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Movies / On DVD / Beowulf & Grendel
Beowulf & Grendel

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Beowulf & Grendel (2005)

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Reviews Counted:33

Fresh:16

Rotten:17

Average Rating:5.4/10

Consensus: Despite the impressive Icelandic scenery, Beowulf And Grendel fails to find its footing in the transition from epic tale to the big screen.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theatrical Release:Jul 7, 2006 Limited

Synopsis: Out of allegiance to the King Hrothgar, the much respected Lord of the Danes, Beowulf leads a troop of warriors across the sea to rid a village of the marauding monster. The monster, Grendel, is... Out of allegiance to the King Hrothgar, the much respected Lord of the Danes, Beowulf leads a troop of warriors across the sea to rid a village of the marauding monster. The monster, Grendel, is not a creature of mythic powers, but one of flesh and blood - immense flesh and raging blood, driven by a vengeance from being wronged, while Beowulf, a victorious soldier in his own right, has become increasingly troubled by the hero-myth rising up around his exploits. [More]

Starring: Stellan Skarsgaard, Gerard Butler, Sarah Polley

Starring: Stellan Skarsgaard, Gerard Butler, Sarah Polley

Director: Sturla Gunnarsson

Director: Sturla Gunnarsson
Studio: Union Station Media

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Release:

Sep 26, 2006

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Reviews for Beowulf & Grendel

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Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Tom Meek
Tom Meek
Boston Phoenix

The thrilling beauty of this reading of Beowulf is that it makes [the characters] feel modern... These people live in the real world, not in a fable and not in a history book.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
10/14/06
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

ridiculous

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
10/07/06
Keith Breese
Keith Breese
Filmcritic.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
08/29/06
Film Threat

Gunnarsson has made a film that would make the real Beowulf and Grendel, if they ever really existed, quite proud.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
08/24/06
Kim Voynar
Kim Voynar
Cinematical

A fascinating trip to the dark ages and a good story well told

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
08/12/06
Marty Mapes
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

Trying to give us the true story behind the epic, the movie only reminds us of why humans write epics in the first place.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
08/12/06
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If you're game for a strange and beautiful-looking new version of the (very) old legend, you can safely give this one a rental.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
08/09/06
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
DVDTalk.com

Beowulf's reality-driven approach suffers for lack of scope and questionable poetic license.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
07/28/06
Annlee Ellingson
Annlee Ellingson
Boxoffice Magazine

[You can] feel the filmmakers yearning to have Beowulf and Grendel go all Rambo on each other. Instead, they keep pulling back for more Old English angst, as if they’re torn between commerce and winning the approval of their high school English teacher.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
07/27/06
Chuck Wilson
Chuck Wilson
L.A. Weekly

...realistic, [but] Polley...is woefully miscast.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
07/27/06
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Aside from some nice Icelandic scenery, Beowulf & Grendel is a ludicrous botch.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/22/06
Peter Sobczynski
Peter Sobczynski
eFilmCritic.com

A semi-mythic period piece, Beowulf & Grendel offers sublime scenery that's breathtaking and bone-chilling.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
07/14/06
Bill Stamets
Bill Stamets
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This gristle-intensive R-rated version of Beowulf travels a predictable revisionist route.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
07/13/06
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A muscular, ardently naturalistic retelling of the ninth-century Anglo-Saxon saga.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
07/12/06
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Andrew Rai Berzins' script spruces up long stretches of Old English with unexpected bursts of cussing and gleeful vulgarity that feel as misguided as everything else in the film.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
07/12/06
Nathan Rabin
Nathan Rabin
AV Club

Sturla Gunnarsson's film ultimately lacks the grandeur and wit necessary to make the legend fully come alive.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
07/11/06
Frank Scheck
Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

We've got a surprisingly multilayered drama

Full Review Source: Greenwich Village Gazette | comment Comment
07/08/06
Eric Lurio
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette

Sturla Gunnarsson's adaptation... despite some pretty awful special-effects makeup [is] a pretty good -- and good-looking -- version of the tale.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/07/06
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Unfortunately, there is... jarringly contemporary English dialogue... laced with F-bombs and humor straight out of a Monty Python movie.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
07/07/06
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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