Semigallia is a historical region in the area of modern Latvia and Lithuania. The so-called Ring of Namejs is a symbol of Latvian independence, friendship, honesty, bravery, and personal freedom. "The Pagan King" (Nameja gredzens) draws upon the legend of the ring for a violent action film, yet fails to closely place the story in its historical context.

The era depicted is linked to the high point of the order of the Teutonic Knights, a group of warrior-monks that began in the Crusades in the Middle East and eventually settled in northern Europe in the Baltic region in which the film is set in the thirteenth century. But no attempt is made to depict how the Catholic knights were fighting for Latin Christendom at a time when Eastern Orthodoxy was infusing Eastern Europe. Rather, the focus is on Max, the illegitimate son of a pope, who wishes to conquer a pagan culture in Semigallia for reasons of personal greed and power.

Standing in the way of Max is the hero Namejs and his beloved queen Lauga. Along with a brave band of Semigallian warriors, they stand up to Max in the name of freedom and for the preservation of their homeland.

Early in the film, Namejs recognizes the strange conduct of the papal ambassador Max, who is making illogical alliances with the local pagans and does not seem interested in missionary work of spreading Christianity. The story turns into a melodramatic action film of good (the Semigallians) versus evil (the nefarious Max).

The film was handsomely photographed with great scenery of the forests, lakes, and swamps of Northern Europe. But this was primarily an action picture with a series of violent battle sequences. There was an effort to develop the mythical significance of the ring which invests not only power, but freedom and the responsibility of the individual, for discovering one's own path in life. While energetically and enthusiastically performed by a competent acting company, the film never rose above the level of a gritty, medieval action flic.

To be fair to this film, it does feature some truly stunning Latvian scenery - mountains, lakes, and the production designer has worked hard to ensure that this tale of 13th Century derring-do looks and feels authentic. It is essentially a story of the illegitimate son of the Pope "Max" (a really underwhelming James Bloor) who has determined to turn the region of Semigallia into his personal fiefdom. Opposing him is "Namejs" (Edvin Endre) alongside his fiesty queen "Lauga" (Aiste Dirziute) and, as you will expect, battle duly commences. The story is quite well told, there are plenty of grittily fought battle scenes with folks impaled, burned and generally dispatched, but the dialogue is very poor - and that somehow robs the film of context. The characters, and indeed the region, are reported in history - this isn't just a mindless piece of fiction. Yet, sadly, little effort is make to develop the characters - despite almost two hours of screen time. The actors are pretty much unknown from an international perspective, but actually, for the most part, turn in OK performances here. It's quite a watchable adventure film that I quite enjoyed...

While not a great movie, it was entertaining and fun to watch. At times, it reminded me of vikings, at other times, it was The Princess Bride.

In many scenes, the acting was over the top.