Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #873 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-03-17
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Formats: Dolby, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 110 minutes

Amazon.co.uk
Spectacular animated action scenes turn the ancient epic poem Beowulf into a modern fantasy movie, while motion-capture technology transforms plump actor Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast) into a burly Nordic warrior. When a Danish kingdom is threatened by the monster Grendel (voiced and physicalised by Crispin Glover, River's Edge), Beowulf--lured by the promise of heroic glory--comes to rescue them. He succeeds, but falls prey to the seductive power of Grendel's mother, played by Angelina Jolie... and as Jolie's pneumatically animated form rises from an underground lagoon with demon-claw high heels, it becomes clear that we're leaving the original epic far, far behind. Regrettably, the motion-capture process has made only modest improvements since The Polar Express; while the characters' eyes no longer look so flat and zombie-like, their faces remain inexpressive and movements are still wooden. As a result, the most effective sequences feature wildly animated battles and the most vivid character is Grendel, whose grotesqueness ends up making him far more sympathetic than any of the mannequin-like human beings. The meant-to-be-titillating images of a naked Jolie resemble an inflatable doll more than a living, breathing woman (or succubus, as the case may be). But the fights--particularly Grendel's initial assault on the celebration hut--pop with lushly animated gore and violence. Also featuring the CGI-muffled talents of Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs), Robin Wright Penn (The Princess Bride), and John Malkovich (Dangerous Liaisons). --Bret Fetzer

DVD Description
After destroying the overpowering demon Grendel, Beowulf incurs the undying wrath of the beast's ruthlessly seductive mother, who will use any means possible to ensure revenge. What follows in an epic battle that will resonate through the ages, and immortalise the name of Beowulf.

Synopsis
Using the same CGI technique as his film The Polar Express, Robert Zemeckis directs this adaptation of Beowulf and Grendel's legendary story. Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, and Ray Winstone voice the epic heroes and villains with a script from Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary.

Customer Reviews

wary sensitive 12 year olds
I was amazed this film was given a 12 rating as some of the scenes were rather graphic, showing people having their limbs torn off was too much for my son (the look on his face said it all), should have been a 15.
His dad enjoyed it though!!!!!

Dissapointing
This film has some major flaws that I found very hard to overlook but the action sequesces were quite good.

Given the source material that the Beowulf poems and legends provide this film really fails to capitalise on that. It never really made me feel that beowulf was a legendary hero during the film. The fight with grendel had Beowulf flipping about like yoda on steroids and was more something I would have expected from a jet li or matrix fight scene in places. A lot of the characters are never really fleshed out fully especially the likes of john malkovic's character and this can make it hard to really connect with the characters in the film or care about them. Even the main character of beowulf lacked any real depth causing me not to really care what happened to him.

The film benefits from some truly great actors but Beowulf himself was woefully miscast, Sean Connery is able to play every role with a scottish accent and mostly get away with it the same cannot be said for Ray winstone and his accent. Within moments of Beowulfs appearence this great Nordic hero speaks with a distinctly london accent that would be at home in Albert Square. This was a huge problem for me and really stopped me from beleiving in the character at all.

I would recomend renting this or waiting for it to come on the telly. Only buy this film if you have already seen and enjoyed it or are a huge fan of the genre.

some good action sequences marred by bad casting and a weak plot full of weak characters.

Terrible
The 'motion capture' is utterly pointless. Why not just use the actors as usual; you've filmed them anyway! It just proves a distraction in what is a very dull film. The miscasting and modern dialect ensure that the film comes over as a complete mess.