Beowulf & Grendel
Truly Indie | Release Date: July 7, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
8
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
The film's near-fatal flaw is its dialogue, which had to be invented wholesale from the Old English text. It alternates between sounding stagy and anachronistically hip -- with more overuse of the F-word than any two Samuel L. Jackson movies. It's a big mistake. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Credit Icelandic director Sturla Gunnarsson for having an ambitious vision: He took a look at the eighth-century epic poem "Beowulf" and decided he could cut it down to size. And he has, for better and worse. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
A muscular, ardently naturalistic retelling of the ninth-century Anglo-Saxon saga. Read full review
70
Village VoiceBill Gallo
It's good, bloody fun that stirs the intellect whenever it feels like it, and as a swashbuckler, the dead-game Butler outswings just about anyone in Troy or Kingdom of Heaven or Tristan & Isolde. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
Gunnarsson's film ultimately lacks the grandeur and wit necessary to make the legend fully come alive. Still, the film does offer certain kicks to those who like their action films infused with fantastical elements and benefits greatly from its highly effective lead performances. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
The epic poem Beowulf gets an imaginative, low-budget workout in this 2005 Icelandic feature by Sturla Gunnarsson. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
We're more likely to snicker at this marauding monster than scream. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Removing many of the mythical elements of the tale is an intriguing idea that would undoubtedly have paid richer dividends if it didn't mean relying on a heavy who looks like a cross between a Neanderthal on steroids and stilts, and an unusually hirsute wrestler. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
To be very generous toward the filmmakers' intentions, Beowulf & Grendel might be seen as a misguided attempt to lend some modern nuance to a traditional tale of good and emphatic evil. But why pussyfoot? The movie is a lumbering and ludicrous mess. Read full review
50
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Director Sturla Gunnarsson seems aware of the savagery intrinsic to the story, but is unable to mine it deeply, proving too genteel in the end to make a genuinely creepy or disturbing film. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
With all the mystery and meaning sucked from the story, the filmmakers do what filmmakers often do when faced with their own lack of imagination: they toss a little sex in with the violence. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
Beowulf & Grendel has its moments, as well as its debits. Among the later is the grating Canadian accent of Sarah Polley, who plays a witch named Selma. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
While cinema may be a visual medium foremost it's also an aural one, and the cacaphony of dialects sounds not so much "universal" or interestingly multicultural as simply all over the map. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
Filmed in Iceland, Beowulf & Grendel is beautiful, grungy and a little too tasteful for its own good. You can practically feel the filmmakers yearning to have Beowulf and Grendel go all Rambo on each other. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The film is very near a comedy, and I'm not sure that's on purpose. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Imagine the worst "Deadwood" episode ever, and you'll get an idea of the general tone of Beowulf & Grendel, which is full of anachronistic cursing, tortured syntax, dark humor and lots of hairy, homely, filthy-looking people. Read full review
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