Review of Beowulf (2007) by Irina T — 23 May 2011

It's honestly surprising that the audience loves stuff like 300 but hates something like Beowulf. I did not realise it was CG until a few minutes of the movie, as it looked very realistic yet it didn't seem like human. The thing I love so much about Beowulf is not only of its stunning/violent animation, but also the dialogue spoken. It feels as if it is truly indeed adapted from a poem, even though some lines may seem cliched. However, ultimately, I feel it is a decent adaptation of an epic poem that people say is one of the most important poems of all time, despite Wiki saying that it deviates significantly from the poem.

What distinguishes Beowulf from other movies of the same genre is the fact that it's not just for some movie to show the visually beautiful animation. There are so many themes involved in the movie that is lacking in movies such as 300. Yes, we all know about the theme of courage, but there needs to be some sort of transformation and struggle that the character has to go through. In the book, Beowulf is described as being full of himself, but in the movie I don't really see that occurring to a full extent. He actually cares for the queen and is extremely determinant to prove himself worthy of the people rather than showing off his power to everyone until they get really sick of it. That is a sign of an awesome main character, and after he got tempted, he finally felt the loneliness and isolation despite all the riches, glory, and women that he had. I love the self-reflection that he did upon himself, and even sacrificed himself for his country even at old age and with courage fought the dragon.

Coupled with great voice acting and direction, the movie succeeded in entertaining and 'educating' me for two hours.

8/10.