DVD review (region 2)
Directed by Sturla Gunnarsson
Starring Gerard Butler, Ingvar Eggert Sigurosson, Stellan Skarsgard, Sarah Polley
Release date Out now

The Norse warrior Beowulf (Butler) leads a troop of men to rid Daneland of the marauding monster, Grendel (Sigurosson)…

Given the close proximity in the release of this and Robert Zemeckis’s Beowulf (although Sturla Gunnarsson’s film was actually made in 2005), it’s fortunate that the two films couldn’t be more different. Zemeckis’s was an action-packed special effects extravaganza whereas Beowulf & Grendel is a slow paced, thoughtful rumination on the relative nature of evil with CGI firmly struck from the menu.

If that sounds slightly on the dull side, well, at times it is. Perhaps surprisingly for an action film, not a great deal happens for the majority of the movie. The scene of Grendel assaulting the mead hall, which provided such a visual spectacle in Zemeckis’s version, is absent; we witness only the aftermath. The bulk of the film consists of a lot of discussion about Grendel, and Beowulf and his men, largely fruitlessly, pursuing him (with Grendel, in turn, taunting them).

What saves the film from becoming overly ponderous is the moral complexity it brings to the text and the way it fleshes out the character of Grendel. He’s far more interesting and intriguing here than he was in Zemeckis’ film or the source material. At the start we learn that Grendel’s motivation for killing comes not from simple bloodlust but from a desire to avenge the murder of his father at the hands of the Danish King Hrothgar (Skarsgard). As a result he kills only Danish warriors and has no interest in harming anyone else. Indeed, as he taunts Beowulf and his men, at one point urinating on the door of hall in which they sleep, he becomes more of a mischievous, strangely likeable figure than a monster. As the inevitable confrontation draws close you find yourself half-hoping he’ll be spared.

The modern take on moral relativism is underscored during the film’s final half-hour and it’s here it really hits its stride. It’s just a shame that the somewhat longwinded preceding 70 minutes, which would have been alleviated by a little less talk and a little more action, prevent it from being as rewarding as it could have been.

DVD extras include a making of featurette, deleted scenes and interviews with the cast and crew. Joe Green

VERDICT: 6/10
An interesting and thought-provoking take on the ninth century Anglo-Saxon poem let down by a plodding pace that takes too long to get going.