Review of Beowulf (2007) by Celtance — 05 Dec 2007

There are few things in this film that may remind you of the 8th century epic poem which it is supposedly based on. Pros: Some battle instances and scenary layout. Cons: -No deep understanding at all of Germanic conscience.

-Angelina Jolie's character is a platitude in itself thanks to "modern" additions (female fluidity, females and temptation...etc). -In the poem, beowulf cuts the heads of Grendel and his mother.

In the "modern" version, Mr. Zemeckis seems more interested in hinting at a sexual curse (with profuse tasteless puns and one-liners throughout the film) than in rendering the epic poem as it was originally compiled.

-Complete misunderstanding of the conflict between Germanic and Christian thought in the original poem. -I bet Mr. Zemeckis has never read J. R. R. Tolkien's article "The Monsters and the Critics" in order to get to know what the monster deal in this epic poem is about.

The film actually blasts away the sense of doom in these Germanic tribes' conscience and pays no attention to the description that the original 8th-century poem makes of Grendel and his mother. The important thing to Mr.

Zemeckis seems just to display Miss Jolie and to bring up a circa 1975 depiction of grendel as a victim of society. It is a "passtime" film easily entertaining to people who have not read the original poem, who had no idea about its plot or cultural context and who may not express their disgust at Mr.

Zemeckis' platitudinal and superficial portrayal of Germanic society. The director, the actors and the scriptwriter should have read the Anglo Saxon poem first (or Seamus Heaney's verse translation) and some articles on it, including Tolkien's "The Monsters and the Critics".

This film is a "fast-food passtime", a lost opportunity that pays little homage to the original Anglo-Saxon work.