Follow us on Google News
Get the latest updates directly in your Google News feed
“More effort than it’s worth”possibly represents the harshest 5 words that can be strung together in the English language. For a film, that statement guarantees an immediate death sentence. In the case of Antonio Banderas’The 13th Warrior, it spelled the extinction of an entire genre: the Muslim hero archetype.
In the film’s critical and commercial failure, Antonia Banderas finds a sense of comfort and familiarity with his daughter Dakota Johnson whose 2024 film,Madame Webwent through somewhat of a similar treatment. Both films represent a central character destined for a greater purpose who is uprooted from their established life and thrown into a mission against a foreign enemy.
The similarity between the two films is more than skin-deep. Both films also burned millions of dollars on reshoots and conducted repeated test screenings while the final theatrical cut only managed to disappoint the audience and their preconceived expectations about the movies.
However, beyond the reshoots and the box office failure,The 13th Warriorrepresents much more than a generic warrior movie. The plot itself was one of a kind, featuring Antonio Banderas in a role that was bold, to say the least. But when considering the stakes attached to the success ofThe 13th Warrior, perhaps the film was not too well handled for its time.
Antonio Banderas andThe 13th Warrior
The 13th Warriorwas preordained to be a Hollywood blockbuster. Featuring A-list actorAntonio Banderasin the lead, helmed byDie Harddirector John McTiernan, and based on an exceptional story penned by the acclaimed writer Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park) – the possibility ofThe 13th Warriorfailing to make its mark at the box office was practically null.
The film, based on a book that was in turn loosely based onBeowulf, told the story of a real-life 10th-century Arab diplomat, Ahmad ibn Fadlan, exiled from Baghdad who joins a band of Vikings on a quest to defeat a mysterious enemy.
Upon release, however, the film failed to impress the audience, especially considering how McTiernan had spent over $100 million on it, a number well beyond the initially sanctioned budget. Venerated film criticRoger Ebertwhose words could make or break careers claimed thatThe 13th Warrior “displays a lot of cash on the screen, but little thought. To extract the story from the endless scenes of action and carnage is more effort than it’s worth.”
“You should be proud of this movie”: Steven Spielberg Had a Good Reason to Remind Antonio Banderas ‘The Mask of Zorro’ Was the Last of its Kind That Came True
But time transformed films likeThe Big LebowskiandFight Clubinto ultimate cult classics of Hollywood. It was not too surprising when Banderas’ film began to pique some interest down the line, mostly among the Muslim demography searching for representation on screen. Although lost to the recesses of time,The 13th Warriorbecame a cult classic to a section of the audience, helping it be reborn into the realm of cinema anew.
The 13th WarriorPuts Down an Entire Genre
Period films dealing with foreign culture have usually only focused on the bare essentials or a textbook event around which a character earned his fame.Troystarring Brad Pitt played it safe by not falling into the trappings of cultural appropriation. But films likeCleopatrastarring Elizabeth Taylor andPrince of Persia: The Sands of Timestarring Jake Gyllenhaal are inherently problematic.
However,The 13th Warriorcommits a radically unique act by featuring a Muslim protagonist at the front and center of the film and its plot. Despite its critical and box office failure, the film continues to be influential and greatly regarded among the Muslim population as arallying inspiration. The recent Hollywood trend that naturally villainizes a Muslim character or nation may have been born out of the political unrest we see in the world today. ButThe 13th Warriorrefused to follow a stereotype and established a movie that is now regarded as a milestone by a lot of fans.
“Man, you are doing this in the wrong moment”: Antonio Banderas, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger Gave Glen Powell the Same Advice in Expendables 3
Unfortunately, when faced with reality, the Hollywood studio system operates like any other business. A failed experiment that threatens the profit margins is immediately thrown out the window. Creativity and cultural influence become inconsequential when considering a studio’s annual return. Since the end of the New Hollywood movement, experimental projects have been on extended probation. As such, whenThe 13th Warriorfailed to impress the fans and critics, let alone break even at the box office, there was no other way but down for Antonio Banderas’ daring attempt to bring Ahmad ibn Fadlan to the screen.
In the end, just as Kevin Costner’sWyatt Earpessentially drowned all hopes for the revival of Westerns in Hollywood, Antonio Banderas’The 13th Warrior‘s failure scared away any future prospects of Hollywood sanctioning a project featuring a Muslim protagonist in the lead role.
The 13th Warrioris available to buy/rent on Prime Video or Apple TV.
Diya Majumdar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2407
Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.
