Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands

When i saw Beowulf in the TV listings, i immediately hoped that a decent drama had been created, based on the historical poem, and produced to a high standard. I was quickly disappointed.

Although the story is very loosely based on the old English poem about a Scandinavian monster terrorising a Danish King, that is pretty much where the similarity ends. You are very quickly introduced to CGI trolls working a in human village in place of oxen, turning a wheel. It is at this point you realise the slant is farther toward the fantasy realm drama than the historical realm drama.

In terms of the characters, they are rather cliché and lacked depth. The sets are OK in parts and in others look like cheap fantasy set pieces. They also seem inconsistent as great halls with cast relief gates in bronze are hardly likely to be the product of a 20 person village. The grandeur of some of the buildings is far out of whack with the population size and any semblance of industry or agriculture.

Casting, and cast diversity - within minutes you are introduced to characters that are obviously Indian Asian, and also Black (African). There are quite a few characters with diverse ethnic origins. Again, if you were expecting something akin to the fantastic 'Vikings' or even the Stars productions like 'Spartacus' forget it.There is no attempt at historical, cultural, or geographic realism as a backdrop for this show.

A Black male actor appears in Arabic dress who speaks with a solid south England accent. I totally get diversity in a modern TV show about modern society, or even in culturally mixed locations like Rome, but in something apparently 'based' on an AngloScandinavian tale/poem it hardly fits. This reality works in both directions, if i were watching a show about the rise of a chieftain in Africa in 300BC, then i'd hardly expect to see the cast featuring heavily with Chinese and white Australian sounding actors (it just drags you out of the show). It's another element that constantly reminds the viewer that there is no historic setting for this and it is little more than a uber low budget Lord of The Rings rip off merged merged with the title Beowulf.

If this show were targeting adults, one has to ask, who watches stuff like this? The script, acting, story seems quite immature. It does feel more like a teen show, however it is on UK TV in a late evening slot. For this reason i suspect it won't pick up the viewers, and won't make a second season.

I first turned Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands on by mistake and quickly realized that this show could be an interesting watch. I have been pleasantly surprised and at times, I have only been mildly disappointed.

If you enjoy fantasy story telling, decent sword fight choreography, and minor attempts at comedy then give it a try. I don't think you will be too disappointed.

BUT...For the people who are easily dissuaded by mid talent acting and a bit of copy cat antics then I feel you will not enjoy watching it.

A lot of people are bashing it because it is trying too hard to be Game of Thrones. The title sequence is a direct copycat and really takes away from the show. Once people see and hear it they immediately get turned off and want nothing to do with it. There are small inadequacies that push the viewer to eye rolling but most of them can be overlooked. The story isn't the strongest but you can't compare it to GoT, that is unfair. If you compare ANYTHING to GoT it would be unfair.

If I was allowed to change ONE thing only...I would take away the title sequence and replace it with something individual. I believe wholeheartedly that it's a huge issue for people and will cause the show to lose some major viewers.

Don't give up on it after the first episode. It takes a little time to get rolling. It's really not a bad watch at all. Give it a try.

I hoped for so much something as great as 'Vikings,' or 'The Last Kingdom,'but it felt like an episode of Doctor Who (i.e. more for kids and sets that look like sets). Then after a lot of irritated huffing and puffing on my part, I realised it has been made for a young audience who would get the most from this ambitious reworking and I expect these it would delight. I can't rate this properly as it wasn't made for me, but if I look back to my earlier tastes in life, am sure I'd have revelled in this show. The time slot should have given me a clue that it wasn't intended for me and all the gripes I had are answered by it being reworked for it's target audience which doesn't include me. From childhood to 24 I expect I'd have loved this version of Beowulf. I hope enough of it's target audience find it.

Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands is one of those series that would have been better off re scripted as a comedy. Regrettably, the writers decided to play this series as a serious fantasy drama. What a mistake.

Almost everything about Beowulf screams comedy. From what appears to be an old mine site, which has been rehashed as an early medieval village, of sorts, through to the costumes, that look like they were recycled from a heavy metal concert.

The storyline is chuckle worthy too. The main character Beowulf is on a testosterone overdose. He's incessantly simmering with cheesy, macho rage, wanting to fight everyone and everything in sight. The rest of the cast are shoe horned into equally awful, clinched, characterizations. Imagine, if Game of Thrones had been scripted by Monty Python and you are there.

All this silliness is inexplicable given this series has an excellent cast of actors, including a cameo or two by William Hurt! If money could be spent on a cast of this caliber, why not a story fitting their talents?

If you can adjust your sights and view Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands as a comedy of errors its actually not too dreadful. Try to take it seriously, however, and you may do yourself a mental mischief. Four out of ten from me.

Comparison inevitably will be made to The Vikings since these shows walk on the same genre. However, Beowulf is the more casual of the two, using special effect and colorful scenery for broader demographic, a bit like the animation from years earlier only without CG Angelina Jolie. This direction if fine, not all recent works must be brooding and gritty, although Beowulf suffers from erratic shifts in plot as well as a few dubious displays of mythical creatures.

It is noticeable that the story pushes the titular Beowulf into many tribulations from the first steps. Unfortunately, this sets up too many subplots at the same time. Characters are being murdered, betrayed and chased even before any connection could be made to any of them, which presents a couple of strange seemingly rushed developments. It also tries to present some mystery and political struggle, but these aspects lack depth since they have to share the scene with many other angles like childhood memories or shoehorned romance.

Much of the resources evidently went to costume and setting. The attires these characters don are incredibly polished, certainly different yet appreciated fashion from typical medieval series. Its surroundings are fairly gorgeous as well, colorful both in human settlement and natural landscape. If any flaws should come from this eye-catching presentation, it's that the characters look a tad too modern for the era.

CG effect is a toss-up, some scenes look terribly crude while few others look very meticulous. At its best, the display of creature is presentable, having decent features and surprising detail on fur or beastly motion. On the other hand, when it falters, it further weakens the immersion since the human characters already react unconvincingly to inorganic monsters.

Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands is a light excursion for wider audience with more colorful presentation, although the cumbersome plot and sloppy CG might undermine that effort.