Guess I expected too much...

Rating: 4/10 (26 November 2007)

I'll keep this short and sweet. There are TONS of complete story breakdowns throughout IMDb and they tell it far better than I could so I'll tell what I think is important to me.
Pros - 1. The 3D is stunning if you see it in 3D. 2. Animation is great even not in 3D. 3. Angelina Jolie looks stunning with a perfect blend of animation and live motion photography. Uhhh.. I wish there was more.
Cons - 1. The story doesn't follow the real story at all 2. The writer seems bent on making the character Beowulf so SUPREME of a fighter that he has him doing ridiculous things such as fighting naked to prove a point of his superior skill. This was laughable and did nothing but further prove my next point. 3. This should be RATED R. Everything is done over the top and especially the gore. I don't mind this when expecting it but I almost took my son to see this PG-13 film. I can honestly say that I would feel MUCH better taking him to see 300 than Beowulf and he is only 8 years old. Of course I wouldn't take him to see either. Beowulf comes off as a movie that could be seen by a family. Not only this but I found most of the gore was not needed at all and out of place. I can't say this about 300. I thought every part of the gore in that film served a purpose but with Beowulf it is non stop and as I said, unneeded. Every time you can expect a bloody part it is there but over done. If a creature is killed it can't just be slashed with blood coming out. It has to have an eye ball being slashed in half and then it cut in half with gushing blood that covers the screen. What's the point?!?! I felt like Beowulf was competing with Anime porn horror at times to be the goriest and sexiest it could be. My biggest question is, HOW did this get a PG-13 rating?! The nudity is there throughout although they do mask it a bit with what would be the equivalent of a large pasty over Angelina that is just thick enough to mute the color of her skin and hide her pubic hair but not thick enough to hide much else. Now, let me explain clearly. I'm not so opposed to this that I would rip it if it were rated R but being PG-13 I feel it needs a thrashing. If you thought 300 was even remotely too violent or too bloody then stay far away from Beowulf.
Summary - If you want to see one of the best films in 3D to come around and can stand a story that is destroyed, ridiculous writing with such scenes as the hero thinking he proves something by fighting while naked and you can handle plenty of gore then by all means check out Beowulf. However, if you thought 300 was gory or you don't appreciate gratuitous gore and nudity (although as I said the nudity is disguised so to speak) then you should stay away.