 AD and picks up as a barbaric group known as the "tsjuder" terrorizes parts of Scandinavia. They massacre a family in a small settlement and only the teenage son, Aigin (Mikkel Gaup), survives, though he was forced to watch the murder of his family. He escapes and finds refuge with another group, but they fear the raiders will track him back to them. They flee but Aigin refuses and instead sets out alone to avenge his family.
"The great thing with the remakes is that it goes through the system much quicker. 'Pathfinder' was my concept all the way through, but it's a tough market to compete," Nispel said in a 2009 interview with Student Filmmakers Magazine. "You've got to come flying out of the gate."
Unfortunately, Nispel's vision didn't pan out critically or commercially.
2007's Pathfinder remake lost its way
The "Pathfinder" remake is very loosely based on the '87 Oscar-nominated action/adventure picture. It centers on a Viking boy, nicknamed Ghost (Karl Urban), who is adopted by a new tribe after surviving a shipwreck. This, despite the fact that there exists a legend that death and destruction will follow the boy. Ghost grows into a fierce warrior and battles against rampaging Vikings who slaughter tribes as well as defending the woman he loves, Starfire (Moon Bloodgood). He wages a one-man war against his enemies.
Karl Urban has said shooting "Pathfinder" was more challenging than "The Lord of the Rings." That's no small thing. Nispel was also coming off a big commercial success, so there was reason to think this could work. Nispel's version, which was scripted by Laeta Kalogridis, was more "inspired by" the original. In a better world, that could have helped to set it apart. That's not how things played out.
Released by 20th Century Fox, "Pathfinder" made just $31 million at the box office against a $45 million budget. Worse still, it was savaged by critics. It holds a dreadful 8% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
This isn't quite like Urban's "Dredd," which was a box office financial failure that was a total tragedy, in light of how much people love that movie. Rather, this was an ambitious undertaking that went off course along the way, with the wreckage ending up scattered on the rocks. Fox was left to try and pick up the pieces.