Beowulf (DVD, 2008)

CG brings to life one of the oldest stories known to man to life. Every detail pops and the action sizzles as the characters are given breath. Some interesting history on the tradition of the time that Beowulf's story was told as well as the tradition of oral media. Oral media has never really died, and it is refreshing to know. May the tradition of the story continue, if they are only as stupendous as BEOWULF ! (**** out of ****)

I have read Beowulf a couple of times. It's great northern European mythology, and mandatory reading when you are young in my opinion (Along with Norse, Greek and Roman Mythology as well). And though the movie wants to re-write some of the epic, you will need to separate the Hollywood version from the beautiful measure of the original works. Being a work of CGI, you will also have to allow for the flaws of pure CGI work. Very stylized and beautifully colored, it is an epic adventure that elevated Zemeckis' previous work "The Polar Express" to a new level. Polar was beautifully modeled after Chris Van Allsburg illustrations for his book, but Zemeckis' adaptation to the story went a little over the top when it became a musical. Even though most of Beowulf's story line is answered here, it did make me pause and wonder:

Why didn't Robert Zemeckis just direct this thing in real life instead of virtual?

With the capabilities of dropping in CGI into real life action, this telling of the story could have had so much more of an impact if the expressions were more poignant. Look what he did with "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"? Zemeckis is fully capable of it. Also, to add to this, when you have CGI characters like Jacksons Gollum and King Kong to compare notes with, the modeling here just isn't up to snuff. I felt the entire movie came off like a gigantic "cut-scene" to a video game than a full featured animated project. I can only give this a little better than a good, hence the exclamation. I do this sadly. You really should see this in a theater, bigger than life. The dragon is excellent, the ugly v/s the beautiful is wild, the sequencing is uneven, though at the end it takes you on a great ride. Oh, and for you people that want to go see Angela Jolie nekkid? IT'S CGI!!! I've seen harder stuff on Fox networks! Seeing my wife and I saw this as a matinée, the crowd was on the sparse side and there was literally no kids present. I couldn't get a solid feeling from the audience though most people as they left seemed genuinely happy with their experience. I'm sure it was PG13'd because of the sequences with Angela, otherwise it would be a solid PG. I wouldn't suggest this for a kid under 8.

I bought this for my hubby, who loves action, bloody, etc movies. We watched it tonight, it's absolutely crazy. The special effects are great and the movie was also pretty good. You must have a strong stomach for this one, it is very gory. Non-stop action, good story line, medieval times, castles, dragons and more! Not for the kids.

I enjoyed the effects in this movie. Though, I thought the movie should have elaborated the plot into 2 movies instead of bunching it up into one movie because the plot felt like it was rushing throughout the movie.

This version of Beowulf is the best CGI movie I have seen to date. A friend of mine saw it and thought they were real actors on the screen. Very realistic! The script is well written, the actors are top notch - Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, etc. The story pulls you in and keeps you riveted throughout the movie. 5 stars all the way.

We have heard MANY Rants & Raves about Beowulf, with most highly recommending it, so we decided to pick it up. Without knowing beforehand that the movie was computer-generated(animated), we watched it. None of us were too excited about it being computer-generated, however, it held the attention of half of us while the other half just glanced up at certain parts of the movie. We would say it may be good for ages 13 and up. If you like these types of movies, and like computer-generated effects, you may like it. Its really all up to who watches it.

Recommend It? MAYBE for some.

Buy It? Its not really our type of movie, so we wouldnt buy it.

Our Overall Rating: Average (5/10)

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It is a whole new and fresh concept. I was not expecting a movie of drawn characters, but the artwork was so brilliant. I couldn't stop looking at the character's faces. I knew nothing about what this film was based on. I was spell bound all during the dvd. Can't wait to watch it again.

We were a little disappointed with the way the picture came across. It looked like it was half animated. Most of the time I could not understand what they saying. My husband thought it was going to be better than it was. Our son and daughter-inlaw felt the same way.

Took me a minute to get into the whole "Enhanced live motion" look, but then I settled in and watched a great movie. I'm a fantasy/sci-fi guy, and this one stays in my collection for personal and shared viewing.

The technology is good, but not that good, it seemed a little disjointed and the animation lacked realism.

I bought this movie by someones suggestion. It is good if you like action & adventure with blood, guts, and gore, in a medieval setting. It was okay,if you like dragon slayers and demon killers, but I could have been satisfied watching pathfinder or 300.

Had to wait to buy this dvd so I missed out on the lower new price that some stores offer the first week of a release. Instead of paying full price I came to ebay where I was able to buy it for less than when it weas on sale. The movie reminded me of one called "13th Warrior" with more special effects.

im a big fan of the original story ive read the book many times an wish hollywood would do it right!! im sick of wrighters puting thare own stink on this story .anyway the cgi did not work for me the eyes are realy creepy if they can make king kong look real way not pepole i only got this dvd on a buy one get one deal .and after seeing it this one is the free one dont buy it or rent it this movie sucks BIG TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought this for my son's birthday. He and I are into mythology and I thought this would be an excellent movie. Did not realize it was animated. However it was very well animated. He did say there was alot of blood. Oh well we had a good time watching it together.

I LOVED THIS MOVIE WE WATCHED IT FROM THE VIDEO STORE AND LIKED IT SO WE BOUGHT THE MOVIE ANGELINA PLAYS IN THIS MOVIE WHO SON DIES AND SHE GOES TO GET REVENGE ON THE THOES WHO HURT HER SON

Ive seen it numerous times, good story line and characters tho not real are very easy to fall in love with, worth the money for a different type of film.

Had some good special effects. Great actors but the storyline was only average. Definitely not a movie for kids. Very gorey.

I bought this movie for my husband. Found the movie too violent for my taste,and definitely not one for a young child to watch. People who are stuck on gaming would probably be the target audience. Ok for the graphics as long as some of the gorier scenes were not there.

I loved this movie. It is great and shipped fast, was a cheap price. Exactly what I was looking for. I will use this company many many more times.

Loved the computer graphics, with the DVD movie explaining how it was made and extras. I give this money this many *************************************************************************************************************************************************************.

Well I have seen, lets see this is my third version of the story.. Beowulf/(Grendel). I actually liked this one. I liked all of them really!! I thought that the animation was down quite well, lifelike, which I guess is the way it is in some of the games you find. It is provacative, thrilling and action packed.

My family enjoys action packed movies rather than dramas and romances. We had read the reviews of the movie and thought that it would be a good movie to add to our collection of DVD's. It was pretty much what we anticipated and more. Everyone enjoyed the movie and thought it was a good show to watch.

I saw the movie and had to own it. I bought it because it was sold at a good price from a great seller.

I like the price on the dvd and great condition. Cheaper than buying it in retail store. Buying online is always easier than going out to the store to get it.