Beowulf

Hollywood..ye have shamed us all!!!

I'm sure we all remember reading (and probably not comprehending; Old English???!!! Yikes!) Beowulf in twelfth grade English. This epic poem is heralded for it's classic hero's journey, and is studied as a great example of a story passed down from oral tradition. It's a true Hero's Tale, with Beowulf emerging as one of the great warriors of all time. In the poem, Beowulf kills the monster that plagues Denmark; Grendel, along with his mother, and later, a fierce dragon. Beowulf is the template for thousands of hero characters; he's strong, powerful, confident, and unstoppable. And he fights a great fight.

I was interested to see what Hollywood might do with this poem. English teachers, don't show this film to your classes!! You may have an aneurism. haha This film was so far off-base from the original....it's appalling. Well, actually, the first half of the film was fairly accurate. The characters looked like Lord of the Rings rejects, sort of, but they were at least accurate in plot.

But when Beowulf confronts Grendel's mother, someone started taking serious liberties with the plot, and it got kind of silly. Grendel's mother looking like Angelina Jolie, was your clue that someone just wanted fanboys to love this movie.

Visually, I didn't care for the animated Polar Express look. I think the actors were intended to look more 'real,' but to me, they just looked kind of odd.

If you want to delve into an epic hero story...read the poem, kids. Please.