Entertainment

Valhalla Rising

Visually striking but por tentous and pretentious, Danish director’s Nicholas Winding Refn’s follow-up to “Bronson” (this one is also in English) is pretty much a love-it or hate-it proposition.

Refn’s countryman Mads Mikkelsen — best known in the US as Le Chiffre in the “Casino Royale” remake — is a hulking, mute killing machine who literally breaks out of his cage in the company of a youngster (Maarten Stevenson) who dubs him “One Eye” for obvious reasons.

“Valhalla Rising” is basically a series of battles, some involving Christian Vikings on a trip to Jerusalem, with chapter titles such as “Hell” substituting for an actual story. If you’ve ever wanted to see what a Terrence Malick remake of “Conan the Barbarian” might look like, this is the movie for you.