by Basil Munroe Godevenos

Created on: January 22, 2009

Script: 8

Cinematography: 8

Acting: 7

Special Effects: 10

Swing: 7

Rating: 8/10

Truly great stories never die, and when it comes to the English language the story of Beowulf is among the greatest and most enduring stories we have. In fact, Beowulf is arguably an English heritage equivalent to The Odyssey. It is tale of mythic beasts and a legendary hero. And, like the myths of ancient Greece, it has been adapted many times, changed, re-imagined, butchered, and sewn up like new.

The latest cinematic treatment of Beowulf, penned by Neil Gaiman (Stardust, Mirrormask) and Roger Avary (Silent Hill) and directed by Robert Zemeckis (The Polar Express, Cast Away), takes no small number of liberties with the age old tale. However, where previous incarnations of Beowulf have attempted to politicize the plot, even make the monster Grendel into a sympathetic poster boy for society's outcasts, this rendition stays close to the spirit of the original. That spirit, of course, being a really cool story about some really scary monsters and a bad-ass viking who sails in and gives them the proverbial "what for".

The CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) of Beowulf is, in my opinion, unmatched by any previous film, including the groundbreaking Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Of course, as with The Polar Express, Zemeckis cheated a bit by mapping the faces and bodies of real live actors, but the achievement is still a remarkable one. However, there is still room for improvement. Certain characters' faces, perhaps because the actors they are based on are so recognizable or because the animators tried too hard to match the face perfectly, slipped into the uncanny valley. When we finally see the face of Grendel's mother, played by Angelina Jolie, it seems eerily plastic.

If you live within driving distance of a cinema that is showing Beowulf in 3D, make the trip. It's worth it. The quality of the 3D is the best I've seen, and the movie was shot specifically with 3D presentation in mind. If you're not able to see it in 3D, that might prove to be an annoyance to you. 3D is in its second infancy. It's the brand new thing all over again, and directors can get away with gimmicky shots like spear-heads pointing out of the screen right between your eyes, and shots from ground level that exist only to show the plane of the ground receding into the distance. I'm not sure how that kind of camera work will translate in a 2D presentation.

The acting, while nothing to shout from the rooftops about, manages

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