Spectacular animated action scenes turn the ancient epic poem Beowulf into a modern fantasy movie, while motion-capture technology transforms plump actor Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast) into a burly Nordic warrior. When a Danish kingdom is threatened by the monster Grendel (voiced and physicalised by Crispin Glover, River's Edge), Beowulf--lured by the promise of heroic glory--comes to rescue them. He succeeds, but falls prey to the seductive power of Grendel's mother, played by Angelina Jolie... and as Jolie's pneumatically animated form rises from an underground lagoon with demon-claw high heels, it becomes clear that we're leaving the original epic far, far behind. Regrettably, the motion-capture process has made only modest improvements since The Polar Express; while the characters' eyes no longer look so flat and zombie-like, their faces remain inexpressive and movements are still wooden. As a result, the most effective sequences feature wildly animated battles and the most vivid character is Grendel, whose grotesqueness ends up making him far more sympathetic than any of the mannequin-like human beings. The meant-to-be-titillating images of a naked Jolie resemble an inflatable doll more than a living, breathing woman (or succubus, as the case may be). But the fights--particularly Grendel's initial assault on the celebration hut--pop with beautifully animated gore and violence. Also featuring the CGI-muffled talents of Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs), Robin Wright Penn (The Princess Bride), and John Malkovich (Dangerous Liaisons). --Bret Fetzer
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
Much better than some of the revues on here! Knowing Beowulf received mixed revues when it was released I wasn't expecting too much from this film, but I have to say my fears were unfounded - Beowulf is a much better film than I dared hope. The story was engaging, the action was exciting, and the animation was superb - none of the characters suffered from Polar Express style 'dead' eyes (at least not when viewed on a tv screen), although when horses ran into mid distance (which takes up all of 10 seconds of screen time) they did appear to be bouncing... more info
not arf bad I watched the directors cut version of this film, having recently read the Heaney translation of the original story. The film shows superb CGI, and the extras showing how the film was made are well worth watching. The animation does give the film a slightly fairy tale feel which is in keeping with the story, that is flesh eating monsers and fire breathing dragons. However, the film is disappointing for a number of reasons, many of which have been mentioned by others. The voices are at times very... more info
Gaiman at his (almost) best and a visual stunner! I truly can't believe there are snobs that trash this movie because of its lack of fidelity towards the original story! Hello, this is the 21st Century. No one would beleive, or like, a story about a perfect arquetipical heroe nowadays. Those of us who love Sandman and all of Gaimans work know that this is precisely what he does best, adapting old legends and story's to the complexity's and shades that todays public expects and demands. He does a deliciouse job of it, as is his custom. The caracters... more info
Entertaining but not Extraordinary Some of the effects in this film are incredibly realistic to the point where you'd almost believe it was live action film. Some of them are also a little questionable looking. Some great action sequences but I have to suggest this movie has a bit of violence and a few references to sex - don't just ignore the 12 rating and let your 5 year olds watch this. Also one thing that did slightly annoy me is that Grendel (while following from the stories speaks in Anglo-saxon tongue) was very hard to understand... more info
