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Rating of
2.5/4
"Beowulf" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 04/09/2013
A misshapen creature terrorises a Viking township leading to a bloodthirsty warrior answering the call of its ruler to slay the beast. Beowulf begins as you'd expect, with two dimensional Tolkien wannabes slapping each other's backs, bragging about their adventures and bouncing around the screen in computer generated blood baths. In fact, the heat of the battle featuring a naked Beowulf whose modesty is preserved by some laughably phallic scenery in a similar style to Austin Powers is almost comical, a comparison not helped by Angelina once again showcasing her Ivana Humpalot accent. The film only becomes remotely interesting once Grendel (almost incomprehensibly voiced by Crispin Glover) is disposed of; it is actually when the story shifts to the aftermath of the battle and the …
Rating of
2.5/4
Okay Retelling, but NOT Epic!
writeandleft - wrote on 10/25/2008
One of the reasons I so disliked The Polar Express was because of the motion-capture animation used in the film. To me, the characters looked lifeless and zombie-fied; almost scary, in some cases. Thankfully, the technological advancements of the animation have improved enough to make Beowulf a much more watchable film - especially in the battle scenes, which are awe-inspiring.
GREATLY breaking away from the original epic poem, the film opens in Denmark in 507A.D, where King Hrothgar (voiced by Anthony Hopkins) finds his kingdom greatly besieged by the giant troll Grendel (the violent and gory opening scene, in which Grendel attacks the hall where the king and his subjects are making merry, is truly jaw-dropping). The king is so distraught, anxious to rid himself of Grendel, that he …
Rating of
3/4
Flawed but well done at the same time.
TheWolf - wrote on 07/01/2008
When Beowulf was announced I thought it looked like it was going to be one of the most amazing CGI films ever released. As I saw the first trailers for it I knew there would be a few things that I would be impressed with, and some of the things I would find to be problematic. Once it hit the theaters many of my friends clamored to see it on the opening night. I decided against it. Actually I held out until last weekend. Yeah its been out of the theaters for almost a year, and its been on DVD for about 5 months.
To be honest I had lost most of my interest in seeing it. Not because of negative reviews or because of anyone saying that there was anything technically bad about it but because a couple of the trailers had left me questioning whether or not i would truly enjoy the movie.
Now …
Rating of
2.5/4
3D is too much of a gimick.
Tino - wrote on 05/22/2008
This is a very odd movie. It follows the tale that the epic poem has been for centuries, with some modifications for the purpose of a longer more connected story, and some for the simple point of making it more of a hollywood blockbuster. The action is good, with good acting, and great animation, but this story takes the subtle personality and motives of the title character, such as greed for glory, power, lust, and pride, and makes it incredibly obvious, even though a lot of people don't really care about the brute warrior's inner feelings. But, the biggest problem in this movie, is that it was made into too much of a hollywood 3-D spectacle. It was made for 3-D and that is quite obvious. Lots of close ups and odd camera angles get really annoying when watching it on a regular screen, …
Rating of
3.5/4
I AM BEOWULF! ..well I wish.. but this movie rocks
Epic Fan - wrote on 03/03/2008
What a great film. I dunno the reception this seemed to get by those on message boards seemed a bit luke warm. I went into this movie not expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised to find a wonderful and beautiful action movie here. One of my other fears was that since it was CGI I was afraid it was going to be another sugar coated kids film and it's definitely not. Sexual themes and incredibly gory this movie hold no punches. A great classic story re packaged in a more action packed way. You will question such an arrogant man like Beowulf but quickly realize he does not lie..maybe only exaggerate. The CGI is absolutely beautiful and you can see that a live action version of this movie would have been quite hard to pull off during some of the scenes. It could have been done but …
Rating of
2.5/4
Fake is not beautiful
BryanFury - wrote on 12/01/2007
It hit me good like a sucker punch, that's what happened to me upon seeing this. You see I almost liked this movie because it had a very good premise, but in the end it did not lived up to its hype. And as soon as they decided to go the CG way, it destroyed the whole essence of what could have been an epic movie. They should have used real actors, with real emotions and real fight scenes. Everything was just a beautiful yet fake façade which leaves viewers empty and restless. Overall the movie was entertaining, like a cut scene from a pc-game. But I guess audiences will find everything else satisfying. It was a good story all throughout but the essence was just not there. And by the way, the whole movie could have been better if a real Angelina Jolie came out of the water, just a …
Rating of
2.5/4
Awesome 3D effects, little else
Josh C - wrote on 11/18/2007
This is one movie that is much better than the book, but that still isn't saying too much. It was full of action, gore and amazing 3d effects but it still came off dull. I saw the IMAX 3D version and feel that if I hadn't I would have a lower opinion of this film. The 3d effects made this movie completely worth wild to check out in the theatre and I would recommend it to anyone. However, if you miss it in 3D I would suggest waiting until video.
The action sequences were pretty good most of the time, sometimes they felt a bit to "video gamey" for my liking. It had the feel of watching a video game cut sequence which I have never cared for. The dialog was very reminiscent to that of 300 which obviously wasn't known for having spectacular dialog but it had the same feel and style that …
Rating of
2.5/4
CGI Candy
Chris Kavan - wrote on 11/18/2007
I believe I’ve come to the realization that either video games are becoming a lot like movies, or movies are becoming a lot like video games. Certain parts of Beowulf look like they would fit right into a cut scene in say, a God of War or Heavenly Sword-type game. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing, for me at least, but it makes one wonder if this is the future of film, than maybe game makers are the ones ahead of the game.
Utilizing the latest in completely photo-realistic CGI (much improved from The Polar Express), Robert Zemeckis takes an ancient story, throws in some great monsters, fight scenes and spectacular settings, and manages to make it resonate with modern audiences.
Still, with a story that old, you know there’s going to be some liberties taken – such as …
Rating of
2.5/4
Beowulf a visually stunning, dull movie.
efrain - wrote on 11/14/2007
"Beowulf" may wow audiences with its bombastic re-telling of an Anglo-Saxon epic, but it's too preoccupied with visual indulgence, sweeping camera movements and flat characters usually reserved for elaborate video game prologues. Oh and it's in 3D.
"Beowulf" is a pretty straight-forward story: The buff and boastful warrior Beowulf ("played" by Ray Winstone of "The Departed") must fight and defeat the demon-monster, Grendel (Crispin Glover), who is terrorizing King Hrothgar's (Anthony Hopkins) realm. Beowulf later must face the monster's mother (Angelina Jolie) who is an even more terrifying and powerful monster (and Lara Croft look-alike).
Competing for your attention are big battles involving heroic and sometimes naked warriors, oozing monsters and fire-breathing dragons, not to …
Rating of
1.5/4
Beo-woof
Allison - wrote on 11/14/2007
The stars got me in the theater. Plus, I had high hopes for a script that was co-written by Roger Avary. However, it was pretty boring. I didn't realize it was in 3-D or animated before I went to see it. Angelina has nothing to worry about. She has mud covering her front and nipples. Having her completely naked would have made the movie better.
At one point I was wondering if 300 had inspired this piece of crap movie. I definitely hadn't signed up for 300, arrows, and battles and junk like that. The animation was good however, and I got to keep the 3-D glasses.
My friend liked it a lot more, but that's because he was forced to read the book in high school and thought the movie was a bit more comprehendible. He told the guy taking notes that the movie was good. I said it was …
