Beowulf
December 3rd 2007 01:04
Category: Movies
Director: Robert Zemeckis.
Producers: Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey & Jack Rapke.
Screenplay by: Neil Gaiman & Roger Avary.
Starring: Ray Winstone (Beowulf), Anthony Hopkins (Hrothgar), John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson (Wiglaf), Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman & Angelina Jolie (Grendel’s Mother).
Produced by: Warner Brothers.
Running Time: 115 minutes. Rating: M.
Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon poem whose origins many historians have pondered over down through the years, though if you’ve ever watched the 13th Warrior starring Antonio Banderas you’ll see a theory offered as to who may have been behind the poem. If you also know anything about Beowulf you’ll also realise that the 13th Warrior draws a lot of its plot from that same Anglo-Saxon poem, there are no ogres or dragons per se but the basic elements are there if you look. What does this actually have to do with the movie Beowulf? Well I mention this in passing as I saw a recent piece published that claimed Beowulf the movie was the first time that this epic had appeared on the silver screen, though as I have said such is not the case, the 13th Warrior had got there well before hand in its own unique way.
Having pointed that out Beowulf though is truer to the Anglo-Saxon poem, complete with the monsters and mayhem that were the meat and drink of such works back in the day when men were men, women were blonde and busty and quaffing was the thing any right thinking warrior did. Beowulf is literally a movie that is filled with characters that are larger than life, the lead character, Beowulf, especially so. He is a strapping blonde haired and bearded warrior who even before the incidents in the hall of King Hrothgar is already something of a legend. A Geat who leads a band of his fellow countrymen, his loyal thegns, he arrives in the land of the Danes seeking the glory that only a hero such as he can achieve. For something is very rotten in the state of Denmark to borrow the words of the Bard, very rotten indeed.
When the movie opens the audience is presented with the Danes celebrating the opening of their king’s mead hall, the fabled Heorot. Naturally there is much rejoicing, quaffing, eating and other revelry being carried on in celebration of this event; this of course causes considerable noise, noise that eventually comes to the ears of the monster Grendel. In his abode deep in the wilderness Grendel is sore distressed by the sounds of unrestrained revelry and embarks on putting an end to it. Rather than ask old king Hrothgar to quieten it down a bit he engages in a swathe of bloody carnage and destruction that really puts a dampener on things. When the dust has settled and Grendel retreats back into the wilderness, Hrothgar orders the hall sealed and all merrymaking to cease. A gloomy pall falls across the land of the Dane’s. Enter Beowulf stage right.
The first the audience sees of the hero is him standing at the prow of his longship sailing in the teeth of a truly ferocious storm, and it is the kind of storm that only such as he would dare travel in, mere ordinary mortals would either turn back or not bother sailing as soon as they caught sight of the bleak metal sky. With this kind of atmosphere you’d be forgiven for thinking that Beowulf is more action, special effects and not much substance as regards to story. Fortunately such is not the case, for in spite of the histrionics, the computer graphic shots, the fighting, brawling, revelry and quaffing there is substantial depth to the story. It is a multilayered tale that weaves its magic throughout the events of its telling, causing the evolution of its main protagonist into a character with substance and pathos. From a larger than life warrior to a king with gravitas is the path that we see Beowulf follow though it is journey that has been tainted.
Essentially the movie’s story is neatly divided into two parts, the first being about Beowulf handling the matter of Grendel and his mother. The second and final part concerns his confrontation with a dragon that beings ravaging his kingdom in his twilight years. This is the meat of the actual poem, the Song of Beowulf as it’s called in the movie, but there is a lot more actually going on than just monster slaying and treasure winning in this tale. It is only after Beowulf has dealt with the monster Grendel and his mother that Beowulf actually realises that true darkness that has befallen the land of the Dane’s though the audience is able to figure this out a lot sooner than our hero. And despite his actions all Beowulf has actually done is not dispelled the darkness but allowed it to continue, to give it a new form and shape which literally comes back to bite him.
In fact in the final moments of the movie we see that this darkness is still there within the land and possibly destined to continue on anew, perpetuating itself as time passes. Beowulf is an enjoyable cinematic experience and an interesting take upon an old tale, the only two things that jarred about it for me was Ray Winstone’s accent (Beowulf sounds like he’s turned up from London) and Grendel speaking to his mother in some strange dialect that I couldn’t understand and as there was no subtitles to give an idea as to what exactly he was saying, you had to guess your way through it all. Apart from that Beowulf was an excellent film with spectacular special effects, suitable terrifying moments (the opening scene in the hall is startling as well as gruesome), good acting and well choreographed fight scenes. All in all if monster slaying action combined with a good epic tale is your meat and drink then Beowulf is definitely a film well worth seeing.
Producers: Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey & Jack Rapke.
Screenplay by: Neil Gaiman & Roger Avary.
Starring: Ray Winstone (Beowulf), Anthony Hopkins (Hrothgar), John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson (Wiglaf), Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman & Angelina Jolie (Grendel’s Mother).
Produced by: Warner Brothers.
Running Time: 115 minutes. Rating: M.
Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon poem whose origins many historians have pondered over down through the years, though if you’ve ever watched the 13th Warrior starring Antonio Banderas you’ll see a theory offered as to who may have been behind the poem. If you also know anything about Beowulf you’ll also realise that the 13th Warrior draws a lot of its plot from that same Anglo-Saxon poem, there are no ogres or dragons per se but the basic elements are there if you look. What does this actually have to do with the movie Beowulf? Well I mention this in passing as I saw a recent piece published that claimed Beowulf the movie was the first time that this epic had appeared on the silver screen, though as I have said such is not the case, the 13th Warrior had got there well before hand in its own unique way.
The first the audience sees of the hero is him standing at the prow of his longship sailing in the teeth of a truly ferocious storm, and it is the kind of storm that only such as he would dare travel in, mere ordinary mortals would either turn back or not bother sailing as soon as they caught sight of the bleak metal sky. With this kind of atmosphere you’d be forgiven for thinking that Beowulf is more action, special effects and not much substance as regards to story. Fortunately such is not the case, for in spite of the histrionics, the computer graphic shots, the fighting, brawling, revelry and quaffing there is substantial depth to the story. It is a multilayered tale that weaves its magic throughout the events of its telling, causing the evolution of its main protagonist into a character with substance and pathos. From a larger than life warrior to a king with gravitas is the path that we see Beowulf follow though it is journey that has been tainted.
Essentially the movie’s story is neatly divided into two parts, the first being about Beowulf handling the matter of Grendel and his mother. The second and final part concerns his confrontation with a dragon that beings ravaging his kingdom in his twilight years. This is the meat of the actual poem, the Song of Beowulf as it’s called in the movie, but there is a lot more actually going on than just monster slaying and treasure winning in this tale. It is only after Beowulf has dealt with the monster Grendel and his mother that Beowulf actually realises that true darkness that has befallen the land of the Dane’s though the audience is able to figure this out a lot sooner than our hero. And despite his actions all Beowulf has actually done is not dispelled the darkness but allowed it to continue, to give it a new form and shape which literally comes back to bite him.
In fact in the final moments of the movie we see that this darkness is still there within the land and possibly destined to continue on anew, perpetuating itself as time passes. Beowulf is an enjoyable cinematic experience and an interesting take upon an old tale, the only two things that jarred about it for me was Ray Winstone’s accent (Beowulf sounds like he’s turned up from London) and Grendel speaking to his mother in some strange dialect that I couldn’t understand and as there was no subtitles to give an idea as to what exactly he was saying, you had to guess your way through it all. Apart from that Beowulf was an excellent film with spectacular special effects, suitable terrifying moments (the opening scene in the hall is startling as well as gruesome), good acting and well choreographed fight scenes. All in all if monster slaying action combined with a good epic tale is your meat and drink then Beowulf is definitely a film well worth seeing.
| 29 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
