Good but weird

Rating: 8/10 (5 January 2009)

It is a very strange sensation to watch a film where the cast comprises largely imitations of the people in the cast: watching Anthony Hopkins occupy a replica of himself is profoundly weird. The experience then becomes even weirder when the character inhabited by the larger than life persona of Ray Winstone isn't Winstone! (despite his avowed intention of doing away with monstahs!) One also has to overcome the expectation that a cartoon film (if one can refer to a wholly CGI film as such) is aimed predominantly at the younger viewer: Beowulf contains some quite savage violence, not to mention some earthy humour, and is definitely not for youngsters.
It is a worthwhile effort, though. Taking some liberties with the ancient epic poem, it tells an exciting story, and always looks good. The cast are all excellent (even if, as noted above, they are somewhat distracting), and it is worth singling out Crispin Glover for his stunning performance as Grendel - he makes a barbaric murdering monster something deserving of sympathy.
I can't comment on the 3D as I saw a flat copy, but I can imagine that it would have been very effective.
An interesting experiment, and one which was successful in artistic terms, even if perhaps not in commercial terms.