In the age of heroes comes the mightiest warrior of them all, Beowulf. After destroying the overpowering demon Grendel, he incurs the undying wrath of the beast's ruthlessly seductive mother, who will use any means possible to ensure revenge. The ensuing epic battle resonates throughout the ages, immortalizing the name of Beowulf.

The first thing that obviously come across and the first thing you notice is of course that they use motion capture animation to bring the film to you. Obviously this is type of animation and film is something that Robert Zemeckis is a big fan of as this is his second film using the technology (the first being Polar Express). But I have to wonder about the choice of film that this type of technology is good for. It was ok for a Christmas like movie Polar Express and it did wonders for the Lord of the Rings adding characters like Gollum to an all live cast. But after seeing 300 and now Beowulf I am pretty sure the movie could have been better as a live action film rather than a motion captured animated film. Of course this is discounting the film in 3D as I was unable to see it this format, I am not sure how much the technology can add to 3D without actually having seen it but I know for a fact that the non 3D version would have been likely better as a live action film or even better yet as a mixture of motion capture and live action like lord of the rings.

That’s the first thing that takes getting used to, its about 45 minutes in the film before you can finally shake that cross eyed feel the animation gives you. It’s like looking at the actors threw a sheet of water, they are recognizable but they just don’t feel right and it gives you kind of a queasy feeling. Now the characters that feel they should be animated are perfect in this film, like Grendel for example. The animation is spot on with him, he is after all a troll and he is so gruesome and disgusting that you may find his appearances to be quite unsettling. And that’s perfect for a fantasy like movie and gives it a sense of realism that you would be missing otherwise. The balance is just missing, what is perfect for the creatures and monsters was not perfect for the humans. Monsters should be monsters and humans should be humans.

Now the film does take a few liberties with the original story which is ok because honestly even though the original has to be the longest poem ever written there really was not enough material for a full feature length film. I am fine with small additions and some stretching of the story to make it more film worthy because if you really want to read the original book or in this case poem it is always available. The story is one of those fantastical stories that were just meant for the big screen too. There is tons of action, a little drama, some humor and some fantastic beasts to fight all wrapped around a story about pride and the fall of a great man. The film was enjoyable, it could have been better but that doesn’t make it any less than what it was a good popcorn flick.

It’s hard to judge acting when all they are really doing is adding their voices despite all the motion capturing. I mean they got a fine cast of voice actors which is all you really need because the animators can feel in the rest. Of course the interesting part is that of Angelina Jolie’s who once again bears all for the big screen and is kind of creepy being seen with a tail. But Angelina is always kind of felt like a seductress and vixen to begin with and she just seems to flow into the role like a second skin. I have to wonder about the ratings system though as this movie probably should be rated R with lots of violence even if it is animated and even some nudity. But overall the film was fun, a little bit silly, somewhat unsettling and worth the price of a matinee.

Grade: B-