Beowulf

Normally I loathe CGI, but here, it's necessary. And it works - well.

Here's my breakdown:

STORY: As I understand it, the story was originally just a poem, but it was filled out nicely.

Warrior stories are endless, but this has a plot twist I've not seen or read before, and it's pivotal for the story.

I could have done without Jolie and the copious amount of lust, but men like their stories of war and women. Oy ...

ACTING: This includes the "acting" of Anthony Hopkins, a brilliant British actor who I've followed since his earlier years.

Otherwise I thought the characters were decent, though their development is not the emphasis.

ENTERTAINMENT: Moderate to high value, but as always, it depends on your tastes

TEMPO: Quite good, though it must have crazed blood and carnage to satiate the lusts of men

CINEMATOGRAPHY: For a CGI film I was very impressed. What's intriguing is how difficult it is to "draw" the human mouth while speaking.

There are so many muscles in the face, jaw, and tongue so those subtleties are lost, but an excellent attempt.

MUSIC / SOUND: A beautiful song "Hero comes home" but otherwise far too much "epic" music

DIRECTING / WRITING: Director: Zemeckis has a very impressive resume, and this reinforces his ability to handle a wide variety of genre.

I've seen many of his films, and nearly all have left strong impressions.

Writers: While I thought this story was reasonably well done, the combined works of the two screenplay writers is flat or filled with TV waste.

Is it a good film? Yes

Should you watch this once? Yes

Rating: 7.5.

Beowulf (2007) is in my DVD collection and is also available on Netflix. The storyline is about Beowulf who arrives in a town plagued by a curse where a deity and her son ravage the land. When Beowulf fights the son and confronts the deity tough choices will be made that will determine his future and direction. This movie is directed by Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) and contains the voices of Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs), Angelina Jolie (Tomb Raider), Ray Winstone (The Departed), Crispin Glover (Willard), Robin Wright (The Princess Bride) and John Malkovich (In the Line of Fire). The storyline for this is very good and contains some fantastic twists and turns. The animation is out of this world and looks very much like the actors used for the voices. The cast is very well selected and fit the characters and storyline to perfection. The action scenes are absolutely amazing, especially the depiction of the creatures and sorcery. The kill scenes and gore is also remarkable. The full circle of the storyline is excellent as is the absolute final scene. This is a bit underrated and is definitely a must see that I would score a 8.5/10.

I didn't expect a lot from 'Beowulf', for lots of reasons, most of which were to do with the casting: incorrigibly cockney Ray Winstone as a warrior from what's now southern Sweden; wacky John Malkovich as a cynical counselor; loony Crispin Glover as a flesh-rending monster, and weirdest of all, Angelina Jolie as the monster's mother...thaet waes wundorlic castyng, as the poet might have put it. Then there was the way they did the whole thing in CGI, running the risk of making it all look a bit rubbery. Finally, Robert Zemeckis is the director and my great respect for him plummeted through the floor and into the crawlspace after he presided over the insufferable 'Forrest Gump'.

Nevertheless, this is a lot better than I thought it would be. I missed the 3D incarnation as we were watching the DVD rather than the cinema release, but after a while you stop looking at the CGI and start enjoying it. This is a 'Beowulf' where the story, although different from the poem, is actually very far from shabby.

Without giving too much away, the main difference from the poem is that in the poem, there is no connection between the monster Grendel and his mother on one hand, and the dragon in the latter half of the poem on the other hand. In the film, a connection exists. Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary do a professional job of tying it all together in a satisfying Hollywood way, without betraying the basic darkness and sadness of the story; it's not like Beowulf rides off into the sunset with Wiglaf at the end. Crispin Glover is genuinely scary as the tormented and raw-boned Grendel, whose main problem is that he just can't stand the sound of people having fun, although since most of this fun consists of hairy men singing lewd songs you can see his point. Angelina Jolie's animated self spends all her on screen time walking around without any clothes on, something that apparently gave Jolie a blush when she saw a cut of the movie. (One of the more eerie things about this film is that the cartoon Angelina Jolie looks marginally more realistic than the actress herself.)

Despite an accent that's more Stockwell than Geatland, Ray Winstone does a fine, sombre job as the hero, although my wife thought that the animated Winstone looked more like Sean Bean. Brendan Gleeson does a splendid job in the niche he's carved for himself of Hairy Sidekick. The acting honours, or at least the animation honours, go to Robin Wright Penn (or whoever worked on her character) as the pale and melancholy queen; she has moments of subtle hesitation and sadness that struck me as a triumph of CGI acting.

There is much excellent smiting, some of it unfortunately toned down a little in order to keep a PG-13 rating - so we don't actually get to see Grendel biting men's heads off, just people's reactions to him doing so. Most importantly, the story is not a travesty of the original. It's thoughtful and interesting, as you'd expect from a writer of Gaiman's quality (if not from the author of 'Killing Zoe') and contains some striking meditations on the power of legend and reputation. Plus, there's a really huge kick-ass dragon. 'Beowulf' is a strange and unexpected treat.

It takes a while for your eyes to get used to the uncanny animation, but once you overcome the ordeal, Beowulf turns into an outrageously entertaining ride. The performances are solid, the visuals are unique, the score is uplifting, and it has great action sequences. It's really good fun for adults of all ages.

Based on a legendary and mythical poem and filmed using the Motion Picture technique by Robert Zemeckis with a well-known casting, such as Ray Winstone, Angelina Jolie, Crispin Glover, John Malkovich, Bernard Gleeson, Charlotte Salt, Sebastian Roché and Anthony Hopkins. In a medieval land this bloody story of the battle of a Norse warrior against a great troll assassin named Grendel takes place. In contrast to the arrival of Christianity, this is the story of the ultimate hero who confronts a monstrous troll that wreaks havoc on the mead hall of the Danish king Hrothgar (Sir Anthony Hopkins). The latter offers a hefty reward for the death of Grendel (Crispin Glover), so there comes Beowulf (Ray Winstone), a boastful Geat warrior, victorious in his own right. The monster, Grendel, is not a creature of mythical powers, but a being of flesh and blood with immense flesh but of shapeless mass, he has furious blood and is driven by revenge. That is until the arrival of Beowulf, a mysterious mercenary who offers help to Hrothgar, the ruler of the kingdom, in hunting down Grendel. Out of loyalty to King Hrothgar, the highly respected Lord of the Danes, Beowulf leads a troop of warriors to rid a village of the marauding monster. But swinging his sword against a large, stinking beast is not such a simple act. The warrior Beowulf must fight and defeat the monster Grendel, who terrorizes Denmark, and then Grendel's evil mother, whom he begins to kill out of revenge. The story takes place in barbaric Northern Europe, where the reign of many gods is giving way to one: the invader from the south, Christ, here represented by a Catholic priest! Evil breeds pain! Survival is ruthless! Face your demons! I will kill your monster! Pride is the curse!

Revenge, loyalty and mercy are powerfully intertwined in this spectacular Nordic adventure. Beowulf (2007) is a launch pad of dizzying 3D images, about the heroics of man against beasts, set in a besieged land, in which Beowulf must fight against the horrible creature Grendel, a carnivorous being that is killing all living in the kingdom; all of this being set in the eternally adolescent tradition of horror and gothic fantasy comic books. This is a fantastic story of blood, beer and sweat, which removes the mask of the hero-myth, leaving a raw and tangled story. By recreating the actors' performances, 'motion capture', the technique Zemeckis used for 'Polar Express', was improved. This Zemeckis production begins with a true sense of awe and surprise and develops through continuous fights until a fight against a giant dragon. The film contains a lot of action, wonderful cinematography, impressive fights and a bit of blood and nudity. Stunning battle scenes illuminate the full-blown adventure with a host of engaging combat action scenes, in which heads and limbs are cut off here and there and everywhere, while other body parts are cut open.

Beowulf was a poem written in England, but set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature. Beowulf is considered an epic poem since the main character is a hero who travels great distances to demonstrate his strength against impossible odds against demons and supernatural beasts. It has been variously dated to between the 8th and early 11th centuries. It is an epic poem told in historical perspective; a story of epic events and great characters from a heroic past. Although its author is unknown, its themes and themes have their roots in Germanic heroic poetry, in the Anglo-Saxon tradition recited and cultivated by ancient English poets. The poem is divided between Beowulf's battles with Grendel and with a dragon and he also confronts Grendel's mother. According to the classic poem, the main protagonist, Beowulf, is a hero of the Geats, he comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose great hall, Heorot, is plagued by the monster Grendel. Beowulf kills Grendel with his bare hands with a sword, once used by giants, which Beowulf found in Grendel's mother's lair.

It contains an evocative and breathtaking musical score by Alan Slvestri , Zemeckis's regular, As well as a brilliant and picturesque cinematography by Robert Presley. The film was compellingly directed by Robert Zemeckis (Polar Express , Castaway, What lies beneath, Forrest Gump , Back to the Future I, II, III, Allied) . Rating: 6/10.