Director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump) ventures back into motion capture/computer-generated animation made popular in The Polar Express to re-tell the old epic poem about the hero, Beowulf.

In this version, the hero is tempted by (instead of slaying) Grendel's mother, who looks exactly like Angelina Jolie.

Act one begins with King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) celebrating a bit too loudly with his people over the construction of a new mead hall. The noise echoes through the caves of Grendel (Crispin Glover), a monster who makes Gollum look dashing by comparison. Screaming from the pain from the noise, Grendel attacks Hrothgar's people and literally tears them apart.

 

When Hrothgar confronts Grendel, he retreats back to his cave. After the horrible incident, the mead hall is closed and Hrothgar issues a summons for a hero to step forward who will rid them of Grendel once and for all.

Enter Beowulf (Ray Winstone), an egotistical hero and slayer of many sea monsters. Poems are written about him and songs are dedicated to his bravery.

His men, the Geats, are inspired by him and will follow him even to death. The one and only Beowulf will defeat Grendel, and for his reward, Hrothgar will give him the kingdom's most prized treasure: the golden horn, or in the eyes of a hero, the beautiful Queen Wealthow (Robin Wright Penn).

The second act moves in a different direction as Beowulf slays Grendel in a fair battle and is proclaimed a true hero. Hrothgar, unable to have a son because of his terrible secret, gives his kingdom to Beowulf before committing suicide. A confused Beowulf learns of Grendel's mother (Jolie), a monster even more powerful than her son. When he travels out into her cave to slay her, Grendel's mother offers him a sinful proposition: She will give him unlimited riches and glory -- and in return, he will give her a son in place of Grendel. The choice Beowulf makes will curse him throughout his life.

In the third and final act, a dragon invades old King Beowulf's kingdom. In his last heroic attempt, he battles the dragon and kills it. However, he is badly wounded and is reminded of his past sin.

The screenplay by Neil Gaiman (creator of The Sandman comic book series) and Roger Avary (co-writer of Pulp Fiction) offers a different interpretation for the screen adaptation of Beowulf. Instead of focusing on the exploits of the hero, Gaiman and Avary probe the interesting history of Grendel's mother - in particular, how Grendel became the monster he was. "It occurred to me that Grendel has always been described as the son of Cain, meaning half-man, half-demon," Avary told Empire magazine interview, "But his mother was always said to be full demon. So who's the father?" The film's cycle of tragic events is captured by Unferth (John Malkovich): "The sins of the father will doom us all."

For all the power of an old epic poem that still resonates today, Zemeckis' Beowulf plays more like a lame WWE match that drags on too long. Violence abounds, but does not steer you away from the screen -- unlike the characters, who are largely flat and stilted. The only real outbursts come from Grendel, and these grow annoying more than frightening at times. Many of the talented actors (Hopkins, Malkovich, Penn, etc.) were so constrained to their set pieces that nothing memorable came out of their performances, and they never really come to life the way I'd hoped.

Whether you see Beowulf in 2-D or digital 3-D, you'll likely be struck by its remarkable technical achievement, and left wondering where the story's power went. It's too bad that Beowulf didn't bring such a great story to life on the big screen.

 

In short, Beowulf is probably best left alone to the reader's imagination, as the literary masterpiece. If the movie stirs people to pick it up in print, then it's done some good.

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