Beowulf & Grendel (2005)
Average Rating: 5.4/10
Reviews Counted: 33
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 17
Despite the impressive Icelandic scenery, Beowulf And Grendel fails to find its footing in the transition from epic tale to the big screen.
Average Rating: 5.3/10
Critic Reviews: 14
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 8
Despite the impressive Icelandic scenery, Beowulf And Grendel fails to find its footing in the transition from epic tale to the big screen.
liked it
Average Rating: 2.9/5
User Ratings: 26,380
My Rating
Movie Info
One of the oldest epic poems in the English language gets a robust visual interpretation in this historical epic shot on location in Iceland. Hrothgar (Stellan Skarsgård) is a Danish king who murders a troll that has been terrorizing his countryside. But Hrothgar spares the life of the troll's strange young son, who with the passage of years grows to become Grendel (Ingvar Sigurdsson), a fearsome warrior intent upon avenging his father's death. As Grendel begins his slaughter of the king's
Cast
-
Gerard Butler
Beowulf -
Stellan Skarsgård
Hrothgar -
Sarah Polley
Selma -
Ingvar E. Sigurðsson
Grendel -
Eddie Marsan
Brendan -
Tony Curran
Hondscioh -
Rory McCann
Breca -
Ronan Vibert
Thorkel -
Martin Delaney
Thorfinn -
-
-
-
-
-
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (34) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (19) | DVD (13)
Trying to give us the true story behind the epic, the movie only reminds us of why humans write epics in the first place.
Top CriticA semi-mythic period piece, Beowulf & Grendel offers sublime scenery that's breathtaking and bone-chilling.
This gristle-intensive R-rated version of Beowulf travels a predictable revisionist route.
A muscular, ardently naturalistic retelling of the ninth-century Anglo-Saxon saga.
Sturla Gunnarsson's film ultimately lacks the grandeur and wit necessary to make the legend fully come alive.
Unfortunately, there is... jarringly contemporary English dialogue... laced with F-bombs and humor straight out of a Monty Python movie.
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.
ridiculous
Will most likely appeal the most to Medieval history students and die-hard Sword & Sorcery fetishists who get off on all that chain-mail armour and profuse facial hair . . .
Gunnarsson has made a film that would make the real Beowulf and Grendel, if they ever really existed, quite proud.
A fascinating trip to the dark ages and a good story well told
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.
Beowulf's reality-driven approach suffers for lack of scope and questionable poetic license.
[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.
...realistic, [but] Polley...is woefully miscast.
Aside from some nice Icelandic scenery, Beowulf & Grendel is a ludicrous botch.
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.
Audience Reviews for Beowulf & Grendel
Super Reviewer
-
- Selma: You are a herd dog?
- Beowulf: I've been called worse...
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for Beowulf & Grendel yet.
What's Hot On RT
Bradley Cooper's Best Movies
Trailer for new Coen Bros movie
Fast & Furious cars gallery
Blockbusters ranked!
Featured on RT
- Total Recall: Bradley Cooper's Best Movies 25
- Parental Guidance: Epic and Beautiful Creatures 2
- Comic Book Movies You Can Watch Online 6
- In Pictures: The Cars of Fast & Furious 0
- Digital Multiplex: Warm Bodies and Aftershock 8
- Discover the Best-Reviewed Films in Summer Movie Scorecard 2013 0
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: The Last Stand and Side Effects 17
Top Headlines
-
Vin Diesel Says Fast & Furious 7 Will Take Place in L.A.
0
-
10 Things You (Probably) Don't Know About the Hangover Movies
1
-
Zack Snyder, Christopher Nolan, and David S. Goyer Talk Man of Steel
0
-
New Transporter Trilogy in the Works
0
-
Richard Linklater Plans "Spiritual Sequel" to Dazed and Confused
0
-
King of Kong Filmmaker Seeks Funding for Lost Limb Documentary
0
-
Which Film Franchise Has Been the Best for Female Characters?
6
Fresh Links
Featured
Star Trek Movies Ranked
HitFix offers their own take on the worst-to-best of the Enterprise crew's cinematic adventures.
Top 10 Star Trek Villains
Rolling Stone unveils the Enterprise's most irksome adversaries.
Celebrity Yearkbook Flashback
We'll bet you never realized how many stars were cheerleaders and high school athletes!
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Weirdest Movie Siblings
From Twins to The Royal Tenenbaums, Moviefone explores cinema's oddest siblings.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
