Teringer
An Exercise In Nonsense
Brendon Jones
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
Bumpy Chip
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Python Hyena
Beowulf (2007): Dir: Robert Zemeckis / Cast: Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright, Angelina Jolie, Crispin Glover: Total suck fest about a man of great strength named Beowulf who arrives to slay the feared monster Grendel. Setup works given an interrupted celebration that unfortunately didn't involve shutting down the film. Director Robert Zemeckis sinks with pitiful dialogue, formula storytelling, a laughable conclusion, and special effects that are about as festive as an outdoor toilet. This is a major disappointment for the director who made Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Ray Winstone constantly bellows, "I am Beowulf!" as if he's trying to convince himself. Didn't anyone realize how ridiculous this looked? Anthony Hopkins plays the regretful drunken King who pays for his earlier actions. It is the one passable performance in the film. Robin Wright basically sits and looks pretty. We can at least be thankful that she isn't yelling out Beowulf's name. Crispin Glover plays the monster Grendel. Finally Angelina Jolie as the marketing payoff as Grendel's mother who seeks revenge but not before trying to seduce Beowulf thus teasing the audience. Message of heroism is not evident in the laughable delivery but what is evident is that Zemeckis may need a stiff drink after this one. Score: 2 ½ / 10
rajatdahiyax
Beowulf is a 2007 American motion capture computer-animated fantasy film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary, inspired by the Old English epic poem of the same nameThe cast includes Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, John Malkovich, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman, and Angelina JolieIn a legendary time of heroes, the mighty warrior Beowulf battles the demon Grendel and incurs the hellish wrath of the beast's ruthlessly seductive mother. Their epic clash forges the timeless legend of Beowulf.
Sean Jump
The first problem this film has is that it simply isn't BEOWULF. It may be inspired by the classic saga of a Nordic warrior and his battles with diabolical monsters (Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a particularly wicked dragon), but it certainly isn't a faithful adaptation of that seminal poem. The script makes huge alterations in both the plot and characters, resulting in a story that has only vague similarities to its source. Grendel isn't a very formidable monster in this film, and his mother, as essayed by Angelina Jolie's CGI avatar, is transformed from a loathsome goblin to a devilish seductress. As for the CGI animation, I've seen both better and worse. The dragon comes across very well in animated form, and is actually one of the most fearsome looking fire- breathers the movies have given us, but the humans all look quite fake and even rather silly. Beowulf isn't the man he is in the original saga, either, where he is portrayed as an honorable and even God-fearing warrior of Good. In this film, he is not merely flawed, but duplicitous, and certainly no Christian (for whom he has little respect). Unfortunately, the film as a whole shows a similar disdain for the poem upon which it is based. Better film adaptations are the also unconventional but basically honorable efforts of BEOWULF AND GRENDEL starring Gerard Butler and THE 13TH WARRIOR featuring Antonio Banderas. As for this film, it is an unreserved failure, save perhaps as a parody of the great work from which it is spawned.
trackerinblue .
The people of the original tale were not Christians yet, so why are they being portrayed as wearing crosses and uttering Bible verses? Perhaps that was the fault of the original English writer of this fictional tale, but it's non-historical. It would have been nice if the movie actually reflected the history of early 6th century Sweden or anywhere in Scandinavia. The animation is beautiful and the acting good, but otherwise it doesn't even follow the original writer's plot line! The live-action version with Christopher Lambert is actually better. This is a long movie so watching it on a TV channel with commercials makes it 3.5 hrs long, so forget it as too frustrating to watch on anything but a disc or thru netflix. I gave this a 4 for the beauty of the animation alone.
