Beowulf
- Title: Beowulf
- IMDb: link
The film follows a condensed, and rushed, variation of the original epic poem. After his hall is attacked by a fearsome creature known as Grendel (Crispin Glover), King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) offers half of his fortune to anyone who can rid his kingdom of the monster. The legendary warrior Beowulf (Ray Winstone) arrives, for the glory of defeating the demon.
The film follows Beowulf’s battle with Grendel and his encounter with Grendel’s mother (Angelina Jolie) in the dark caves of the mountains. Secrets will be unearthed, curses laid down, and Beowulf’s glory will grow – though not without a cost.
In terms of look the film achieves much of what it sets out to do. The appearance of the characters (each taken from the individual actors) is the best I’ve seen human beings done in this type of computer animation. Also worth noting are the battle scenes which work quite well, especially if you have a chance to see the film in the IMAX 3-D version where the blood and spears shoot out at you.
Though the look works there are many problems with the non-human characters. The monsters in the film are scary in only a depressing B-movie kind of way. Grendel is a big dumb ogre, the dragon is ferocious but bland, and we never get to see the true form of Grendel’s mother (though it is often teased in reflection). The only real monsters worth mentioning are the sea creature Beowulf slays during a flashback in what is the best scene of the film.
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