DVD Review - Beowulf & Grendel
Director Sturla Gunnarsson has created a modern take on the eighth century poem Beowulf. It took me a little time to get into this film. But once I got into it I was hooked.
Grendel's father is killed because he trespassed on King Hrothgar's (Stellan Skarsgard) land and steals a fish. Hrothgar kills his father but discovers that Grendel was with him at the time. None of Hrothgar's men sees the boy so Hrothgar lets him live. Grendel (Ingvar Eggert Sigurosson) grows up alone to become a murderous troll and kills many of Hrothgar's men. Hrothgar enlists Beowulf (Gerard Butler) and his Vikings to help capture Grendel. But Hrothgar does not tell Beowulf that he killed Grendel's father.
Along the way Beowulf meets Selma (Sarah Polley) who is a witch and can see the future. She has a secret that we don't find out until much later in the film. After many scenes of violence and bloodshed Grendel is killed. But after the deed is done we find Beowulf wondering if this was the right thing to do.
Skarsgard is wonderful as the drunken, broken king. Butler is also great as the tortured Beowulf. I also liked Sigurosson's Grendel, Polley's Selma and Eddie Marson's Brendan the Celt.
The screenplay is well written by Andrew Rai Berzins (considering the complicated source material he had to work with) and beautifully shot by Jan Kiesser. They made the film in Iceland and you can see what a wonderland that place is.
The critics were a bit harsh and the film which is too bad. Although the story was written a very long time ago its meaning rings true today. Must we always seek vengeance and settle our conflicts with violence? That seemed to be the way back then and it still seems to be the way today. But this film shows us that violence and revenge are not the way to go because they will just bring us more of the same and the cycle will never end.
Grendel's father is killed because he trespassed on King Hrothgar's (Stellan Skarsgard) land and steals a fish. Hrothgar kills his father but discovers that Grendel was with him at the time. None of Hrothgar's men sees the boy so Hrothgar lets him live. Grendel (Ingvar Eggert Sigurosson) grows up alone to become a murderous troll and kills many of Hrothgar's men. Hrothgar enlists Beowulf (Gerard Butler) and his Vikings to help capture Grendel. But Hrothgar does not tell Beowulf that he killed Grendel's father.
Along the way Beowulf meets Selma (Sarah Polley) who is a witch and can see the future. She has a secret that we don't find out until much later in the film. After many scenes of violence and bloodshed Grendel is killed. But after the deed is done we find Beowulf wondering if this was the right thing to do.
Skarsgard is wonderful as the drunken, broken king. Butler is also great as the tortured Beowulf. I also liked Sigurosson's Grendel, Polley's Selma and Eddie Marson's Brendan the Celt.
The screenplay is well written by Andrew Rai Berzins (considering the complicated source material he had to work with) and beautifully shot by Jan Kiesser. They made the film in Iceland and you can see what a wonderland that place is.
The critics were a bit harsh and the film which is too bad. Although the story was written a very long time ago its meaning rings true today. Must we always seek vengeance and settle our conflicts with violence? That seemed to be the way back then and it still seems to be the way today. But this film shows us that violence and revenge are not the way to go because they will just bring us more of the same and the cycle will never end.
posted by Film Fanatic | 7:28 PM
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