Beowulf

Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robin Wright-Penn, Crispin Glover, and Angelina Jolie.

Based loosely on the oldest known English epic heroic poem from an unknown author, Beowulf is a computer animated movie that depicts the legendary hero's adventures, but with a twist. The movie offers high-octane action scenes, an amazing cast, great humor, as well as partial nudity that a PG-13 movie can offer. What more could you ask for? ;p

The movie starts off with King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) with her young Queen Wealtheow (Robin Wright-Penn) beside him, having a party on his mead hall. Out of nowhere, a monster attacks the hall and literally crashed the party... killing off many people. It is then revealed that this monster is constantly wreaking havoc on King Hrothgar's kingdom, as well as its people. This monster is Grendel (Crispin Glover). Troubled by this scourge, Hrothgar seeks a hero who could slay the monster. Enter Beowulf (Ray Winstone) and his men. Beowulf, a legendary warrior and old acquaintance of Hrothgar, offer his services to slay the monster Grendel once and for all. Will Beowulf be successful? After slaying the monster, is his job done or does another ordeal awaits him? What is the real story behind Grendel, and why does he keep terrorizing Hrothgar's kingdom? There's more to it than meets the eye.

Beowulf, the movie, is a great (albeit, a loose) adaptation of the old English epic poem. The movie boast of great production: the graphics, the voice acting, the script. Everything is well drawn. At seeing the trailer of the movie, I thought it was a live action with real people. I was surprised to see that it was actually computer generated (like Shrek and The Polar Express). Yes, the graphics are THAT good! The actors look very much as their 3D generated counterparts. Everything in the movie really works. Director Robert Zemeckis really got the job done.

The only thing that I noticed that the other critics didn't like is the "LOOSE" adaptation on the movie. The screenplay writers added new twists for the movie, one being Beowulf's relationship with Grendel's mother. For me, this is the double-edge factor of the movie. Historians would definitely argue with the new twists the movie offered, while some would appreciate the changes the writers did to give the movie some substance.

I, for one, actually liked the new twist on the old legend. In this movie, they made Beowulf as someone more human as opposed to the original story where he seemed invincible and god like. Beowulf, in this adaptation, is someone who's flawed. He is capable of committing errors and mistakes like a normal human could, and it haunts him at the end. This, in turn, provides more substance for the movie. Instead of an typical flawless hero, we have someone who is flawed... someone real. Again, this brings substance. Great screen play.

Movie lovers would truly like the this film, while some historians would raise their eye-brows for the loose adaptation that the movie followed. Anyways, this is the must-see movie of the month (and probably one of the best for this year). High production value, great actors, amazing script... this is great twist to the old legend.
I don't want to discuss much, because I don't want to give off spoilers to ruin others' enjoyment. Watch it yourself. Must see! Rating: 10/10