superstonewarrior
I've never read the original Beowulf story but movie is incredibly entertaining. Ray Winstone's performance as the titular geat had me infested the entire time and the CGI, for being 11 years old now, is simply fantastic. The only flaw I can think of is that towards the start of the third act(around the 40 minute mark) the film hits a storytelling slump. That's all. More films like this which celebrate the male gender need to release in current day.
Robot_Kitty
No..just no. I am a die-hard fan of the epic Beowulf, and this movie could have been amazing - had they named it anything but Beowulf. The positives:The voice work is perfect and brings every character to life in such a way that the viewer will feel the emotions the characters feel.The animation is extremely well done - at points I could not believe I was watching CGI characters..I loved how they shot the action scenes as they had the right degree of grittiness without being excessive. The musical score is powerful - it accentuates the battles and grandiose character of the film.Now for why I disliked the film so much:I was a bit put off by their representation of Hrothgar, as they made him appear to be nothing more than a bumbling drunken oaf who could not keep his paws off of Wealtheow - this is not at all accurate. Further, I was dismayed at the proclamation that Grendel is "Hrothgar's shame" because he could have no children with Wealtheow - again this is not true, he had not one child, but TWO by Wealtheow - Hreðric and Hroðmund. They completely glossed over the important characterization of Hrothgar as a good king, a generous king, and an honorable man; this greatly detracts from his character and the viewer's understanding of WHY his people loved him so much. They did not love him because he was a stereotypical grunting, lecherous, old fat guy, despite what is shown here. I tolerated their interpretation of how Grendel looked. Though, he's not supposed to be some awkward half-cooked baby creature. He's the malformed seed of Cain. I disagree with the direction they took regarding Grendel's motives for killing the men in Heorot(which I felt could have been far more majestic, like it was in the poem). Grendel is not driven mad by the singing, he is driven mad by the fact that he was an outcast from their society - he had no culture to belong to so he sought to ruin the society and culture of Hrothgar's people. Grendel is a warning to those who are cast out of their hall. Now in the film, Grendel really has no motivation for killing the people in Heorot other than the fact that, "he's a monster who dislikes noise so he kills the noisy people." I further disagree with their portraying Beowulf as, essentially, a borderline liar. He ripped Grendel's arm off with raw power - that's why he's such an astonishing man who's wearing dazzling armor(which is significant because he earned all of that armor through martial prowess). This is why no other man could kill Grendel - no other man possessed the raw physical power of Beowulf. In this film, he ripped it off with a chain tied to a post, then claimed he ripped it off with his bare hands. We have no reason to doubt the narrator of the Beowulf poem, so I do not understand why the writer of the film decided to add this. It's completely unnecessary, and my only conclusion is that the writer must be pandering to some ludicrous modernistic mentality of, "well, something that amazing could not REALLY happen, so he must be embellishing."The scene with Grendel's mother is offensive to anyone who's a fan of Beowulf. This scene obliterates the entire confrontation and significance behind it. Beowulf is not some lecherous imbecile who falls prey to the wiles of a monster begging him to procreate with her. Grendel's mother is not some sexy succubus who seduces men and kills them. Also, the entire persona of Beowulf is that he's MORE than just a man in every aspect. This scene is beyond ridiculous. It's insulting to the original source material and to anyone who's a fan of said source material. Beowulf then blatantly lies to Hrothgar's face about killing Grendel's mother, thus discrediting his character as being honorable and praiseworthy. Not to mention Wiglaf is killed, Beowulf's beloved companion, by Grendel's mother specifically because he is Beowulf's beloved companion. This does not happen in the movie. Instead, a bunch of nameless characters are slaughtered while Beowulf sleeps and then Beowulf decides to kill Grendel's mother because, well, she is Grendel's mother and still plaguing Heorot. Then, just to punch everyone who loves Beowulf right between the eyes, the writer creates a scenario in which the dragon Beowulf faces at the end of the tale...is...the..spawn of..Grendel's mother. Why? I cannot fathom WHY the writer believed this was a good idea. The reason Beowulf goes to fight the dragon is not because he's trying to right some wrong he committed (because men are just lecherous individuals unable to control themselves from sexing a demon), it's because he cannot give up his desire for glory. It is a cycle that will end up leaving his people without a ruler just when they need a ruler most. It is a message against seeking personal glory at the expense of your people.I am greatly disappointed in one of my favorite authors - Neil Gaiman, for perverting Beowulf. I cannot, and will not, recommend this film to anyone who has read and enjoyed Beowulf. That being said, I would recommend to someone who has never come in to contact with the source material, and does not mind watching a retelling of the tale(with the precaution that it is not really an accurate retelling).
apocalysque
This was absolutely the worst adaptation of any story ever in the history of man. I urge you not to waste your time on this piece of garbage. From the horrible accents to the inaccuracies in the story line, this filth takes low to a new level. I watched it for free on Netflix and STILL want my money back. The animation was pretty, but that's about the only redeeming quality of the movie. If there was an option to give a negative score, this would be the movie for it. I don't think the English language has enough negative adjectives to describe the awfulness of this movie, and I wish someone had warned me before I watched it. at no point in this movie did I feel I received any entertainment value. I award it no points and may God have mercy on your soul should you decide to watch it after reading this review.
Dunham16
Adventure legend movies in days of yore had swashbuckling heroes based on famous legends who were reworked as magnificent, brave, honorable heroes whose deeds inspired us all. The reworkings did NOT follow the legend. This is true of this remake of the Beowulf legend which tells, in middle English, of the Danish heritage today seen primarily in northern England and in East Anglia. This movie seems inspired by the old Ray Harryhausen legend rework movies as it remakes the story of Beowulf with marvelous state of the art special effects and an all too brief appearance of Angelina Jolie as a meld of many ancient pagan moon and water and earth goddesses. It will not please those who want to find out the real middle English legend or those who do not believe these old legends have any more a place in this culture. Otherwise, a good adventure movie perhaps without a target age group in mind.
