This page reviews Beoulf movies as adaptations of the original story. It is not intended to tell you whether it is a good movie, but rather in keeping with the rest of the site it will give you an idea how the tale has been interpreted. That means a discussion of how the film interpreted the story as a whole (plot points, location, imagery, etc), and a specific description of how the five different sections were handled.

Beware, spoilers ahead!

Beowulf . (2007). Starring Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, and Crispin Glover. Directed by Robert Zemekis. Screenplay by Neil Gaiman, and Roger Avary. Click here to see the IMDB.com entry for this film .

Overall Adaptation: Though it did boast an all-star cast, this movie consisted entirely of computer generated imagery (CGI), and so all of the "acting" was done as voice over. The dialogue was in English, except for Grendel (and sometimes his mother) who spoke in Anglo-Saxon.

The filmmakers wanted to capture the entire timeline of the Beowulf saga, which creates a problem as the resulting movie would be pretty long. They decided to condense the story by placing all of the action within Denmark, around Hrothgar's kingdom. Other than a brief flashback, once Beowulf arrives in Hrothgar, he stays there, eventually becoming king in place of Hrothgar. Because of this, characters from throughout the tale could be removed, or introduced earlier on. Purists might have some issues with that, but it is a use of artistic license which makes sense when trying to tell a large tale in a reasonable space of time... something common to all film adaptations of books.

Perhaps more troubling for purists would be their attempt to create a consistent explanation, or common driving force, for all major events in Beowulf. In the original, Grendel attacks for no explained reason, and his mother naturally seeks revenge when her son is killed. Beowulf's fight with the Dragon is completely unconnected to those events. For their adaptation, these elements are bound together using the witch (Grendel's mother) as the pivotal hub. Hrothgar made a pact with Grendel's mother, resulting in the birth of Grendel (which is why Grendel would not kill Hrothgar, his father). When Beowulf kills Grendel, he does not slay Grendel's mother, but like Hrothgar is tricked into a pact which results in yet another monster: the Dragon. At the end, after the Dragon is killed, the cycle appears ready to begin anew. In a way this makes Grendel's mother the consistent element of the entire movie (even if not onscreen), rather than the titular Beowulf, as she deceives heroes with a promise of sex and power to create monsters who plague the hero ever after. This explains the movie's tagline: Pride is the curse.

There is also heavy deconstruction of the hero, particularly male hero archetypes. No one, including Beowulf, is heroic in any true sense. While they may be brave from time to time, they are generally boastful, rather than honest. This of course goes along with the "pride is the curse" message. All male characters end up hiding from the truth, in order to promote their image. Females are the only characters shown capable of honesty or integrity, even if their social roles are less powerful. One could almost view this movie as a battle between Hrothgar's wife and the witch (Grendel's mother), using male pawns. If the men would simply have sex with Queen Wealthow, instead of the witch, they'd have an heir and no monsters ravaging their land. Because they cannot stand strong in the face of temptation, and so remain monogamous, they lose everything including their pride.

Filmmakers also included the rise of Christianity as a plot point. Pagan lifestyle is rempant at the beginning, with short hints that a new god is becoming available for worship. By the end of the film, Christianity is prevalent, though its main advocates are sickly looking and generally dishonest. It is not clear if the filmmakers were intending to criticize Christianity using connections to such characters, or if the fact that such characters force Beowulf to understand his own dishonesty was meant as a slap to pagan ideals.

In any case, the movie is "set" at the end of the age of heroes and monsters. This is stated quite clearly by Beowulf toward the end of the movie (and his reign). There is a new age coming of men and Christian ideals. This "end of era" conceptual element is similar to that found in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Borman's classic Arthurian movie adaptation Excalibur.

In the special features section of the DVD, scriptwriters discuss the changes they made and state that they were donning the role of scribes themselves. This is their interpretation as much as the Beowulf manuscript was an interpretation of oral tales by latter day (even if centuries ago) scribes.

Beowulf's Journey: This section was essentially absent from the movie, or at least not treated in the same way. The focus was on Hrothgar and events within his kingdom, which in the original tale was something Beowulf hears about. In this case we see beowulf at the end of his voyage, arriving to rescue Hrothgar.

Grendel's Arm: As in the original tale, Beowulf chooses to fight Grendel without a weapon. His men's weapons are useless, which is shown through some interesting effects as they try and fail and die in grisly ways. In this version Beowulf goes one further and strips completely naked. He gains advantage on Grendel not through great strength, but rather by extreme agility and noise (which hurts Grendel's ear). He ends up on Grendel's head, punching out Grendel's throbbing ear drum. In a weakened state, Beowulf is able to tie up Grendel's arm, which acts as a trap as he tries to escape through the door. Beowulf does not tear Grendel's arm off through a grip of brute strength, but rather smashes it off using the door.

Grendel's Mother: Beowulf swims into the treasure room of the witch. He doesn't fight her at all. Instead she seduces him and grants him power as part of a bargain with a loophole he has no power to stop (though he doesn't understand that at the time). The account of Beowulf's fight with Grendel's mother as found in the manuscript is shown to be a lie that Beowulf tells everyone when he returns as "victor".

Grendel's Head: Beowulf does encounter Grendel's body in the witch's lair. However he is not shown striking off the head. Instead when he returns, he presents Grendel's head to Hrothgar.

The Dragon: This event is quite different from the text, but the reasons for the changes are not clear. In the movie, Wiglaf comes to aid Beowulf toward the end of the fight, not at the beginning, and his primary role is to save Queen Wealthow and a courtesan of Beowulf's from the Dragon. . Beowulf already knows the weakness of the Dragon's soft spot, and stabs it pretty quickly. But because of his position cannot reach the Dragon's heart eaily through that gap in the armor. Beowulf is the one whose hand is burned by the dragon's fire as he repeatedly tries to get the dragon's heart. He eventually manages to close the gap, and reach the heart, by cutting off his own arm which is trapped similar to how Grendel's had been. He pulls out the Dragon's heart, killing the monster, and they both fall from the peak of the castle (ultimately killing Beowulf).

Beowulf and Grendel. (2005). Starring Gerard Butler, Stellan Skarsgard, and Sarah Polley. Directed by Sturla Gunnarson. Screenplay by Andrew Rai Berzins Click here to see the IMDB.com entry for this film.

In this way Beowulf's nemesis gains a depth missing from the original story. It also acts as a way to deconstruct the concept of mythological heroism. In this case the "villainous troll" can be seen to have virtuous qualities absent from the traditional heroes of the story. Hrothgar in particular falls apart as a hero, since his killing of Grendel's father was neither brave nor for any particular reason and leads to such devastation. Grendel's refusal to fight Hrothgar, prevents him from maintaining any semblance as his people's protector, undercutting the myth he had built throughout the region. Beowulf's heroism, as well as that of his men, is similarly put in question. You can see them building mythlike tales of what they do (as they do it), inflating their rather mundane bravery with greater hubris. Beowulf complains with one storyteller not to build his story up so much. When Grendel refuses to fight them, for he has no issue with Geats, they eventually have to be push him into conflict. This makes Beowulf and his men appear to be bullies, and as Beowulf comes to understand Grendel's past, appears to question whether he's any less murderous than the monster he came to defeat. When one of his men calls Grendel a murderer, while clearly beginning to spin the oral myth we know as Beowulf, another of his men states that they all are (and in a humorous moment calls this new story "stupid").

A portion of the film is also spent making the male characters seem less virtuous, and so heroic, than female characters. Queen Wealtheuw is much stronger than Hrothgar, and insults him in front of his subjects. There is a brand new character in the story, named Selma, who has mystical powers and whose only rival in power appears to be the Queen (Beowulf being consistently outmatched by her both in bravery and intellect). Selma is the only one who understands the true nature of Grendel and protects him to some degree, as well as his child (?) which is her son. All of the men are drunken, horny bullies compared to the sober, chaste (in spirit if not in action), and charitable women. If it were not for the ill-conisdered actions of men, the problems they face would not have come about. Without the women, and perhaps one outcast disabled man, it does not appear they'd have solved their problems. Beowulf stands out from other male characters only in that he is more reflective on his nature, physically more powerful, and somewhat more chaste. Grendel's mother, the sea hag, is another powerful woman in the story and the only one Beowulf can clearly outwit or overpower. She is also the only woman shown to have no redeeming qualities.

The filmmakers introduce a subplot regarding the rise of Christianity, and its conflict with paganism. At the beginning all are practicing pagans. A Christian priest, who also happens to be drooling mad, arrives to convert Hrothgar's people as well as to rid them of Grendel. As Hrothgar's power wanes, and so everyone's trust in pagan Gods, the priest's influence grows. Eventually even Hrothgar converts out of fear of his own death. Beowulf and most of his men do not convert. There seems to be a theme that those who have confidence in themselves, and so capable of brave acts, do not need to rely on Gods, and most specifically the Christian God.

As an interesting choice, the filmmakers decided to film entirely on Iceland, though they kept the story in its original locations (Sweden and Denmark). As long as one doesn't notice the locations aren't where they say they are, Iceland pays off well. The setting is visually dramatic, while creating a palpable reality about the situation. However, this was not without cost to cast and crew. The making of the film was so arduous due in no small part to Iceland's chaotic landscape and weather, that they were able to make an award-winning documentary on the making of the movie called Wrath of Gods.

Beowulf's Journey: Beowulf hears of the problems of Hrothgar while living in Sweden under King Hygelac, and decides to help out. They don't spend much time on the preparations for the journey, but the journey itself is chillingly beautiful as they sail among icebergs. However, the ride is not a smooth as in the original tale as the sea hag (Grendel's mother) makes a grab for Beowulf as they sail to Denmark. There is no reason given for her action, nor do we know it is the sea hag until later in the movie. It is simply a surreal, supernatural threat which materializes out of the freezing waters only to disappear just as quickly as it came.

Grendel's Arm: Grendel appears at the mead-house intent on killing one of Beowulf's men, who had crushed his father's decomposing head and so upset him. Grendel trashes some of the other men in the process. Beowulf chases Grendel about, but Grendel doesn't seem interested in trying to kill Beowulf outright. Their fight leads into the rafters of the mead-hall. Beowulf manages to tie a rope to Grendel's arm and when Grendel jumps from the building, finds himself hanging... trapped. He pulls a blade and cuts his own arm off in order to escape.

Grendel's Mother: Beowulf finds the underwater cave entrance of the sea hag and dives in to fight, though he may still have to fight Grendel. He surfaces and finds Grendel's dead body. Then the sea hag (Grendel's mother) jumps up to fight him. She is somewhat bizarre looking, though it is hard to make her out completely due to choppy editing in this scene. She manages to pin Beowulf, yet he manages to escape by hitting her head with a rock. He moves to her pile of treasure and pulls a pretty large sword from the heap. With this weapon, Beowulf puts her down quickly. The choppiness and speed of this scene make it almost anti-climactic.

Grendel's Head: To be honest, I can't remember if he knocked off Grendel's head or not. I know that if he did, it was not a prominent thing as in the manuscript. More attention was paid to Beowulf burying and honouring Grendel, something not found in the original story, perhaps to placate Grendel's son and so end any possible vendetta (as Hrothgar faced).

The Dragon: The story ends with Beowulf leaving for Sweden after killing the sea hag, and so this section is never dealt with.

Beowulf . (1999). Starring Christopher Lambert and Rhona Mitra. Directed by Graham Baker. Screenplay by Mark Leahy. Click here to see the IMDB.com entry for this film (and buy it at amazon.com).

This film is sort of like a good, 93-minute episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, or Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in which there just happens to be a guy named Beowulf, a guy named Hrothgar, and a monster named Grendel. It is a reasonably good film, but it has very little to do with the original Beowulf story. If you just think of this as a story that you have never heard before, and forget about the other story called Beowulf, then you might enjoy the action.

Christopher Lambert plays a man named Beowulf. Beowulf is a good fighter, a fact that is demonstrated convincingly at the beginning of the film when he takes out a couple of dozen bad guys by using his crossbow pistols, throwing-hatchets and knives, a mace, and various other gadgets. He also does lots of leaping and tumbling and back-handsprings (he is especially fond of back-handsprings).

The monster Grendel is very much like the Grendel in the first Gareth Hinds comic book. The people who like "our" Beowulf story will probably like this depiction of Grendel (in fact, the depiction of Grendel in this movie is probably the only thing that Beowulf purists will like about it -- they certainly won't like Grendel's mother). The main difference between the Grendel in the movie, and the one in our story, is that the Grendel in the movie doesn't eat people (although he is pretty ferocious nonetheless).

Beowulf's mother had been seduced and impregnated by some sort of demon, and as a result, Beowulf himself is part good, and part evil. He travels around the countryside fighting evil. He is a sort of medieval Kwai Chang Caine (without the hat or the shoulder bag). Fighting evil is his only way to suppress the evil in himself.

He goes to Hrothgar's castle. Many of the castle residents have already been killed in fights with Grendel. Beowulf battles Grendel in two separate fights. He does not rely on his great strength, but rather on his skill with weapons, and his jumping and tumbling. He does tear off Grendel's arm, but not by using his hand-strength. The Grendel in this movie does not die in the same way as the Grendel in the original story.

The depiction of Grendel's mother is very different from our Beowulf. She is a beautiful blonde woman who is seeking vengeance, along with Grendel, for a past deed done by Hrothgar. There is an aspect to her relationship with Hrothgar which is absent from the original story. Her seduction of Hrothgar's most trusted thane is gratuitous, and is apparently included to raise the titillation factor in the film.

Here are some additional ways in which the film is different from our story:

• Beowulf is not from any particular homeland, he does not have a king named Hygelac, he has no thanes or helpers, and he does not travel by ship; he travels alone on horseback.

• Hrothgar's castle is old, and the men fight with swords, but they have microphones and electric speakers. Go figure.

• Hrothgar has a daughter who has an affair with Beowulf. She is played by Rhona Mitra, who is much more appealing than the woman who plays Grendel's mother -- a character who is apparently supposed to be the slutty seductress in the story. At the end of the story, the daughter leaves the castle with Beowulf, in an obvious attempt to establish the premise for a future television series in which they go on adventures together each week.

• Beowulf does not become king of anywhere, he does not grow old, and he does not battle a dragon.

• Hrothgar does not have a wife (she died years ago in an incident involving Grendel's mother), he does not give Beowulf gifts in return for his ridding the castle of Grendel and his mother (he does not seem to have any gold at all), and he does not give Beowulf any advice about how to be a good leader (in this story it is Hrothgar who could have used a little advice -- at an earlier point in his life).

• The screenwriter -- Mark Leahy -- does not worry about whether this is a Christian, or a pagan story: it is not God who helps Beowulf to win, it is Hrothgar's Weapons Master's nephew, and Beowulf's gymnastics, and the strength and insight he receives from his demonic inheritance.

Once you forget about the idea that this movie might be an adaptation of the Beowulf story that we know, and think about it instead as an action-adventure movie with swords and monsters, it is really pretty enjoyable. I give it a 7 out of 10.