Beowulf & Grendel

Rating: ****/*****, or 8/10

Fairly low budget old-school movie based on the ancient English poem proves that you don't need an abundance of digital effects, or even a lot of cash, to make a compelling epic period film. The hero Beowulf (Gerard Butler) travels north to aid king Hrothgar (Stellan Skarsgård) in his fight against the giant troll Grendel who continues to plunder his village and slaughter his men. Beowulf fights the monster, but things are not as simple as they appear as he soon finds himself ensnared in a personal vendetta between the king and the beast that goes back many years, in danger of being trapped in an endless cycle of bloodshed without end, as he also has to confront Grendel's mother, lover and son. This version values the psychology of the protagonist, questioning the validity of his reasons to fight, over displaying epic battles with cool monsters. It also utilizes the superb natural vistas Iceland offers to great effect, thus adding to the film's overall grandeur without having to spend millions of dollars over it. Though often hugely underrated, it's undoubtedly the most thought provoking film version of the Beowulf legend around so far.

Starring: Gerard Butler, Stellan Skarsgård, Sarah Polley

Directed by Sturla Gunnarsson

UK/Iceland: Movision, 2005

Beowulf

Rating: ****/*****, or 7/10

Second foray of Robert Zemeckis into the realm of 'performance capture' (the first being The Polar Express (2004), allowing digital artists to record the motions of actors in blue suits on stage, especially their facial movements for maximum emotional impact, and filling in everything else via the computer afterwards. This time Zemeckis appropriated this technique for telling the epic tale of the medieval hero Beowulf (Ray Winstone), a valiant but arrogant warrior who comes to the aid of a king (Anthony Hopkins) who is plagued by the hideous monster Grendel (Crispin Glover). Beowulf fights the monster successfully, but must than deal with his seductive mother (Angelina Jolie) who promises him fame and riches in return for him giving her a new son. Beowulf accepts, but finds he made a deal with the devil: though he gets what was promised it makes him feel empty and alone. When his son returns as a dragon and lays waste to his kingdom, Beowulf gets one last chance to set things right and be a genuine hero again. Plenty of good action and amazing visuals, but the digital technique just didn't prove able to convincingly breathe life into the pixelized cast, making them feel eerily artificial and soulless. It did prove effective for getting Angelina Jolie stark naked though. Zemeckis, not one to give up on an evolving means of effects, applied performance capture a third time to his take on A Christmas Carol (2009). Beowulf was the first film I ever watched in (IMAX) 3D, and still one of the very few I feel made effective use of the 3D process (just before the 3D craze got a hold of Hollywood and most blockbusters used it to squeeze more bucks out of the audience without delivering the promised goods): the way those giant sea serpents alone came at you made the movie quite spectacular, despite its digital shortcomings. Overall, a good version of the old English poem, effectively combining the very old with the very new.

Starring: Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

USA: Paramount Pictures, 2007