Despite some breathtaking scenery - there's little entertainment to be had here. The filmmakers seem intent on humanizing the story - which I applaud them for - but that doesn't mean they couldn't have a little fun now and then. Even the fights - which are few and far between - don't do much to quicken the pulse. Even the bizarrely odd Christopher Lambert Beowulf had some excitement for Pete's sake.
Gerard Butler does little to help matters, delivering a fairly charisma free performance as Beowulf. And I guess he felt his Scottish accent was close enough to the Scandinavian brogue used by most of the cast. Sara Polley is absolutely grating as Selma - and makes no attempt at an accent whatsoever. At least Stellan Skarsgard lets loose from time to time as Hrothgar.
The directing is downright odd. Gunnarsson doesn't seem to know quite where to put the camera. Capturing action is not the same thing as directing action.
I know it may seem harsh - but I'm going to have to give this a 3.
Gerard Butler does little to help matters, delivering a fairly charisma free performance as Beowulf. And I guess he felt his Scottish accent was close enough to the Scandinavian brogue used by most of the cast. Sara Polley is absolutely grating as Selma - and makes no attempt at an accent whatsoever. At least Stellan Skarsgard lets loose from time to time as Hrothgar.
The directing is downright odd. Gunnarsson doesn't seem to know quite where to put the camera. Capturing action is not the same thing as directing action.
I know it may seem harsh - but I'm going to have to give this a 3.