Beowulf Bombs BIG

I went to Beowulf tonight with Zach and Jeremy. About 1 minute before the previews started, an older gentleman sat next to me. I said hi and we made some small talk...then he said that after finding the wrong theatre and following bad directions, he was glad he finally made it to the movie he wanted to see, American Gangster. I then said that we were in the Beowulf section, American Gangster was two sections down the hall. He said "oh!" and hurried to catch his movie. Not too far into our movie I started wishing I had gone with him...

I was expecting a great "Lord of the Rings" type movie, which would have followed the poem better. Instead, in it's ever typical way, Hollywood has managed to murder yet another classic story.

If you've ever read the epic poem "Beowulf" you would spot the differences right away. I hadn't read this poem since high school, but from the minute the movie began, I started noticing things that just weren't right. It was ok at first, but then, as per Hollywoods way, the violence and sexuality had to appear. Even though the movie is actually animated (we were surprised by this fact as the movie started) at one point I almost threw up because of the violence and I was constantly closing my eyes and hiding them under my coat or Zach's arm.

As if the addition of the nudity, sexuality and violence weren't enough, Hollywood actually slaughtered the plot and story itself, making Beowulf out to be a lying, egotistical, immoral man at parts, instead of the hero he remains in the poem. In the hollywood version, instead of slaying the monsters, Grendal and his mother, as he achieves in the poem, he succeeds in slaying only Grendal, and actually sleeping with Grendal's mother, a water demon....

I give this movie a huge UH-UH! If you were planning on seeing it, please save your money!