1.   An extended flashback and dangling plot strands add to the muddle, and the bulk of the drama is discussed, not enacted.

2.   Before long, however, this story thread becomes twisted with other plot strands.

3.   Finding out who Rita really is is one plot strand.

4.   Not for those who like all their plot strands tied up neatly.

5.   The few plot strands wither meekly away as the film devotes itself mainly to having the Norsemen and the local savages hack away at one another.

6.   The plot strand that will sell the most tickets is the one involving rigged boxing matches.

7.   The third major plot strand deals with the explosive topic of race.

8.   This is a film that places no premium on veiling from us exactly how every last plot strand is going to play out.

9.   Too many wispy plot strands, in short, and too little everything else is the story here.