Product: Beowulf (1999)
Rating: 4.0
Good B-Grade Tech-Fantasy Romp (ignoring the nudie bits!)
Well I have to state right from the outset that I am biased. I love Christopher Lambert, especailly in these sword wilding smart cracking roles. This has to be the best fick he has done (in this vein) since the original Highlander, and it is rather reminiscent of that title. Following loosely on the Norse fable of the same name, Beowulf plunges the viewer straight into a fantasy world with a technological bent. There are chain swords and hedge trimmer weapons, a huge steampunk-esque outpost, and guys with armour reminicient of robocop. Anyone who has played roleplaying games the likes of Shadowrun or Castle Falukenstien will be right at home here. The soundtrack is awsome (heavy rock and techno bents) and the dialoge and acting are on par with the usual fair of todays mass produced movies. However this is definately a B-grade movie. Not that that is a bad thing. I happen to like decent B-grade fair. And this is quite decent. They spent quite a bit on the sets and props for this show, shame they didn't spend just a little more on the CGI. Now to the bad points. The female leads are reminicent of ex-porn stars, espically the blond playing Grnedel's mother. The women's cloths are designed to hide very little and show off a lot, which turns some scenes into covers for Heavy Metal Magazine! Despite this I give it quite a good rating 4/5, however this is as a B-grade movie. Good beer and pizza movie, ladies might not see it that way. (and now I'm off to buy the soundtrack!)