The best Viking movies transport audiences to the world of the 9th to 11th centuries for bloodlustful battle-filled adventures with some of the most notorious warriors in history. These movies tell the story of Vikings, those polytheistic Norse warriors who sailed the seas, pillaging and conquering. In the world of streaming services, the tales of Viking warriors have become much more popular. With TV shows like Vikings and Last Kingdom, there is a clear lack of Viking movies compared to other subgenres of historical drama.

Viking stories go back thousands of years, with the brave and violent warriors blazing a trail through history, creating an exciting backdrop for any movie or TV show. Thanks possibly to the success of shows like Vikings and its spinoff, Vikings: Valhalla, this unique time and place in history became popular again — though the best Viking movies show that there's always been an interest in the longboat-sailing warriors.

25 Beowulf & Grendel (2005)

An Icelandic Viking Movie With Gerard Butler

Released in 2005, Beowulf & Grendel brings the classic epic poem to the big screen two years before the more well-known Rebert Zemeckis mo-cap version. Gerard Butler takes on the lead in this Viking movie as Beowulf, surrounded by a quality ing cast that includes names like Stellan Skarsgård, Sarah Polley, Eddie Marsan, and Tony Curran. It also features Icelandic star Ingvar E. Sigurðsson as Grendel. Filming the movie in Iceland helped with the authentic nature of Beowulf & Grendel.

The movie received mixed reviews, with a 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. When looking at what held the movie back from becoming a bigger Viking movie release, Variety critic Todd McCarthy wrote it, "lacks the savage bite that might have given the sixth century-set tale real impact." However, critics also praised its naturalistic approach and the film's direction, making it at least an authentic-looking Viking film release.

24 Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

The Best Thor Sequel In The MCU

The first Thor movie was the most loyal to the idea of Norse mythology thanks to its early focus on Asgard and the Shakespearian story. However, the second movie is often considered one of the worst MCU movies ever made and is easily the most forgettable. Then Taika Waititi ed the MCU and turned everything around with the third movie, Thor: Ragnarok. Not only was the movie a great Thor movie, but it was also one of the best MCU movies, although many fans bashed its reliance on humor.

The film also did a lot more when it comes to the Vikings' Norse mythology by introducing the idea of Ragnarok, which is the end of times story for the religion. Bringing in the Goddess of Death, Hela, and the ancient being fated to bring about Ragnarok, Surtur, allowed the movie to bring this classic Viking tale to the MCU in a very entertaining spectacle. Adding in Hulk and parts of his Planet Hulk storyline just made everything better for the third film in the Thor series.

23 The Last Duel (2021)

Ridley Scott's Medieval Historical Tale

Ridley Scott came into the realm of Viking movies and medieval dramas with the 2021 movie, The Last Duel. The movie is more than just a Viking movie, as it follows two men who set out for a judicial duel after a knight named Jean (Matt Damon) challenges his former friend, squire Jacques (Adam Driver), after Jean's wife Marguerite (Jodie Comer) says he raped her. The film is based on the 2004 book The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval by Eric Jager.

The movie was a box office failure, but it was released during the pandemic, which affected this hugely. On the other hand, critics praised the film, awarding it an 85% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Jodie Comer won the Critics' Choice Super Award for Best Actress in an Action Movie. Asher Luberto from The Wrap wrote, "Scott spins a medieval yarn that is by turns gruesome, grotesque, gorgeous and inconsistent."

22 How To Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

The Sequel To The DreamWorks Viking Hit

How to Train Your Dragon proved that DreamWorks could make an original animated movie without worrying about pop culture references and slapstick gags. While the first movie was mostly about Hiccup finding out who he was supposed to be and developing his relationship with his dragon, Toothless, the second movie focused a lot more on the life of these fictional "Vikings". The story picks up five years after the first film and has Hiccup helping to lead his village in training and living with the dragons.

Because How to Train Your Dragon 2 takes a much closer look at Viking culture, and the action includes invading Vikings coming to the island on ships, this sequel actually has a lot more to do with the Viking genre than even the first movie. It went on to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film and six Annie Awards. The film also proved that the story could be a successful franchise, resulting in another movie and some streaming shows that continued Hiccup's adventures.

21 Útlaginn (1981)

An Icelandic Viking Film Based On The Gisla Saga

Útlaginn (aka Outlaw: The Saga of Gisli) is a 1981 Icelandic film based on the Gisla Saga. The story involves a blood pact between Gísli, Thorgrim, Thorkel, and Vestein to protect one another. When one of them is killed, and Gísli finds the dead body, he has to seek revenge only to learn that the murderer might have been one of the other of the blood pact. When he avenges the murder, he then becomes a target of one of the others, and the pact leads to the entire family's demise.

The Gisla Saga is one of the Sagas of Icelanders, which is a list of writings based on historical events from the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries. This specific saga took place between 860 and 980. The main theme is the dividing of brothers and families in Iceland during that era and how loyalty to family eclipses even that of emotional bonds with family . This Viking movie was submitted for Oscar consideration but was not chosen as a nominee at the 54th Academy Awards.

20 The Viking (1928)

Silent Era Viking Movie

Tales of Viking warriors and their exploits go back centuries, so it is no surprise there is a very early Viking movie from the silent era of Hollywood. This is The Viking and is a fictional story surrounding the real-life character of Leif Erikson. The first European to come to North America, this movie details his journey to the country along with a love triangle between Leif, Alwin of Northumbria, and Leif's protégé Helga.

It is the first movie to contain a soundtrack with sound effects for the movie, although there is still no dialogue.

While the story and the action are not overly impressive, The Viking is a surprisingly ground-breaking movie in a number of ways. It is the first movie to contain a soundtrack with sound effects for the movie, although there is still no dialogue. It is also one of the earliest colored movies that makes it an important piece of cinema history on top of a great Viking movie.

19 The White Viking (1991)

The Finale Of Hrafn Gunnlaughsson's Epic Viking Trilogy

Over the course of nearly a decade, director Hrafn Gunnlaughsson made a series of Viking movies, and the final of his Viking Trilogy arrived in 1991 with The White Viking. This story is loosely based on real-life Viking history. The movie takes place during the reign of Olaf I of Norway. King Olaf defeats Earl Godbrandur and captures his daughter Embla, who he holds captive. The only way her husband, Askur, can save her is by traveling to his home and christening its people.

The movie has a complicated release history that can make it hard to decide which version of the movie to watch. The movie received a re-release in 2007 with a director's cut that focuses more on Embla. However, there was also a five-hour cut released as a miniseries. While it was not a well-known trilogy, Gunnlaughsso's Viking movies have a strong following with The White Viking seen as a worthy entry.

18 Valhalla (1986)

Dutch Animated Viking Movie

Released in 1986, Valhalla is an animated Dutch movie that is based on the Danish comic book series of the same name. The original comics were based on Norse mythology and this movie re-tells three of the volumes of the comic book series. The movie sees Thor and Loki constantly at odds, with Loki continuously using his trickster skills to get people (mostly kids but also a goblin) to disrupt Thor's life, all while claiming to not know why it is happening.

The main characters are two kids, Tjalvi and Röskva, who end up as Thor's servants and have adventures.

It is fun to see the Viking genre get an animated adventure and it shows that the medium actually suits these kinds of stories quite well. Valhalla received a live-action adaptation in 2019 that was more serious, also made in Denmark.

17 When The Raven Flies (1984)

The First Movie In The Classic Viking Trilogy

Released in 1984, When the Raven Flies is an Icelandic Viking movie that has often been compared to Akira Kurosawa movies like Yojimbo, as it features a man whose parents died in a Viking raid when he was a child and returns for revenge 20 years later. He then plays two rival Viking gangs against each other, in the same basic plot from the Kurosawa classic.

This was the first movie in Hrafn Gunnlaughsson's Viking Trilogy, and Iceland nominated it for the Oscars, although it wasn't chosen in the category. When the Raven Flies was nominated for the 1986 International Fantasy Film Award for Best Film. The Kurosawa story elements remain timeless while there is a thrill seeing them implanted into the Viking world. The movie is also cited as an inspiration for the graphic novel De Balling by Dutch comic book writer Erik Kriek.

16 Hagbard And Signe (1967)

A Viking Movie In The Style Of Yojimbo

Hagbard and Signe is also known as The Red Mantle and is a romantic Viking adventure movie. The movie's plot centers on a bond between two previously warring clans that is ruined thanks to jealousy. Oleg Vidov and Gitte Hænning portray Hagbard and Signe in an almost Romeo & Juliet story about two lovers who attempt to further their relationship even as their clans' war tears them apart.

The movie is not as fast-paced, and it is more about a tragic romance, but it is still violent and the doom that rests within the story makes this a truly tragic Viking movie. Hagbard and Signe won the Technical Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It is a reminder that, while Viking movies may have a reputation for being brutal action movies about ruthless warriors, they can also be sweeping romances.