The Top 10 Best Viking Movies

5. Beowulf

So, usually, I don’t include animated movies on my top 10 lists (unless it’s a specific collection of animated films or characters) and Beowulf is arguably an animated film given how it was produced. However, since motion capture was used, I say that Beowulf qualifies for a spot among these Viking movies. The film tells the story of the Scandinavian hero who is regarded as one of the greatest legendary warriors of all time as he does battle with the monster Grendel and the creature’s sorceress mother. While the battle with Grendel was far from Beowulf’s greatest, it had far-reaching implications for the hero. Beowulf features an all-star cast including Ray Winston as the hero, Crispen Glover as the monster Grendel, and Angelina Jolie as Grendel’s mother. Like Sigfried, Beowulf is a legendary hero whose reputation has faded in the modern world but managed a pretty solid film adaptation.

4. The 13th Warrior 

Despite earning a spot on this list of Viking movies, The 13th Warrior doesn’t feature a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, Scandanavian as the hero. Instead, it offers an outsider’s perspective when a poet from Baghdad is abducted by a group of Vikings and ends up joining them in a fight against a supernatural presence that is tormenting their village. Despite the fact that Antonio Banderas is most certainly not Middle Eastern, he does make for a refreshing change from all the white guys who have been at the center of the Viking movies that have appeared so far on this list. Despite being miserable and relatively pissed off at his abduction, his character eventually learns to work side-by-side with the Vikings and once they see that he’s a noble warrior as well, they’re all too happy to accept him as one of their own. The 13th Warrior is dirty, gritty, and blood-soaked, making it one of my favorite Viking movies of all time.  

3. Valhalla Rising

Ever notice that Vikings are never depicted as the type to “use their words” in order to solve differences? Well, the next “hero” (Mads Mikkelsen) on this list of Viking movies is going to feel right at home among his fellow Norsemen thanks to the fact that he’s mute. Director Nicolas Winding Refn has never been one to burden his films with “dialogue,” but Valhalla Rising takes that to an extreme as it follows the mute, one-eyed hero (a metaphor for Odin) who escapes captivity along with a young boy. Following his “visions,” One-Eye sets off with his ward in search of safety from the harsh world they find themselves in. As they progress on their journey, One-Eye proves to be a brutally effective warrior leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. Valhalla Rising is hard to watch at times but reveals just how brutal and bloody life at the time was, making it a film I had to include.    

2. The Vikings

Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis offered a swashbuckling take on Vikings in this 1958 film. Despite that, The Vikings still manages to capture some brutal truths about these sailing conquerors. At the beginning of the film, a woman sends her son, Eric (the by-product of a Viking attack), away in order to protect him from her royal family and their ambitions. Before he can reach safety, Eric is abducted and enslaved by Vikings who are unaware of his parentage. This sets him on a path to do battle with his villainous father and half-brother in the future as Eric comes into his own as a man. The film features an epic story as the Vikings set out to conquer England while Eric deals with a lot of family drama and finds a bit of romance along the way. Anyone who knows anything about history knows that the Vikings never conquered England, but they sure did lay a few beat downs on the country back in the day.  

1. Thor: Ragnarok

Like it or not, one of the MCU’s greatest heroes is inspired heavily by Norse mythology. Because of that, Thor definitely deserves a spot among these other Viking movies. That being said, I’m giving the number one spot to the best Thor movie of them all (at least so far), Ragnarok. The film features a number of appearances from comic characters inspired by mythology, including the warrior Valkyrie, the fire-lord Surter, and the goddess Hela. At the center of it all is Thor, who has had quite a few adventures over the years, but none that hurl him halfway across the universe in the process. Luckily, Thor lives up to the Viking spirit that encouraged his character and refuses to give up the fight. Despite having the odds stacked against him, Thor doesn’t let anything stand in the way of protecting his people and sets out for a violent family reunion with his evil sister. Ragnarok is an absolute blast and definitely the best of the Viking movies on this list!

Honorable Mention: The How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy

Despite the fact that I usually try to stick to live-action films on this list (as I mentioned before), I had to include the Dreamworks series of films, How to Train Your Dragon. It’s a great series that teams Vikings up with dragons as they find a way to live in harmony. Not everyone agrees with the idea of man and beast living in harmony, and over the course of three movies, village of dragon riders have to defend their way of life. It’s such a great series that parents and kids will both enjoy. If you haven’t seen the epic adventures of Hiccup and Toothless, you definitely need to check them out since they offer a kinder and gentler side of the Viking lifestyle.  

Those are my picks for the best Viking movies of all time. If there are some great ones that I missed, be sure to let me know in the comments below. As always, I’ll be updating this list as new Viking movies make their way onto the big screen. So, be sure to check back in the future to see how the rankings might change!