where to begin . anachronism . high tech cross bow with a scope in about 500ad . arrow with explosive charge in 500ad . a monster grendel that look like a robocop and obviously never interact with any of the weapon fire or swing against him . the heart tear out of his victim chest without any sense of contact . possibly the blond who would fit in on a recent fashion show with her make up and streaked hair . the ancient danish court represent in classical greek style . the queen play by marina sirtis more savaged by her makeup artist than by madness . the effect be way too weak to carry this story . there be some story that do not mind or even benefit from cheap effect and but this grendel isn not one of them . what about character who seem to jump about in their attitude without motivation . a bravado idiot prince whose home have already be savage more than once by the monster grendel seem to have less respect for the danger he face than beowulf who be send from afar from the land of the geats to help the desperate dane . in this it feel more like an old cowboy western than any kind of myth . beowulf be an ancient tale from an era with almost no literary tradition and much of both it sentiment and it drama be obscure . i suspect that any modern telling which doesn not make an intelligent attempt to penetrate the obscurity must fail . i do not love the recent beowulf and grendel which see grendel essentially a human and see hrothgar and his dane a too arrogant and stupid to recognize grendel attack as well justified vengeance and but i have to respect it revisionist position that hrothgar dane be a bunch of macho thug who never grasp and even after it be all over and that they have bring this nightmare on themselves and and therefore and the original story of beowulf and a it be write and be a misrepresentation of the real story . i think there a more complex meaning to be understood than that and but this grendel terrible secret that grendel attack be tie to previous human sacrifice doesn not really bring u close to the shame experience by hrothgar and the dane . this beowulf have little to recommend it a traditional myth or a modern fantasy . i give it a 4 represent high than it deserve and but always hopeful that a poor effort will draw attention by someone who be up to tell the story intelligently . in the meantime and sci fi movie making seem to be follow the nasa policy that it good to build lot of probe that fail than a few that succeed .