Laden with fantasy and stunningly real CGI, Beowulf only falls when it rises to not meet its own challenge

Rating: 6/10 (14 September 2008)

When Beowulf started, and the irresistible, deep and booming soundtrack began, the first thing I said to the person next to me is was: "are you sure this is an animated film!" (that's until Ray Winstone (Beowulf) appears).
Beowulf begins as any epic tale would. It lays out the cold, Norse, setting and the characters in a plain, simple fashion. Then the battles start. In fact, Beowulf only really begins 20 minutes in, when Grendel, a hideous giant, kills many people in a food hall in the presence of the king (Antony Hopkins). The King orders that the hall be closed and sends out a message stating that anyone who can slay Grendel will get riches 'beyond their wildest dreams.' Eventually, Beowulf, a warrior with oily muscles and a London accent arrives, and claims he will "kill your monsta'!" A battle scene between him and Grendel commences, which seems a repeat of the first battle, apart from Beowulf is naked. This is a weird and miss-fitted scene, as it falls awkwardly between the line of comedy (Beowulf has sausages, wine glasses, poles, swords blocking his private parts throughout in order to maintain a 12A (PG-13) certificate), and violent action. Beowulf eventually kills Grendel , but this angers another beast in the far mountains, his mother (Angelina Jolie).
After this, the film climaxes for 40 minutes, bearing the heavy promise of deep, moving scenes and great, energetic action scenes. But it's not to be, as the film slows down instead, tediously crawling along all its CGI frames, before a quick action scene is slapped on the end.
Its a real shame, after all, as Beowulf seems to miss the point in the second half. Its missing the heart that was brooding in a deep, potentially show-stopping cauldron, and settles for a film that bears nothing particularly memorable, but leaves good feeling in your heart afterwards.