Movie Critique: Beowulf (2007)

By Fredrey Lander G. Valeriano

Beowulf (2007), a film adaptation in animation from the epic

poem of Beowulf which is famous for as being the most important
poem in English as it gives an insight of the history of England.
Synopsis of the film: In the age of heroes, a mighty warrior named
Beowulf arrives at the court of King Hrothgar and offers to rid the
kingdom of a vicious demon called Grendel. He successfully slays the
beast but thus incurs the wrath of Grendel's mother, a creature as
vicious and vengeful as she is seductive.
To start in animation quality and its CGI, its actually pretty good
for a film produced in 2007, especially for the details of the bodies,
fighting animation, the water animation, the landscape and
background could be much better but still good, and almost
everything is decent but regarding with the facial expressions and the
mouth movement, its bad. Throughout the film, the characters can be
emotionless and the animation for the mouth can sometimes not align
with the voice acting. But overall, the animation is quite good but the
animation of the faces could be better and for the background.
With the voice acting, its still decent. For me, not that of a Oscar
awarding acting but still good. But with the voice quality and the
details with the voices and sounds in the background is quite
incredible. You can actually feel the camera is panning back if the
voices go lower in volume and louder if near. Moving on, the
background music, decent, but the song sung by Queen Wealhþeow,
was great. The quality of the voice, it was music to the ears. Hands
down, the music and sound department gives justice to the movie.
The cinematography and the directing of the camera movement,
hands down 5/5. It gives much more story and builds up suspense
when entering a new scenes.
 In terms with the plot, there were major differences in
comparison to the original. Throughout the film it shows, nudity,
gore, Sexual explicit and disturbing images which I don’t recommend
for children and sensitive viewers to watch. Going back to the plot, I
give it 2/5. It’s not a movie to my liking but it did piqued my interest
but only to that point. Personally, I think the characters were blank, no
history or whatsoever, especially the antagonist. She was just there
just to be a villain for a story which I don’t like for a movie who don’t
build the characters more story and personality. The plot did show a
history of the Old England, as in the old times, many bards sing the
tales and stories of great warriors and kings which I think the story is
revolving about as the characters is trying to achieved that image of
them to be told through stories and songs and to be a great king and
warrior. Additionally also, they also show that during that time people
were open to have a sexual intercourse in public and also for a king to
have a concubine and mistresses. With Beowulf’s character, they did
show his visual description and behavior of a conventional warrior
during that time as he was pictured as masculine, brave, and strong.
But his ideologies are quite stupid, like fighting a monster naked and
with fists just because he’s naked and has no weapons. Like seriously,
he’s almost trying to show himself as this great warrior with no fear.
But the womanhood of Queen Wealhþeow and Ursula saved it for me
even they have their differences and history with each other.
Overall, the movie was okay and I rate it 2/5, however I
wouldn’t recommend it and warned it for sensitive viewers as it
contains sensitive topics and images, and personally, I say I couldn’t
recommend to people I know.
 Movie Critique: Beowulf (2007)
By Fredrey Lander G. Valeriano

Beowulf (2007) is an animated cinematic adaption of the

Beowulf epic poem, which is regarded as the most significant poem
ever written in English since it illuminates the history of England. The
movie's plot is as follows: In the era of heroes, Beowulf, a strong
warrior, approaches King Hrothgar's court and promises to free the
realm from the vile demon Grendel. He kills the beast, but in doing
so, he arouses the anger of Grendel's mother, a being who is equally
ruthless and unforgiving as she is alluring.
For a movie made in 2007, the animation and CGI are actually
rather outstanding, especially when it comes to body details, fighting
animations, water animation, and background and landscape scenes.
While practically everything else is decent, the face expressions and
lip movement are poor. The characters in the movie occasionally
display emotionlessness, and the mouth animation occasionally does
not match the voice timing. Overall though, the animation is fairly
decent, albeit the faces and scenery might use some improvement.
With the voice acting, its still decent. For me, not that of a Oscar
awarding acting but I thought the performance was still superb.
However, the voice quality and the level of detail with the
conversations and background noises is quite amazing. In fact, if the
sounds become quieter while further away and louder when closer,
you can literally feel the camera pan back. Moving on, the
background music was passable, but Queen Wealheow's song was
excellent. The voice's quality was like melody to my ears. Without a
doubt, the audio and music teams do the film justice.
Hands down, 5/5 for the cinematography and camera movement
direction. When moving into a new scene, it provides considerably
more plot and increases suspense.
In terms with the plot, there were major differences in comparison to
the original. Nudity, gore, sexually explicit, and unpleasant imagery
can be seen throughout the entire movie, so I don't recommend it for
young children or sensitive people. Returning to the plot, I would rate
it 2/5. Although I don't like the movie, it did catch my attention up till
that moment. In my opinion, the characters—especially the antagonist
—were lifeless, with no background whatsoever. She was only there
to serve as the antagonist of the storyline, which I don't appreciate in a
film that doesn't give the characters more backstory and personality.
The story does depict the history of Old England, and I believe that it
revolves around the characters' attempts to acquire the image of
themselves as great kings and warriors who can be told through songs
and stories, rather than just ordinary people. Additionally, they
demonstrate that at the period, it was acceptable for people to engage
in sexual activity in public and that a monarch may have concubines
and mistresses. With Beowulf’s character, he was depicted as being
masculine, bold, and strong, and they did depict his conduct and
visual description of a typical warrior at that time. His views,
however, are rather foolish, such as confronting a monster with your
bare hands simply because he is naked and without weapons. He
almost seems to be attempting to portray himself as this fearless great
warrior. But the womanhood of Queen Wealhþeow and Ursula saved
it for me even they have their differences and history with each other.
The movie was passable overall; I give it a 2/5 rating. However,
I wouldn't suggest it and would warn sensitive viewers not to watch it
because it involves sensitive themes and visuals.