I have seen a great many bad films in my lifetime, so I am not going to go ‘Comic Book Guy’ from the Simpsons and declare “Worst movie ever!” However, I can say that this was one of the worst movies in a long time. It’s not that I am surprised that this movie was no good. I saw the previews, I read the reviews, and I knew what to expect. But sometimes you just have to know how bad a film can be. I should say that that actors like Anthony Hopkins and John Malkovich and director Robert Zemeckis (Castaway, Contact) as well as screenwriter Neil Gaiman (whose Sandman comics are great) should all be ashamed to say that they are associated with this film. Angelina Jolie is a chronically bad actress, so I am not disturbed to see that she was a part of this. She was a good fit.
Often times when a literary work is made into a film, readership of the book is increased. With the release of the Lord of the Rings films one saw many people with copies of the books that featured characters from the films. Such was the case for me with the release of The Hunt for Red October in 1990. I ran right out and bought a copy of Tom’s Clancy’s novel, and then proceeded to read everything that he had written. The recent screen version of Beowulf may incite people to read or re-read the poem, but not the same reasons as those that sparked interest in ‘Rings’, ‘Red October’ or even Harry Potter. In my case I have decided to read Beowulf again so that my last memory of this great epic is not one of badly generated CG effects and Ray Winstone (Beowulf) wrestling the monster Grendel while naked.
Beowulf originated as early as 1010AD (according to Wikipedia) composed by an unknown author. Somewhere that unknown author is rolling over in the grave. In the original story, Beowulf engages in three battles. In the first the hero engages in hand to hand combat with Grendel and tears the monsters arm off. Grendel then retreats to his home to die. The film got this even pretty close to the mark, except for the needless nudity of Beowulf. However, the film suggests that Grendel is the illegitimate son of King Hrothgar (Hopkins) who had relations with Grendel’s mother (Jolie).
The second battle is between Beowulf and Grendel’s mother, who has begun killing in revenge of her son’s death. Here’s where the film goes awry. In the real story, the hero kills the monster with her own sword after discovering that his own sword cannot. The cinematic version suggests that Beowulf is seduced by Grendel’s mother, and promised that he cannot be defeated in battle as long as she possesses a golden horn that she takes from him.
The final battle takes place many years later when a slave steals the golden horn from the cave of a dragon, which kills in revenge. An older Beowulf engages the dragon in battle and again emerges victorious. The film version suggests that the dragon is Beowulf’s son, just as Grendel was Hrothgar’s bastard son. The story ends with Beowulf’s funeral, as he succumbs to wounds suffered while fighting the dragon. However, the film ends with the king who succeeds Beowulf spotting the ageless Jolie, who will presumably seduce him as well.
Zemeckis portrays Beowulf as arrogant, selfish, and proud, a liar and a philanderer. While agree that the protagonist was proud, in the epic you had to work to realize his pride. In the film it was thrust in your face at every turn. The rest of the negative attributes associated with Beowulf I don’t recall, despite reading it three times during my college career. That is why I will go back to revisit the text.
The film also portrays Beowulf as a last holdout of paganism against Christianity. Characters are often heard yelling praises to Odin, a Norse God. At one point in the film Hrothgar is asked if maybe the villagers should pray for protection from Grendel to this ‘new’ Christ Jesus. Hrothgar waves the suggestion off. Toward the end of the film Beowulf’s wife Wealthow (Robin Wright Penn) is seen walking around carrying a cross and flanked by her Christian priests. Beowulf is a man that seems to be larger than God, a man who cannot be defeated in battle by other men. But with his passing the faith in man gives way to the faith in God, who truly cannot be defeated.
I was amazed to find that after nearly 30,000 votes on the Internet Movie Database the average score was 6.8. I give it 2 out of 10.
Next up: Munich directed by Steven Spielberg
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