Arc Dance Company, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, **

Oh, the hard life of a critic. You go to a performance, somewhat reluctantly, by a choreographer whose work you have seldom admired. You sit and watch. You find no surprises; you find nothing to like or dislike particularly. You then return home and try, equipped with this lukewarm, unexceptional experience, to write your review. What the hell can you say?

Oh, the hard life of a choreographer. You toil over your ideas. You rehearse your dancers, you chivvy and make compromises with them. You invite critics, knowing full well some might be hostile, but any publicity is better than none. It's all enough to make you as sick as a parrot – or as sick as Hamlet, the subject and title of Kim Brandstrup's new piece.

Brandstrup's Hamlet, for his Arc Dance Company, is a remake of his 1993 production, called Antic. The second version is probably an improvement, its narrative possessing a clarity that had been missing before. The stagecraft has a deliberate cinematic quality, slabs of action cutting from one to the other like film takes. This impression is accentuated by Ian Dearden's commissioned music, which has the incidental texture of a film score.

But this, of course, is silent move-making, the words are replaced by movement and a quantity of significant looks are exchanged between the various characters.

Lee Boggess agonises and perspires as Hamlet. Joanne Fong, playing Gertrude, fixes her face in an expression of motherly alarm. Kenneth Tharp's Claudius prowls ominously. Perhaps this should be interesting, if only I could summon up the energy.

The trouble is, it's all so uninvolving. One reason for this has to be the choreography, which may be energetic and aesthetically pleasant, but is essentially sterile. Even potentially exciting events such as Hamlet's "Get thee to a nunnery" duet with Joanna O'Keeffe's Ophelia lack imagery vivid enough to make me abandon my slump and lean forward. Another reason is the sameness of pace: all episodes, regardless of their importance, are given the same weight.

Bring back lulls! Lulls are not always bad: they can throw dramatic highpoints into relief through contrast.

Heaven help me, what else can I say? The 11 dancers are evidently committed. In common with all Brandstrup's work, the stage picture is handsome. Graig Givens's costuming mixes the 16th century with modern times. His set is monochrome and stark: just stone elevations at the back and stone benches about the stage.

One of these provides a tomb-like resting place at the start for Hamlet's father, his ghostly figure suddenly rearing up and setting the story in motion. Tina MacHugh's lighting is particularly atmospheric, casting dark shadows and painting blue rectangles that suggest the night sky or a world beyond the nightmarish castle.

The ultimate puzzle is, why make a Hamlet in the first place? (Or even an Othello, as Brandstrup has done in the past.) Despite his written claims, Brandstrup offers no new perspectives on Shakespeare. You know exactly what's coming at each twist and turn, and life is too short for worthy but unexciting rehashes.

Touring to Eden Court Theatre, Inverness (01463 234234) 8 May and MacRobert Arts Centre, Stirling (01786 466666) 10 May