Beowulf - Review appreciating Gerry before he got really big, ie before 300

[terezoulini]

Very flattering comments about Gerry in this Beowulf review. It's interesting because it was written before 300 came out. Scroll down the page, it's the second review, from Mir.

http://www.amazon.com/Beowulf-Grendel-Hr....cr_dp_orig_subj

Movie, Just okay; Gerard Butler, Intensely Watchable; Iceland, bleakly beautiful, February 23, 2007

By Mir (North Miami Beach, FL USA)

This review is from: Beowulf & Grendel (DVD)

Unless you just get a kick out of--

1. sweeping, windy, frigid landscapes with a sort of terrifying beauty

2. modern revisionism that updates a classic adventure tale's meaning

3. extremely attractive Northern European he-males

--you may wanna skip Beowulf.

And yet...and yet, I suggest you try it, even though I was less than blown away.

Why?

Well, certainly number one above. Visually, this film takes you someplace stunningly cool (metaphorically, not just literally), an environment so bleak in spots and so callous in others and so apathetic to human suffering, that it's a fitting background for this stark tale of revenge and bloodshed and loss and heroics and loyalty. A cold wind surely does blow, outside and inside the soul.

Also, you may enjoy the revisionist take. Grendel is now the terribly injured party dealing with a sort of bigotry for his "monsterhood": He and his kind are hated for being different, ugly, smelly, not evil. (I believe, if memory serves from the long-ago high school reading, that Grendel did represent evil, and not merely a symbol of aggrieved minority.)

And almost certainly you will enjoy the charisma of actor Gerard Butler. That man is good. He can act--see THE JURY or PHANTOM OF THE OPERA or DEAR FRANKIE or even CRADLE OF LIFE to see how he can inhabit various types of roles and make them come to life with that combination of personal magnetism, vocal expression, facial expression, body language and just plain emotive power. I have no idea why this man is not a huge, huge star. He's got everything it takes, the complete package of ridiculous good looks and acting chops and versatility. He can be funny or menacing or romantic or so vulnerable you weep. Perhaps 300 will do it for him in 2007.

As to the others: Stellan Skarsgaard is dependably good as an actor, if not always top-notch. He's good here, definitely a man chased by a Gredelian fury for his bloody deed long ago. Sarah Polley is less effective as the witch, and yet not totally ineffective. She simply was miscast. (She was terrific in THE SWEET HEREAFTER and I liked her in GO! and know she can act. It's just not a good fit for her, this role.)

Still, at the end of the day, Gerard Butler and the marvelous landscape are the two reasons to buy or rent or just borrow this DVD. Two potent forces of nature--Iceland and Butler--do manage to make a somewhat lackluster movie work in spots.

Bottom line: Try it, because parts of it work. And if you're a Gerard Butler fan, buy it, because he is a gift to cinema and quite easy on the eyes and ears. And if you can't travel to a high Northern wilderness, but kind of want to, visit a remote and windy spot with BEOWULF & GRENDEL.

Theresa

[midnightchris]

Great comment, Theresa! Is the reviewer by any chance a fan?

Chris

[complicated]

I love Gerard in Beowulf..the movie is crazy but who cares? He dominates, he IS the movie!! He's at his most BEAUTFUL self, gorgeous and confident as he moves through every scene. His expressions, so varied, the sneers, the softness, the anger and the fear, he can anything with those eyes and those lips..no dialog required (but I'd miss that deep, commanding voice). Beowulf and Dracula are my "go to" movies for a naughty little GB fix....not for the storyline, just for the shivers......! Thanks Theresa....

[FluffyCloud]

Awww thanks for this, it made me smile.

xxStephaniexx

[saga]

I just got my copy this week and it's my viewing tonight. Very excited.
Went to the website the other day for renting the "Wrath of gods" documentary, and I decided to wait till after seeing the movie.

Edited August 14, 2013 by saga

[asunta]

You'll want to see Wrath of Gods! It tells how the movie finally got made, the trials it withstood and a long interview with Gerry.

I've watched it several times. I enjoy out-takes and extras. So will you.

Lyn