Looks and feels brilliant, a real experience... shame i didn't like it

Rating: 6/10 (28 October 2009)

I wasn't too sure what to make of this film when I saw it. I think maybe it's one of those that you have to watch twice before you fully understand it. It is true that is looks amazing. That is to say the animation is really something. It's done quite obviously in CGI but in such a way that it really suits the dark mood of the film and the story. It is almost worth watching just for this reason. The characters actually look like the actors portraying them, bringing a new purpose to the job of voice-over. It's unfortunate then that I didn't like it that much. Obviously Beowulf is a classic story and making a film such as this was inevitable. The problem is that doing it in animated form kind of dumbs it down a little. What I mean is I'm not really sure who this film is for, the dark story and horror elements (Beowulf is essentially a horror story) make it for adults but the animation says its for young teenagers. If it wasn't animated the amount of blood featured in this film would no doubt make it a 15 certificate. The result is a film that doesn't really know what it wants to be, some films can get away with appealing for both audiences but Beowulf doesn't quite seem to pull it off. The voices of Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins and (dare I say it) the addition of Angelina Jolie are fun to listen to and suit their characters perfectly. The overall result is something that is fun to watch but becomes boring for both audiences about halfway through.