Epic Tale is an Epic Fail

            Beowulf, the ancient poem has now been taken over by cartoons and animations. Beowulf, the movie, took on a new perspective of how to look at this old tale. The movie took the poem on a different angle, steering away from the old English language and the difficulty of comprehending it. As Dargis concludes in his review, “Stripped of much of the original poem’s language, […] this film version of “Beowulf” doesn’t offer much beyond 3-D oohs and ahs, sword clanging and a nicely conceived dragon[...]”.By changing this one aspect gives the movie a wider range of audiences and making the trip to the movies less of a challenge. Director Robert Zemeckis understood the challenges that this movie would bring; it’s a world-renowned poem cherished by many, the movie needed to be a hit. Everyone carried their own expectations, and Zemeckis did not disappoint, totally. As Dargis stated, “Any filmmaker who takes a stab at literary adaptation has to compete with those moving pictures already flickering in our heads, the ones we create when we read a book.” Beowulf looked like the epic hero with his headband crown and strong build. However, Angelina Jolie took the role of Grendel’s mother from gruesome to seductive.

The new look of the poem also brought new plot changes. The notorious dragon changed from Beowulf’s final defeated monster to his heir. It brings a whole new depth to the King Beowulf’s hidden drama, rather than just being the perfect king he portrayed in the poem. The great king, Hrothgar, is portrayed as a humorous drunk that gave up the kingdom at Beowulf’s first defeat, leaving his power, money, palace, and wife. Yes, he was drunk when he left the entire Dane kingdom too Beowulf.

However Zemeckis kept true to many of the key moments stressed upon in the poem, such as the significance of Wiglaf, Beowulf’s heroism to all, and the detailed descriptions were certainly matched with full-frontal action. Zemeckis chose the computer-edited cartoons to hit all audiences and be able to show the harsh fighting without all the real life gore. The movie’s effects are captivating and force the audience’s attention for the full two hours.  As Puig says, “The artfulness of the computer-generated imagery isn't always consistent, but the power of the 3-D effect compensates: […]. It's hard to resist such sheer escapism”. You can’t turn your head away, and even if you do the sound effects will be sure to tell you what is going on. The violence is unmatched of any cartoon out there. This certainly is not your typical Shrek.

 The lack of plot suited the well-written and thoroughly detailed poem, but for a two-hour movie, it can get quite worn-out. The poem focused on the language, the multitude of literary devices and the mystery behind each well thought out word. Take out those details and solely leave the story line, not much is left. The poem was not meant to be a movie; it did not give enough rising action and conflict. There are three main battles within the movie, followed by a lot of down time. Not much else goes on, which is where the computer effects come in. The art and creativity dazzling in front of their eyes blind viewers; their focus has skewed from the point of the movie. Everything else about the movie was very well done, from the acting to the digital animation to the sound effects and music, however looking just upon the surface, not much happens.

If you are looking for an easy, simple watch with mind-blowing action, then this is your movie. The real-life affects will have kids in awe, however if they scare easy, the dragon might trigger a tear or two. But it is a new twisted fairy-tale with the king as the main character rather than the cliché princess and happy ending. It will definitely make you think twice about the epic poem next time you read it.