Anti-Christian and just flat out bad

Rating: 2/10 (13 November 2007)

Rarely do I see a film with such blatant anti-Christian moments. This theme is progressed with contrasts between the hero Beowulf and references to the non-heroic / emasculated actions of Christians. Specifically, Unferth (John Malcovich) is contrasted against Beowulf throughout the film. Unferth is a coward who flees from the monsters terrorizing his village, whereas Beowulf is the hero who conquers the beasts. At the conclusion of the work Unferth has become a slave owning/beating Christian priest who is still just as cowardly as ever, yet Beowulf is the heroic king whose well deserved fame has spread throughout the land. This contrast summarizes the heroic idolization and the not-so-subtle anti-Christian theme apparent throughout the film.
Additionally, the plot is relatively absent. The film erred on the side of crowd pleasing with a presentation in 3D and spectacular special effects. But, such special effects are only expected by the current eight dollar paying movie-goer, so all the film really has going for it is a presentation in 3D. Regarding character depth, Beowulf (Ray Windstone) and his queen (Robin Wright Penn) seemed to demonstrate some towards the end of the movie, but all other characters lacked depth completely.
The film has no redeeming qualities. The market for the movie is unmistakably teenage boys with no desire to critically think about what they view. Just imagine what that does to a film.