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Beowulf

Beowulf

List Price: $14.99
Your Price: $13.49
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Action packed adaption of the classic epic
Review: If you are a literary nut looking for a sophisticated adaption ot the Beowulf epic you might be a little disappointed. However, if you are a little more open-minded or enjoy a good action flick this one is great. The fantasy like setting is extremely well done and somehow the use of modern technology doesn't seem out of place here. The storyline is changed slightly from the original work to make it more presentably to the big screen. Some of the things are a little weird but the gorgeous women more than make up for that.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Enjoyable Piece of PM Sword and Sworcery...
Review: Christopher Lambert's Beowulf brings enough heroic "gravitas"--in what easily could've played as HIGHLANDER prequel--to make this PM Sword and Sworcery smorgasbord enjoyable. Forget about allegiance to the classic Dark Ages quest. Director Graham has broad sword stiched and blood-n-gore glued 90 minutes of well-choreographed combat and mayhem. He delivers the goods with a ferocious incarnation of GRENDEL as virtual "Monster from the Id." Nightly, the Beast raids Hrothgar's Mead Hall/Castle to slaughter hapless warriors. The inner ambience of this abattoir (which looks like a goofy concatenation of stove pipes and trash cans outside), is genuinely menacing recalling Michael Mann's haunted KEEP. Layla Roberts essays Lilith role of Grendal's Mother. She plays archetypal She-Demon, a succubus, whose purpose is to breed and nurture Evil. However, this movie has few mythological or Jungian pretensions (I hope). Here BEOWULF is a Good, Bad and extremely Ugly "boat-parade" of Monster-osity with original "THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE" hero to save the day(you have to survive NIGHT by yourself)...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Cult action film
Review: This is a film with great actors, and an evil playboy bunny. Be in an altered state and enjoy the ride jam packed full of incredible special effects and fight scenes.

It is a futuristic version of Beowulf aimed at an audience of action film lovers.

Have a blast!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Reasonable film, but not the story of Beowulf
Review: I rented this on VHS a while back, expecting to see something fairly close to the classic story. It isn't, not even nearly. The film The Thirteenth Warrior (Antonio Banderas) is a closer telling of the tale, and a better film.

The film itself stands adequately on its own merits, although it's not much more than adequate. Christopher Lambert rides around on a horse and struts around in armor, while some unknown terror stalks around the basement of a castle. The castle is surrounded by more men with armor and horses, who don't want anyone to enter or leave it, although they're only moderately successful. Eventually there's a big fight, and the good guys win...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Great expectations, bad experience
Review: When I got this movie for Christmas I thought: "I'm really looking forward to watch this movie!". I exepected too much.

The first part of the movie was good enough, especially the music. But I was soon enough annoyed by the unrealistic technology. I thought this was supposed to be a medieval movie and as far as I know they didn't have autoreloadable crossbows, speakers and microphones, laserscopes, elevators and a man in a brown coat (of the modern type) wearing glasses!! Now, don't mistake me, I have nothing against black people, but I wonder what two black men was doing in an European mediaval world?

The good things about the movie are some sceenes which can be quite exiting and the one who playes Beowulf is quite good.

If you want good fantasy/medieval movies I recommend the Thierteenth Warrior, Merlin, Lord of the Rings or Dragonheart.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I want my [money] back!
Review: I was the only one in my senior English class who loved the epic poem. Several years later I bought a copy of it at a comic book shop.

For some reason, I liked Christopher Lambert, and I thought he would be a good actor for a movie based on this classic tale.

Man, was I wrong!

Aside from the names of the hero and one of the villians, this movie has almost nothing in common with the poem. It's got nothing in common with a good movie. It's a travesty!

The acting, even with a so-called "top talent" like Christopher Lambert, is awful. The setting is almost non-existant, and the plot, ah yes, the plot ....

I knew this movie would reek within the first 10 minutes. I mean, I tried really hard to be open-minded, but it was to no avail.

Spare yourself the pain and skip the movie. Settle in on a dark winter's night by a fire, put on some quiet music, and read the epic poem. You'll be glad you did.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good Sci-Fi flick
Review: Great action. Lambert is very good in this film.
I liked the 13th Warrior, but I liked this movie a little more.
The settings were imaginable and very realistic for the time.
Give it a try.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Beowulf films
Review: I liked the 13th Warrior, at least they tried to recreate the world that actually existed, but in reality it was based on a novel by Michael Crichton called Eaters of the Dead, not Beowulf. Making a film version of Beowulf in the time it existed would be possible, but with no help from the poem. It's images of lands and places are sparse. The original poet liked to describe the insides of rooms, gold, gifts, weapons, battles and skirmishes, but the setting is very sparse, the filmmaker must supply his own image of the setting. I agree however, that this was not the setting the film needed, it suffered as a result. F/X can't make up for poor writing, nothing can, which is exactly why you shouldn't see this film. I was disappointed that Chris Lambert would condescend to play such an empty role in a film that is like a small child with anemia, there's not much hope for it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Adaptation of the original story.
Review: Certainly a bold undertaking of adapting the ancient poem Beowulf to film.
Christopher Lambert does an outstanding job of portraying a tormented hero. Even better than he does in the Highlander movies. Brave, cocky and not sure of himself but sure of what he is doing. Spouting those sarcastic lines that make you laugh and the other characters step back. Set in a strange kind of future where you see modern tools like an infer red telescope along side ancient weapons (swords etc.) But not necessarily post - apocalypse. This really sets the tone for the movie. The viewer really has no time reference, making the movie that much more intriguing - mystical? I loved the way the characters are played off on each other, each revealing secrets and fears. There is much more to this movie that blood and guts, but make no mistake, violence there is plenty. I enjoyed this film as fantasy / horror. No weak performances or bad dialog. If you can set aside superficial judgments like "why are there modern tools and old tools being used together". And actually watch the movie I think you will enjoy it thoroughly.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A Comedy?
Review: I think this might be the worst treatment of this classic poem I could have ever imagined.

I rented this movie with the hope that the filmmakers tried to adhere to the original story from the poem. Instead, they have attempted an update that completely falls short. The original plot of the story is far and away the best storyline, with a larger-than-life hero with "the grip of thirty fighting men in his hand", fight scenes against bizarre lake creatures and a battle to the death in an underground lair with Grendal's mother. In an attempt to "modernize" it, however, they have thrown out almost every good story element and ruined any chance of creating an engaging and exciting film, one that faithfully portrays the original story. I would challenge anyone to find any translation of the poem and read it...you will understand my complete dismay once you have. By the way, why do writers and directors (not all of them, mind you) think that for a film to work, a sex element must be present? Sex certainly has it's place in film, to be sure, but it's use in this movie makes no sense whatsoever. In trying to follow the Amazon guidelines, I'll not recount the numerous, numerous "problems" in this movie as they relate to the original story; I'll just end by saying...So many missed opportunities to make a great film from a classic story. The filmmakers missed the mark entirely, in my opinion, and wasted, indoubtedly, several million dollars in the process.

This movie is terrible! I'm glad I rented this before buying it.


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