Interesting take on the "classic"

Rating: 8/10 (30 November 2007)

This movie is not a faithful rendering to the book; in fact, I don't think it was meant to be. Instead, the producers wanted to make a story about stories, how stories were made and told. Some people criticize this movie for distorting the "classic", but we must remember that the book was itself a nexus between oral poetry and written text. Much has changed: Beowulf changed from something spoken and heard to something that you can read in your room (or back then, a manuscript in the monastery). And now Beowulf is something you can watch on the big screen.
So this movie is about how myths are told and passed down, from one storyteller to another, from the book to Hollywood. Zemeckis is pretty good at mixing genres and poking fun at them, for example Back to the Future III. This movie does just that - it makes fun of the search for the "authentic".
Great cast - most of the characters are able to escape stereotypes, they have subtle personalities and it's interesting to see how they change through the movie. Beowulf is sort of a bully-like hero, and you actually feel sorry for Grendel, who unleashes his attack, Revenge of the Nerds style, on the human frat parties. Malkovich did a great job, interesting intermediary between being pagan and Christian. Angelina Jolie plays Grendel's milf, quite creepy.
I enjoyed this movie (for the above reasons), even though it might scare little kids and disappoint the Old English Literature (Beowulf-is- written-by-Homer-or-Shakespeare) fan club. But hey, watching a movie is supposed to be fun: thinking is optional.