Beowulf

Steven and I saw Beowulf at the weekend and I’m afraid that all I can really say is “Bleh!” They did a good job of trying to recreate the Anglo-Saxon-ness of the original with lots of carousing and swiving but the animation was really distracting. Why did they make Beowulf look like Shrek? Given the level of CGI that was involved in the monsters, I can understand why they didn’t want to have the human actors as live-action but there must have been a better way of doing it. Ray Winstone’s accent was also distracting at times. Again, I liked the idea behind the choice but there were a couple of points, which I’m sure weren’t supposed to be funny, where the entire audience couldn’t help giggling at his delivery.

And don’t get me started on Angelina Jolie as Grendel’s mother.

Overall, a fun movie, if you can put up with the animation, just don’t get your expectations up too high before you go.

I can recommend the excellent Seamus Heaney translation though, which I really need to re-read.

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