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Beowulf (2007)

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Time Out rating

Average user rating

66 reviews

Synopsis

In a legendary time of heroes, the mighty warrior Beowulf battles the demon Grendel and incurs the wrath of the beast's ruthlessly seductive mother. Their epic clash forges the timeless legend of Beowulf.

Movie review

From Time Out London

‘Bollocks! Give me a gobble, then!’ This sample dialogue is typical of the many miscalculations made in Robert Zemeckis’ tediously protracted, mis-judged and puerile animated adaptation of ‘Beowulf’. It’s evident from the script – by British-born graphic novelist Neil Gaiman and Tarantino’s one-time collaborator Roger Avary – that it wasn’t the power and beauty of the language of our great eponymous, anonymous eighth-century Old English epic encomium that attracted the filmmakers. Nor, indeed, was it the work’s insight into pre-Anglo-Saxon history, as Anthony Hopkins’ Welsh-accented kinsmen and the snowbound mountain castles of table-flat Denmark bear eloquent witness. But even as a mere convenient launchpad for some vertiginous, 3D-assisted, man-on-beast heroics located in the eternally-adolescent gothic/fantasy/horror comic-book tradition, it seems an irrelevance.

Part of the problem is the animation technology itself. In re-animating the actors’ performances, ‘enhanced motion capture’ (the technique Zemeckis adopted with ‘The Polar Express’) makes of them creepier spectres than the creatures by which they are often surrounded. Thus, however gloopy and cadaverous the 20ft Grendel (voiced by ‘crazy’ Crispin Glover) appears or how unexpected we find the swoops of the fire-breathing dragon (non-Equity) and how bizarre the serpents-tailed Goldfinger babe presented by his protean mother (Angelina Jolie), none of them can compete with the sheer, unsettling oddity of the humans, with their milky-blind eyes. This applies especially to our hero, Beowulf, beneath whose glistening, highly sexualised , often naked rejuvenated body and bulging, leather-bound musculature lies the just-detectable face and movements of dear old Ray Winstone. The final, kinetic aerial battle scenes are eye-poppingly spectacular – especially in the 3D IMAX-version under review – but they come way too late to save the film.

Author: Wally Hammond 2007-11-12 15:58:02

Time Out London Issue 1943: November 14-20 2007

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User reviews of this film

TJ said...

Posted on Nov 17 2007 11:17 I would have thought: "man-on-beast heroics located in the eternally-adolescent gothic/fantasy/horror comic-book tradition" is a pretty good description of the original Anglo-Saxon poem.

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Hannah said...

Posted on Nov 16 2007 17:49 The story line was not good at all - boring. The graphics were good but that was about it...a disappointment to see!!

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marshy said...

Posted on Nov 16 2007 16:31 brilliant film!

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jake maker said...

Posted on Nov 15 2007 08:35 very good

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Jon said...

Posted on Nov 13 2007 15:55 Had to see it to judge for myself. Just like "Troy," this movie takes a classic story and butchers it for no good reason. It shouldn't be called "Beowulf," but, "Random Horror Adventure Story with Warriors." I saw this movie and did not come out smiling - I was bored, had a headache, and was thoroughly depressed. Random question though: is it just me, or should Sean Bean be suing Zemeckis for using his body as Beowulf? I swear that was the model - it certainly wasn't the great (big) Winstone. In any event, they didn't spend enough money animating this thing - the action looks stodgy and the human renderings are godawful. What a wreck.

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Jim Butcher said...

Posted on Nov 13 2007 11:59 Saw the film last night and thought it was great - huge 3D fun and a thoroughly enjoyable, refreshing cinema experience. Winstone's "Monstaaa" accent grates at first but he grows on you. This tiresomely conceited reviewer's missing the point - no, the emphasis wasn't on "insight into pre-Anglo-Saxon history" or the "Old English epic encomium" (sigh) but Beowulf should be applauded for its truly breathtaking look and feel (even more spectacular than Ratatouille, who's snooty restaurant critic this reviewer has obviously been influenced by) and confidence to stick with a bawdy script and quite graphic horror scenes (embelished, granted) when you'd expect the Hollywood execs to have pressured for a more cutesy, HAppy Meal friendly Disney-esque take on the legend.
I dare anyone not to see the film and come out smiling - the storyline and script may not be to everyone's taste, but as an eye-poping cinema experience this takes some beating.

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