Well, it certainly looks nice

Rating: 4/10 (30 November 2007)

Here we have a film which is a triumph of animation. Unfortunately it is not a triumph of storytelling. The animation is so good, often eerily lifelike, that it is almost worth seeing the film for that reason alone. But be forewarned that in order to see all the impressive visuals you're going to have to sit through a story which fails to engage. And if you're a Beowulf purist, because I'm sure there is such a thing, be prepared to be disappointed as this film version of the story strays in very significant ways from the original text. I suppose it's understandable that the filmmakers would find it necessary to jazz up such an ancient story for a modern audience. But so many of the changes seem pointless and any attempt to liven things up seems to have failed because, at least as it is presented in this film, the story of Beowulf is a rather dull one. All the eye-catching animation can't hide the fact that this story really drags.
Despite the failings of the story, it must be said that there are some fine performances in this film, although seeing as the actors are not actually "there" on the screen, it's a whole different kind of performance than we're used to. But the king Hrothgar sure looks and sounds like Anthony Hopkins, now doesn't he? And hey, isn't that Brendan Gleeson? And Robin Wright Penn? And Angelina Jolie, only all painted up gold and with high-heeled feet? Hopkins and Gleeson and all the others do a fine job of bringing their not-quite-real versions of themselves to life. As Beowulf himself, Ray Winstone may look less like himself than the others but his performance is fine as well. And a special mention for Crispin Glover, who I am fairly certain is not in fact a giant, hideous monster in real life but who here does a good job giving some life and personality to the monster Grendel. But still, despite the impressive cast and the impressive way that cast is brought to animated life, the film really doesn't work. The story fails to take off and for much too much of the time we're left just biding time until the next admittedly visually stunning battle scene. For all the obvious effort that went into the animation you'll end up wishing a little more attention had been paid to the story itself. The story is where this movie fails.