Beowulf in sheep's clothing?

Rating: 6/10 (25 November 2007)

Hmmm, an exciting proposition. The director of some of the most enjoyable films of the last three decades in Zemeckis, the writer of some of the most original material in the last three decades in Gaiman, a crop of talented and award-winning actors and a source material so strong that they've been talking about it for a thousand years or so. A winning proposition? You'd think. But, overall, only Gaiman held up his end of the deal for me (neatly covering over the less than cinematic portions of the original text) as this all came together in an oddly flat and somewhat pointless exercise. I think maybe the much vaunted motion-capture performances were what turned me off, as I felt no connection or sympathy with any of the characters. Oh, it was all beautifully rendered and all of that malarkey, but I like my special effects to have a point and I'm not really sure what the point of mo-cap is. It took the heart out of this piece anyway (like tearing the heart from a fabled dragon), leaving a pretty but pointless two hours behind. Oh, quick footnote: Grendel, as portrayed by Crispin Glover, is an absolute show-stealer, and is almost worth the price of admission alone.