Beowulf (DVD)

Having seen this at the cinema, the DVD was a "must have". It's all good fast-moving and thrilling stuff, but it's the unconscious humour that makes you watch it time and again. Ray Winstone's accent wobbles between mock-Scandinavian and cockney. You keep expecting him to say something like, "'Ere, Grendel, you're 'avin a giraffe, ain't ya?" whenever the monster appears. And the dragon at the end is undoubtedly the same one used in Shrek. Even the burning bridge sequence is borrowed from Shrek, just without the donkey. Angelina Jolie is even more stilted than usual, not helped by her confinement in a computerised gold body stocking.

In all fairness, there are decent performances from Anthony Hopkins, John Malkowich, and Alison Lohman (she's the beautiful maidservant). And the plot is a fair approximation to the original saga, and after a rather long scene-setting rattles along at a good pace.

Buy it and you'll enjoy it. Just don't take it too seriously.