A cynical view of the hero myth

Rating: 9/10 (18 June 2020)

This movie is a strange case in cinema, It's kind of a forgotten movie in most cases due to it's animation that ranges from uncanny to so bafflingly human. And even when it is spoken of in good it's mostly recommended as a fun enjoyable ride despite how actually depressing and cynical this movie is with yes its fleeting moments of hope. But my God those silences those looks in their eyes.
This movie is separated in two and so will be this review
So the first half of the movie is the weakest part even though in my opinion not by a long shot but it is clearly the more traditional heroic tale of the two parts, and for a good reason. A kingdom is in celebration a monster crashes the party and terorizes the kingdom and Beowulf the blond handsome and mighty comes to town and saves the day by killing the monster in honor of his papa's friendship with the king. Typical hero story isn't it? Yet throughout it there is a profound underlying cynicism to it. King Hrothgar is a vane old drunken fool who thinks about nothing but money and drinks. Beowulf is an egotistical lying a**hole who is more preoccupied with forging his legend than anything even if he has to embelish reality or lie about his exploits. Grendel the monster instead of roaring and intimidating constantly wails and is misshapen as if he was in constant suffering and merely existing was a punishement yet him the "mosnter" spare the king. Beowulf fight the monster buck naked and is more animalistic and monstruous than the monster itself but it's not until Beowulf go fights Grendel's mother that the movie truly starts to reveal itself. One exchange of looks it's all it took for human failure to be shown bare. In that very precise moment the movie stops pretending and stares you down ast it talks to you of the failure of the heroic myths suddenly all the characters grow out of their clichés all of them become nuanced and complex. Beowulf becomes a man faced with his failure but still clinging on to the falsehood of the hero yet his new responsibilities consequence of his lies awaits him. King Hrothgar becomes this broken man haunted by his errors yet there is a wisdom that he gained from all his errors and after seeing the failure of Beowulf he decides to leave the stage and an age that he is not fit for anymore instead of being swallowed by it he decides to leave on his own terms and that is goddamn depressingly beautiful. Grendel becomes this poor creature damned by his own birth suffering constantly by merely existing yet he spares his father partly as an act of vengeance but also because deep down he knows that his father is his only link to his hummanity. Grendel's mother becomes the bringer of temptation a grieving mother and a creature simply trying to survive. And as Hrothgar leaves the stage so does the twilight of the age of heroes start its end.
The second half of this movie is a masterclass and fully utilizes the first half to its advantages despite being initially jarringby the sheer amount time passed in one sequence. The age of heroes is at its end and time has taken its toll. Beowulf is now a legendary invincible hero king famous throughout and revered throughout the land. He is old and tired more wise with the years and sees the vanity and futility of war and legends. He is no more the arrogant man and is starting to be done pretending to be a hero. It takes Wiglaf his most trusted friend and the shining ray of good human nature to make him work up the courage for one last time to be a hero. This time a true one, one who faces his mistakes head on and sacrifices himself for the sake of others and as he lays on the beach the dragon he has slayn taking on the form of a golden man he recoginses and accepts his son and his mistakes. In his last action he does as a simple man he becomes a true hero and in his dying breath he asks Wiglaf, his friend, for one thing no more lies this time. Wiglaf is in my opinion the heart and true hero of the story honest honorable and loyal he sees the flaws in his friend yet recognises the necessity of the hero myth as a way of inspiring the new generation and constantly urges his friend to be better. In a story that is more and more depressing he is a shining ray of light yet as his friend ends the age of heroes by killing the last dragon and simply asks for the end of lies, Wiglaf lies. He depicts at what should have been the funerals of a man the tale of Beowulf the hero king without fear the invicible, the infaillible, the flawless. And then as the body of Beowulf is taken by the seas in his drakkar the Ogress comes and kisses his dead body. Intrigued Wiglaf comes to the edge of the sea. That silence, that deafening defeating silence, all it took was an exchange of looks. You wish for him to not be tempted to be better but you cannot fool yourself. This is all beyond us it has always been beyond us oh so beyond our comprehension. We are only human we are faillible and you are next.