Saturday, November 17, 2007

Beowulf Movie Review



Beowulf movie review
(no spoilers, just a few teasers)

Pride is the curse. Don’t forget it. King Hrothgar did. Beowulf did. Will you?

I saw the new Beowulf movie tonight in 3D with my buddy Patrick. Wow, what an amazing experience. The movie was so smart and well done. The director, Robert Zemeckis, and the writer (I believe he is not alone in writing this adaptation) Neil Gaiman, did fabulous jobs.

I love the original poem and have read it several times. This movie version was different, but so great. It was visually stunning, exciting, and seeing it in 3D was excellent. Go see it in 3D for sure. I heard that if you go to an IMAX theater you get goggles, whereas I wore plastic glasses—not too bad. Either way, pay the extra price, which for me was $1.50 extra (total $9.00) for a night showing. I heard IMAX was like $12.50. I think it would probably be worth it.

The plot is very similar to the poem, with some iconic scenes right off the ancient pages, but it combines the Grendel story with the Fafnir story (about Beowulf fighting a dragon), and makes it cohesive. They also left in some old English language, which was great to hear. It added a flavor that made the movie feel like it was paying homage to the original poem.

Survival is ruthless. That tagline from the movie is so good. Angelina Jolie as Grendel’s mother was great. Did I mention she is totally hot?

Here’s three reasons to watch the movie in a theater:

The story has lasted for so long because it’s great.
The movie is wildly entertaining and beautiful.
Angelina Jolie is hot. Even as a motion-captured cartoon like image.

Remember one last thing when you watch the movie for added enjoyment:
Pride is the Curse.

Paul Genesse, Author

http://www.paulgenesse.com/

Author of The Golden Cord
Book One of the Iron Dragon Series
Five Star Books (April 2008)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I really wonder what's to become of Angelina. On the one hand, she pursues her humanity, what with the 20 children and the charity work. On the other, she seems determined to abandon her humanity as she slowly starves her body away to a sliver. It's especially creepy how her lips never deflate, no matter how stick-like her arms may become. It's no wonder her marriage seems troubled -- it can't be easy to watch her kill herself like that.
I bet she really enjoyed the Grendel's Ma role. Such a Kali-quality female would be something she could really sink her teeth into and process some of the misery of adult female life.