There are certain things this Scandinavian production has going for it: the actors all do commendable jobs with what they are given; the wild scenery is beautiful; and there a few moments (not many, but a few) of very well orchestrated suspense. But none of that matters because "Ragnarok" simply isn't what its trailer leads one to believe it is, namely a scary monster movie. There is a monster, or at least a big creature which may have inspired certain stories from Norse mythology, but the monster action is decidedly limited and while there occasional moments of tension there are no real scares. I don't think the filmmakers had any real desire to make a scary picture, but rather an adventure story with a few ideas borrowed from American monster movies. The result is incredibly dry, boring, and unsatisfying, particularly the climax. If you're hoping for the kind of explosive grand finale "Jaws" gave us, forget it. Suffice it to say the creature from "Ragnarok" is only dangerous because our human explorers provoke its maternal instincts. As a longtime fan of both monster movies and Viking mythology, I really expected to like "Ragnarok." More's the pity.
