Beowulf & Grendel

Herald rating: * * *

There are parts of this fantasy loosely based on the 9th-century Anglo-Saxon epic poem about a Danish king having a spot of bother with a marauding troll that will have you laughing in all the wrong places.

The accents, the dialogue and the ribald tone is all over the place in this Icelandic production of cosmopolitan cast. Think Monty Python meets The Lord of the Rings somewhere cold, coastal and scenic - in this case the wilds of Iceland which, visually, more than make up for a fantasy film eschewing computer effects or decent makeup for its lead hairy beastie.

Mixed up it may be, yet it's a compelling parable of vengeance and mercy. Scottish actor Butler as the hero Beowulf is a solid sword-swinging centre to a movie which sometimes feels like it's suffered one too many of Grendel's helmet-rattling sucker-punches. And there's enough here to show where that famous Old English scholar J.R.R. Tolkien got many of his ideas, Should give LOTR nerds something to talk about until Robert Zemeckis' animated version screens next year.

Cast: Gerard Butler, Stellan Skarsgard, Sarah Polley
Director: Sturla Gunnarsson
Running time: 104 mins
Rating: R16 (violence, offensive language and sex scenes) Screening: Rialto
Verdict: Oddball but engaging retelling of Norse legend