Heroes, Ego's, Temptation and Redemption.

Rating: 8/10 (27 November 2007)

Went to see this at the IMAX in Waterloo, London. Great fun to watch-made all the more so by meeting Beowulf himself- Ray Winstone, who had sneaked in with his wife to catch the film on a relatively quiet Monday afternoon.
Sorry Ray- I had to get a photo! The film opens and after a few minutes of settling into the "3D" format (initial camera tracking/panning shots appeared a little blurry to me), the movie set its stall out quickly.
Grendal, the genetically deformed "monster"-spawn of the union of a water demon and a man, is tortured to the point of self-harming by sounds of revelry and fornication coming from the drinking hall of King Hrothgar. The creature is great- not traditionally scary or cool-looking, ala Alien or predator, more a melting pot of the Fly crossed with gollum on steroids! Grendal is closer to Karloff's sad & misunderstood monster in Frankenstein, than any evil incarnate. However, he wrecks a terrible blood-thirtsy revenge on the men and women of the town. This was a superb, grotesque and horrific slaughter-brought to life by the huge IMAX "3D" screen. Beowulf enters the fray, travelling from overseas, seeking glory and reward. Inadvertently, his ambition is sowing the seeds of his own destruction at the hands of the only mortal who can defeat him- himself. The boastful, but likable portrayal of the young hero is captured wonderfully by the unrecognisable Winstone, as is Hopkins King Hrothgar. Angelina Jolie has never looked more sensual- and all in a CGI/motion capture movie!
Beowulf defeats Grendal-but at what price? Will The temptation into the Faustian pact between Beowulf and the beasts mother be his undoing? Will he realise the true cost of his actions?
The final battle with the Dragon is superb!
The original Epic story comes from a 3000+ lined poem from England-as early as 700A.D. and contains many of the key emotional elements of human-kinds greatest strengths and weaknesses.
PLUS POINTS: The 3D and the motion capture CGI is getting better and better- not much of the dead zombie eyes in this. Brutal, action packed set pieces. A solid story. NEGATIVE FACTORS: -The naked Beowulf's genitals being covered in every shot by furnishings, foreground etc, ala Austin Powers- should have left him with his wolf skin pants on! -The animated horses were poor in terms of capturing their motion- seemed a little unconvincing. - People moaning about it doesn't look totally real! Get over it- it isn't!
One thing I have to say, just because this is in essence an "animated" movie- does not make it "Walt Disney" by any means! To suggest kids younger than 12 (even if accompanied by an adult) can see this is crazy! The censors should be ashamed!