Good visuals and a decent enough story make this worth watching

Rating: 7/10 (2 December 2007)

Beowulf is not the greatest film ever made. In fact, it is probably not the best 3D film ever made, but it sure was entertaining. The acting for the most part was rather good, and the 3D visuals were a pleasant surprise.
Based very loosely on the ancient poem, Beowulf (Ray Winstone) must fight the monster Grendel who has been terrorizing a town and murdering people. Afterward, he must face Grendel's mother (Angelina Jolie in an enticing role) and years later a dragon. This movie can be taken as a metaphor on life and many of the things we all go through at some point in our lives. One of the most prevalent involves the sins of the father and how those sins can lead to more dangerous things in the future.
The story in the movie is not great, but it works well enough in a movie like Beowulf that is 100 percent computer graphic, and actually looks good. The characters, especially Anthony Hopkins as Hrothgar and Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother, were almost identical to the people playing them in real life. The scenery surrounding the characters was also splendid, and the creation of Grendel almost tops that of Gollum in Lord of The Rings. I really felt for Grendel (played perfectly by Crispin Glover). Instead of making Grendel the horrible beast that he was in the poem, the writers and director made him into a sort of tragic creature that we all pitied.
Not much else to say. Beowulf is definitely a movie that entertains until the end. It may not be the best movie you'll see all year, but it definitely isn't the worst.