More a technological marvel than a coherent movie

Rating: 4/10 (15 December 2007)

Meh. I had low expectations going in, and it couldn't even really meet them. I saw it in 2D, and though the visuals were very impressive and at times stunning, there were too many instances where it seemed obvious that they were going for the 3D 'look' (basically, any time something flew at the camera). The backgrounds and sets and creatures all looked terrific, but the human characters were nowhere near realistic and just seemed to be rejects from the Shrek movies. I feel they should have used real actors, no animation, with every else CG - something like what 300 or Sin City did. As a result, I couldn't be simply wowed by the images.
The story has potential, but fails on the execution. I do like what they changed from the poem; the whole film flowed better and it got interesting right in the middle with regards to Grendel's mother. Unfortunately, the ideas the film brings up are never really fleshed out, and before long there's another incredible action scene to distract us from the plot. The acting is pretty bad, not only because the animated characters can't express emotion, but the voices are bland and have trouble getting around the clunky dialogue. Read the poem (and the excellent novel Grendel by John Gardner) if you want to think, see this if you want to be entertained.
It's not terrible, but it's not an overpowering experience like it's been made up to be. The action scenes aren't that impressive, and they're made even less so by the fact that it's all animated. It's more of a showcase for this new technology then a coherent, interesting movie, though it does adapt the poem well. It's a fun watch, and should definitely be seen in theatres, but that's about it.