Review of Beowulf (2007) by Michael Y — 23 Jun 2011

A visually stunning re-telling of the classic epic poem. Beowulf is a exciting and thoughtful movie, though not completely true to the source material, its supstitution for awesome fight scenes is just as good.

A Danish King's villiage is terrorized by a grotesque and fierce troll named Grendel and there has been no one to slay it. UNTIL.....BEOWULF! A mighty hero who has traveled far and wide, slaying all sorts of mythical monsters, now comes to the king to slay his Grendel. But is Beowulf's ego big enough to kill Grendel? And even if he does, can he defeat Grendel's more bloodthirsty mother? Beowulf is an epic story over a millenia old, and as an old epic this movie treats it as one. Full of bloody and action-packed fights, this version of Beowulf is by far the best presented. But this isn't the dumbfounded movie you're lead to believe. This is a story also filled with interesting characters in an interesting time period who struggle with their pride, good will and mortality. For instance, Beowulf himself. From the get-go we see him as an epic warrior, but we begin to doubt him because when he tells of his tales it sounds like he's blowing smoke out his ass. Can Beowulf live up to his reputation? And the King, played by Anthony Hopkins, faces his mortality and rule as an aging man with a dark and terrible secret. And I say "in an interesting time period" because of the transition of time periods where Christianity seems to sweep over effortlessly. This adaptation of the epic story is intelligent, thoughtful, but also very cool as pure entertaining ACTION.

Beowulf is made as a mix of CGI over live action performances, and done extremely well at that. The animation and special effects are INCREDIBLE. Fully detailed and flawlessly constructed visuals, all mixed with the movie's wild and creative cinematography. As if the CGI isn't impressive enough, it has to work with fantastic shot agles throughout the entire film. The whole movie is a visually stunning feat, full of colour and imagination. It's a shame it didn't get the attention is deserves. The sound mixing is also impressive as it immerses you into every scene. The art direction is also one to examin too. The look of the entire movie is creative, looking very historical and fantasy like all at once. The look of the castle and dining hall look great, and as I mentioned about the time period, you can see the suttle change in the times with the artwork and crucifixes making their presence more clearer. Someone thought about these details very thoroughly and I think it is a wonderful detail all too looked over by others. And the music is exciting and great, both capturing the action and drama of the situations wonderfully.

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by the infamous graphic novel creator, Neil Gaiman, and with great performances from an all star cast, Beowulf is a wonderful mix of action, adventure, and bleak drama where pride seems like everything, and in the end redemption is needed. This movie is more than an action movie, it has heart and creativity. To me, it is a worthy adaptation, but not without its own originality.