I recommend this movie for the scenery and atmosphere alone. The viking ships skirting ice floes, the horse rides on the spume flecked beaches and the lonely fog enshrouding the wooden hall is worth the price of admission. You won't have to be a fan of the story to admire the work that went into this film.
Unfortunately the acting and story do not share the same drive as the sets. Everybody here seems to fall flat, the only charismatic performance by Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson as Grendel. To his credit, he nails his part, revealing the rage, anguish and loneliness felt by the forlorn monster.
The rest of the cast, (even Stellan Skarsgård who flawlessly executed a similar role in King Arthur) seems to be going through the motions, so this film plays like an expensive made for TV Sci-fi channel movie rather than a film on screen. It's really too bad because the story is exciting and the potential was there but it simply didn't deliver.
Gerard Butler wasn't bad as Beowulf, but he never really shone either. Sarah Polley was terribly miscast as Selma, her flat and inexpressive tone seemingly inappropriate in a cast of rich accents.
I didn't really get caught up in this movie as I did with similar films such as the Thirteenth Warrior. So I can give this film a marginal recommendation for the sets and the performance of Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson as the torn troll.
Unfortunately the acting and story do not share the same drive as the sets. Everybody here seems to fall flat, the only charismatic performance by Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson as Grendel. To his credit, he nails his part, revealing the rage, anguish and loneliness felt by the forlorn monster.
The rest of the cast, (even Stellan Skarsgård who flawlessly executed a similar role in King Arthur) seems to be going through the motions, so this film plays like an expensive made for TV Sci-fi channel movie rather than a film on screen. It's really too bad because the story is exciting and the potential was there but it simply didn't deliver.
Gerard Butler wasn't bad as Beowulf, but he never really shone either. Sarah Polley was terribly miscast as Selma, her flat and inexpressive tone seemingly inappropriate in a cast of rich accents.
I didn't really get caught up in this movie as I did with similar films such as the Thirteenth Warrior. So I can give this film a marginal recommendation for the sets and the performance of Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson as the torn troll.