Beowulf

2007;113 mins

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright-Penn, Angelina Jolie; Ray Winstone

Rating 4

Beowulf is an epic tale, and it becomes an epic movie in this version. While it may not be the best movie ever, the way it was filmed and the incredible visual "effects" are fantastic.

Beowulf is an "animated" film. Those who worked on the film did such an incredible job of suspending the audience's belief. There were many times when we were unsure if it was still animated or if some parts were actually acted out. They also managed to give the movie a 3-D look. (Some theatres carry the 3-D version of the movie, the one I went to did not.)

Another great feature of Beowulf is that they actually tried to keep some of the original Old English words. Grendel speaks almost exclusively in Old English. It's fantastic to hear, and to see that the writers and directors felt that keeping the original language of Beowulf was important.

Beowulf is a performance capture film (like The Polar Express). Only this time, with Beowulf, they were able to capture it in a way that wasn't available to them with The Polar Express. While filming Beowulf, they had the ability to track eye movements as well.

Definitely check out Beowulf. It's a fun movie (and you won't believe your eyes), but (even though it's rated PG-13) may not be child appropriate.