Written around 700 AD and being of unknown authorship, “Beowulf” may be one of the purest fantasies ever told–it was one of the first to tell the story of a warrior who fought demons and a dragon. In the hands of director Robert Zemeckis and screenwriters Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary, the story transcends what we might have envisioned when reading the epic poem. This latest film adaptation is a triumph of classic storytelling, giving us a both hero to root for and monsters to be afraid of; it’s a story told in the language of entertainment, having the power to capture its audience with compelling characters and breathtaking visuals. It’s an honest to goodness fable that tells it like it is, completely free of long-winded setups and complicated details.
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Relying on the same motion capture technique he utilized in “The Polar Express,” Zemeckis has crafted an entirely computer generated film that has an appropriately surreal look. This is especially true of the characters, which exist in a gray area between the realistic and the fantastic; they don’t look phony by any means, but they’re not completely authentic, either. I suppose part of this can be blamed on the limits of computer technology, which still isn’t able to fool an audience despite major advances. The thing is, I don’t think the film should have looked too realistic, simply because it’s telling an unrealistic story. “Beowulf” is a purely imaginative piece, and as such, the film needed a purely imaginative look. Zemeckis chose to make the entire thing one big special effect–there are no individual effects that enhance live-action scenes.
Taking place in the sixth century, Ray Winstone voices the title character with the perfect mix of pride, arrogance, and youthful impulsiveness. He also gives Beowulf a hard-edged masculinity that’s just as expected as it is cliché. Upon hearing that a monster is terrorizing a Danish kingdom, Beowulf and his Geat men come to the rescue. His motives are purely ego driven–he only wants to fight in glorious battle and be remembered for it. Stories of his past battles make this clear because they’re all so dramatic, downright boastful. Basically, it’s obvious that he’s exaggerating practically everything he says to make himself look more like a hero. All arrogance aside, he does believe himself capable of killing the creature that attacked the mead hall of the drunken, disgraced King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) and the quiet, suspicious Wealthow (Robin Wright Penn).
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This creature is Grendel (Crispin Glover), a character that, like Frankenstein’s Monster, is hideous yet pathetic. He’s a grotesque sight to behold: he’s massive, hunched over, and deformed, bearing little if any resemblance to a human being. His soft, pitiful voice–which speaks in a Scandinavian tongue–is pretty much his only connection to the rest of us. Here’s a character that’s truly nightmarish in appearance. And when his anger is added to the mix, it gets even worse; he loses control at the sounds of merrymaking, forcing him to retreat from his cave and attack the mead hall. As he breaks through the wooden door, the orange flames in the fire pit become a cold blue that engulf everything surrounding it. Beowulf is able to lure Grendel back by making his men sing, after which the two engage in fierce combat. Because Grendel has no armor or weapons, Beowulf decides to “fight him on equal terms” by stripping completely naked. How this was necessary, I have no idea, but I guess it doesn’t really matter.
It’s only after the battle is finished that Beowulf learns of Grendel’s mother (Angelina Jolie), a seductive water demon whose feminine curves are accented by shifting slivers of gold paint. Her hair ends as a living, tentacle-like ponytail, and her feet are naturally high heeled. When Beowulf first meets her, he carries a golden horn given by Hrothgar as a gift; in the presence of Grendel’s mother, the horn glows like molten metal, just as the water she emerges from becomes a phosphorescent blue. In this strange yet magically erotic atmosphere, she temps Beowulf with promises of fame and fortune. At what price, no one can say, but considering how fiercely protective she was of her son, I think it’s safe to assume that it’ll be quite high.
When the film flashes forward by a number of years, signs of Beowulf’s age are not the only differences–his views on glory, battle, and fame have changed, forcing him to wonder if his years of arrogance were worth it. At one time, he would scream, “I am Beowulf!” at the drop of a hat, but now, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to do that anymore. It doesn’t help that he’s keeping a big secret, one he’s held onto for many years. The arrival of a monstrous fire-breathing dragon brings his past back up to the surface, and he must face it whether or not he’s ready to.
But to face his past is to redefine what it means to be a hero. The young Beowulf believed it was all about winning battles, but the older Beowulf begins to feel that there’s something more to it, something that doesn’t rely on physical brute force and bloodshed. In Zemeckis’ film, Beowulf is just like any character on a Hero’s Journey: he matures as his quest nears its end. He looks back on what he’s been through and is able to draw strength from it. This well-established narrative formula is one of the things that make “Beowulf” an incredibly enjoyable film; it follows the most basic rules of fantasy storytelling, which is both necessary and effective. This movie thoroughly accomplishes what it set out to accomplish–it’s an engaging, exciting, and highly artistic vision, made with style and precision. Odin be praised.
Beowulf is a great story, it would not have lasted over thousand years if it wasn’t. This 2007 all CGI version deviates considerably from the original story’s truest and perhaps even its most enduring elements. The villain Grendel is portrayed as if we have the opportunity to sympathize with him. I remember upon his first attack in this film thinking that the Grendel from the epic poem would never have been so bold as to attack while his enemies were not asleep. Never would he come face to face with King Hrothgar on his throne. He is a cowardly and vile monster. I also remember studying Beowulf and thinking that this is the ultimate pagan hero. Courageous even if to a fault, boisterously politicizing himself to the gods by listing off each of his own unearthly tasks, challenging any evil no matter what it may be, even if it looks exactly like a naked Angelina Jolie. Most of all, he was to be a shining example of pride and honesty. It’s funny, until now I never realized how I may have idolized Beowulf during my High School readings but just like those young pagan lads a thousand years ago listening to tales of the great warrior around a giant bonfire, I guess in a way I did and still do. The Beowulf we get here is tricked and tormented and his time as king is essentially based on deception. He is flawed in ways that make him less a hero.
There is something to admire in that fearless definition of heroism held up high in the original tale. Something even more endearing about this ultimate clash between good and evil. Something got lost in the transition from ancient Anglo-Saxon scribes to the capable pens of Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery, who wrote the solid but fundamentally flawed screenplay. Their writing makes for a great popcorn movie but I’m quite sure English scholars are not so impressed. In fact, this will definitely not and should not be shown by teachers or professors to compliment the study of this epic poem.
Still, Beowulf as a film is a back-to-back feast for the eyes. It is a beautiful film and I also believe its style to be a worthy standard to uphold for other action filmmakers in the years to come. I was worried right off that bat that Beowulf would be a two-hour video game cut scene, but it manages to transcend that judgement with time. The characters may be quasi-cartoon but they still hold more spirit than many cartoons have the ability to by far. Ray Winstone is Beowulf and his demeanor is nearly perfect. Anthony Hopkins and John Malkovich, as Hrothgar and Unferth respectively, both shine through their computerized characters more than enough. Both actors bring the overall performances in this film to attention, as both are just that good at their craft. Crispin Glover manages Grendel fantastically and the Grendel here is quite visually satisfying considering I’ve never had a strong enough imagination to picture Grendel myself based on the descriptions in literature. Angelina Jolie is certainly good enough for her role, as flawed as it may be. Grendel’s mother is actually the character changed most of all, but as a separate villain from the epic poem, the character is not only crucial to Gaiman and Avery’s story, but actually quite effective. Oh yes, and what epic film with bearded warriors would be complete without everyone’s favorite brute from the early middle ages, Brendan Gleeson (as Wiglaf)?!
Overall, it is a tribute in some ways to the great story but on the other hand the way it sacrifices the purity of its characters just to create a convenient story, a gripping visual style, and a well-packaged blockbuster troubles me enough to only give a slight recommendation. Also, wait for this on blu-ray if you want it (if it ever comes in that format), I really can’t see any reason not to unless you need it right away. There is an HD DVD version available.
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