Review of Beowulf (2007) by Thefrog — 30 Sep 2020
Hugely underestimated gem. On the surface, it's just another hero movie, with a rambunctious and invincible Beowulf. It goes much deeper than that though, with a persistent feeling of an Age that is coming to an end.
Beowulf is a liar, exaggerating his own adventures, and learns all too soon that your dreams tend to decay around you once you make them come true. He fails his most important trial and will eventually have to pay a hefty price for that.
Rothgar is an aging, disgusting pig living on past glories, surrounded by adulators who only crave his gold. His famed mead hall is just a glorified shack.
When Beowulf comes as the hero who will defeat the monster, there is no oceanic crowd cheering him but just a few, unconvinced peasants. And in the background the Christian religion is undermining what remains of the days of the glorious heroes, fighting in the name of the Norse Gods.
It's a crepuscular tale of regret and longing, for an ideal that cannot really exist. In many ways, it can be regarded of a coming of age tale, of romanticism that eventually needs to confront reality.
This review of Beowulf (2007) was written by Thefrog on 30 Sep 2020.
Beowulf has generally received mixed reviews.
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