Released: November 16th, 2007
Runtime: 1 hr. 53 min.
Ticket Price: $7.50 Matinee
Refreshments: Red Vines
Starring: Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, Angelina Jolie & Alison Lohman
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Rating: Check it Out When it Hits the Likes of HBO or Showtime – 
Synopsis: The Old English epic poem from the ninth century is brought to life. It shows the life and adventures of the Scandinavian hero, Beowulf, who saved the Danes from the monster Grendal and his mother that took revenge.
Review: Beowulf may be an epic poem, but it is a boring movie. Probably should’ve went to the 3D version, as maybe having arrows, axes and spears flying off the screen at you would have kept the mind from wondering.
The one quibble with a movie like 300 is that it’s visually appealing, but lacked any emotional depth. Well, Beowulf has some visual appeal, until the dead stares of the animated actors start to weird you out, which gives it even less gravitas than 300.
The motion capture animation is pretty amazing, but also rather strange, as all the characters look real, but not real too. In a movie like Shrek the Third, some of the characters favor the real actors that are voicing them, but the whole thing looks and feels animated. Beowulf is animated, but meant to look real. While the dragon was quite spectacular, everything else is kind of odd and creepy, but not in a good way. This is a case of, just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. The movie may have come off better with real actors surrounded by animation, much like 300
If the animation technique interests you or seeing something in 3D does, then watching it on the big screen might be worth it, otherwise you might as well wait until it hits the likes of HBO or Showtime, if at all. It is always a good sign when a movie leaves you feeling happy, as you exit the theater, but when the happiness comes because the movie is finally over, not so much.
What did you think of Beowulf?
Beowulf’s animation was all around impressive, though the characters’ movement reminded me a lot of Shrek. I appreciate the fact that this movie gives a pseudo-education in ancient literature (never had to read the book as a child)