Beowulf (Gerard Butler) leads his men across the sea to battle the murderous troll Grendel for King Hrothgar (Stellan Skarsgård). However, Grendel is a real person seeking revenge for past grievances. Beowulf is conflicted. He is also enchanted by Selma the witch (Sarah Polley).
This is a modern envisioning of a simple folktale of good versus evil. Its style is one of stark brutality and isolation. This is a good attempt but it falls short in some aspects.
It's mud and blood, but it needs more bloody action. It could use somebody more used to shooting blood splattering horror movies. The action is fair stage fighting with some decapitations. It should be much more brutal to match the movie's intentions.
The dialog is like bad Shakespeare. The actors try to match the dialog. It mostly feels like a stage play. The director doesn't take full advantage of the cinematography of the vast landscape. The lack of CGI also held it back some. It looks like a movie with more ambition than budget.
The biggest aspect of this movie is the reworking of the epic poem. It's trying to inject human nature into a fantasy. It's a terrific idea to try. Not all of it is successful. And it really takes too long to get going. If the movie is about Beowulf & Grendel, they really need to get battling earlier. And they need to get Selma into the story sooner.
This is a modern envisioning of a simple folktale of good versus evil. Its style is one of stark brutality and isolation. This is a good attempt but it falls short in some aspects.
It's mud and blood, but it needs more bloody action. It could use somebody more used to shooting blood splattering horror movies. The action is fair stage fighting with some decapitations. It should be much more brutal to match the movie's intentions.
The dialog is like bad Shakespeare. The actors try to match the dialog. It mostly feels like a stage play. The director doesn't take full advantage of the cinematography of the vast landscape. The lack of CGI also held it back some. It looks like a movie with more ambition than budget.
The biggest aspect of this movie is the reworking of the epic poem. It's trying to inject human nature into a fantasy. It's a terrific idea to try. Not all of it is successful. And it really takes too long to get going. If the movie is about Beowulf & Grendel, they really need to get battling earlier. And they need to get Selma into the story sooner.