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| | by J_Jammer, November 21, 2007 |
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“Beowulf” Lacked Heroic Heart
Genres: Action/Adventure, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Animation
Running Time: 1 hr. 53 min.
Release Date: November 16, 2007 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sexual material and nudity.
Distributors: Warner Bros. Pictures International, Paramount Pictures
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
JJ Rating: C-
There is this great warrior by the name of Beowulf (Ray Winstone) who came to get rid of the evil bad, bad monster called Grendel (Crispin Glover). It’s a well known story to high schoolers for it’s required reading for some. Beowulf.
Again as I’ve done before with other movies I didn’t particularly like I’ll start with the good. The visuals were awesome. The bodies looked very real and detailed and neat. The bodies of Beowulf and Grendel’s mother were spectacularly wowing, mother to men and Beowulf to women. Agenlina Jolie as Grendel’s mother sounded hot. But really hot doesn’t make a movie. Robin Wright Penn was the only one that really stands out in my mind as worthy of remembering. She played Queen Wealthow. Crispin Glover as Grendel was just a match made in heaven. The voice was as icky as the creature. I’m supposed to be mentioning good things and I’m really not mentioning anything good just mediocre.
Mediocre is what Beowulf was. It wasn’t anything spectacular or outstanding. It was sub par compared to what spectacular really is in the movie world. This is like that movie that was made a while ago called Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001). That had awesome visuals with life like neatoness but the story wasn’t so grand. Beowulf is like that. The story blew. I saw a better adaptation and it was called Beowulf and Grendel (http://www.beowulfandgrendel.com/). It was beyond the word better.
Beowulf had action and it was interesting and good and somewhat thrilling. But action isn’t enough because the story needs a form of heart. It has to have feeling and it has to create a depth of care in the audience. It lacked that for me. I didn’t care. I didn’t care if anything happened to any of the characters. I just had the shrug my shoulder not care mentality.
I also got up and complained about a talking child. Do you know how often I do that? Not at all…because I don’t want to miss any of the movie, but since this movie was so blehing I wanted to and I did and guess what? I didn’t miss anything important because the movie drags.
Beowulf is a story that derives from a tale of long ago and people learn about it in high school and it’s spawned many movies and this one just proves they should STOP. I will NOT buy this movie nor do I ever want to see it again. I’m very disappointed in the way they decided to retell it. It should have had heroic heart instead of the stone cold money making greed suction that Hollywood movies seemingly LOVE to create.
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| | | by miss_twainus, July 12, 2008 |
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I was confused because I read the book when I was about 14 and couldn't remember very much. But the story was good and I realized how bad I was at reading the story. The whole video game-looking thing was cool. And I liked the graphics, although they were rather scary/loud and sometimes confusing. But I liked how they stressed things like distances. The first murder scene was very violent, but the deaths were very different and interesting. Oh yea! I watched this in 3-D, which was pretty cool. If the movie didn't come out looking like a video game I suppose it would look pretty fake. I just wonder how it was developed.
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| | by wizy123, April 04, 2008 |
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| this movie was not one of the best i have seen, it lacked origonality but made up with the action it had placed thoughout. one of the only reasons i have watched this was for angelina Jolie...nea.... probobly one of the only good things in this movie was the fact that it had a good storyline to it, and the epic poem was written well, watching this movie i had turned away many times just because i found it slow and needing to end quickly. all in all i give it 6 stars out of ten to show it was an ok movie if you have nothing better to do |
| | by , December 14, 2007 |
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This has to be one of the best films of 2007. It has everything you would want in a thriller: suspense, fantasy, horror, gore. However, I do think that because of the amount of blood and gore in the scenes with Grendel and the seductive scenes with his mother, Angelina Jolie that instead of a 12 certificate, the film should have been a 15 certificate. I for one would not have taken my 12 year old to see Beowulf.
The first half of the film, with Grendel and the Vikings in their feasting hall was more realistic and believable than the second half of the film with the dragon which turned into a human man when he died.
Grendel reminded me of the Cyclops, Polyphemus in Book 9 of Homer's Odyssey. This comparison goes right up to the way Grendel eats the men and pulls their limbs apart.
This film is semi-animated and I believe this worked well with the scenes and characters in the story. If the film had been all animated, I think this would have made it less believable and less realistic. And if the film had not been animated at all, I believe that this would also have lessened the realism and believeability of the story.
Angelina Jolie suits the part of the seductive demon, Grendel's mother very well. The part suits her perfedctly. She has the body and the attitude to play the part very realistically.
Ray Winstone did well as the brave and wise hero Beowulf. The portrayal of Beowulf also reminded me of Homer's Odyssey. At the start of the film, when Beowulf and his men are sailing in the fierce storm towards the Viking settlement and his ultimate doom, Beowulf reminds me of Odysseus in the Odyssey during the storm caused by Zeus. He acts and looks like a hero.
The protrayal in film of this time old myth is very accurate with the original. In fact I couldn't pick out any differences between the old classic and this modern adaptation.
The only criticism I have of this film was the introduction of the bright orange dragon near the end. The dragon was supposed to Beowulf's son by the demon mother (Angelina Jolie). However, this made little sense as Grendel had been Hrothgar's son by the demon and he had at least slighty resembled a human (he had four limbs resembling arms and legs and an upright torso. He could also utter simple sounds, felt fear, pain and recognised hs father.) The dragon on the other hand, looked nothing like his father and also felt nothing (except pain). Eeven though the dragon was Beowulf's son, he did not recognise or did not care about him as Grendel had cared for Hrothgar. Grendel had refused to hurt Hrothgar, even when tormented by him, but the dragon (who was not even given a name) only charged after Beowulf.
Also when he died, Grnedel did not transform into a proper human man as the dragon did.
The tale ends tragically and on a cliffhanger. Beowulf kills the dragon (his own son) by yanking out his beating heart, while clinging on to him in mid air. When the dragon falls to his death on the beach, so does Beowulf. Thus both father and son die side by side by the sea (where Beowulf first appeared).
The cliffhanger is after the remaining men have sent Beowulf's body out to sea on a burning funeral ship. The new king (one of Beowulf's men and his oldest friend) remains on his own. The demon mother appears one last time out in the open water. She pulls the ship down to the depths of the sea amd the two stand watching each other until the film ends. This begs the question, does the lengend continue and does the demon continue to wreak havoc on the little village in the middle of nowhere?
Here the original story ends, but film makers love sequels, so who knows, maybe the tale will go on...... |
| | by skittles6, December 13, 2007 |
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In the name of the mighty Odin, what this movie needs is an audience that knows how to laugh. Laugh, I tell you, laugh! Has the spirit of irony been lost in the land? By all the gods, if it were not for this blasted infirmity that the Fates have dealt me, you would have heard from me such thunderous roars as to shake the very Navy Pier itself down to its pillars in the clay.
To be sure, when I saw "Beowulf" in 3-D at the giant-screen IMAX theater, there were eruptions of snickers here and there, but for the most part, the audience sat and watched the movie, not cheering, booing, hooting, recoiling, erupting or doing anything else unmannerly. You expect complete silence and rapt attention when a nude Angelina Jolie emerges from the waters of an underground lagoon. But am I the only one who suspects that the intention of director Robert Zemeckis and writers Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary was satirical?
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