Mortal (2018)

Director: André Øvredal

Starring: Priyanka Bose, Nat Wolff, Iben Akerlie

Fantasy adventure origin story about a young man discovering he has god-like powers based on ancient Norse mythology.

When it comes to superhero movies, it seems the audience generally expects chaos, mayhem and total destruction in the vein of Hollywood blockbuster movies. But sometimes I prefer them toned down, focusing on characters instead. ‘Mortal’ does just that.

‘Mortal’ is a character-driven action fantasy. It is much slower paced than your usual superhero movies, but I nevertheless found it interesting from beginning to end, and I cared about the characters. Nat Wolff stars as Eric Bergland, who survived a fire five years ago in which most of his family members perished. After killing a young boy, Eric is taken into police custody. Psychologist Christine Aas (Iben Akerlie) is asked by the police to talk to him.

Unable to control his powers, Christine manages to calm him down, resulting in a strong bond between the two. I enjoyed the fact it never developed into a romance as is the case with most Hollywood movies. This felt more realistic. She cared about him, and he about her, and that was as far as the ‘romance interest’ went.

Eric’s character is mysterious throughout, and we follow him and Christine as they try to unravel his mystery; who he really is and how and why he suddenly got his powers. As I mentioned, the pacing is a bit slow, but it never becomes dull or boring.

Beautiful Norway allows for stunning cinematography with fantastic aerial shots. The visual effects were also really good, as were the make-up effects. With the mystery being solved during the final act, the film does loose some momentum, and the reference to a well-known Hollywood superhero character might disappoint some viewers. My biggest criticism is the film’s abrupt ending, and the way it ended. There was room for so much more, and I was still eagerly awaiting further developments when the credits suddenly rolled.

‘Mortal’ unfortunately did not earn back its budget at the box office, so if this was intended to be Part One, then sadly I doubt there will be a sequel. Pity. I really enjoyed this.

‘Mortal’ only managed to recuperate $126,000 of its $7 million budget. Ouch!

In Norwegian.

Would I watch it again? Yes.