More on Beowulf

Martín wrote a great review on Zemeckis' Beowulf film (2007) some time ago. He was quite upset with the film's rendering of the ancient Saxon poem. I hadn't seen the film by that time, but now, after a single viewing, I find it surprising that I disagree so much with Martín's opinion. Not that the film hasn't got weaknesses, but to me, the strength and weaknesses of the film are at odds with Martín's opinion. So I thought it interesting to write my point of view down. You can find the post on If I may say so... (just click here).

Beowulf: the game (by Cecilia Acosta)

This time I bring you a Playstation 3 videogame called “Beowulf.”

Ubisoft Shanghai and Tiwak did a magnificent job by transforming the classic epic poem which had collected and unified stories of the heroic tradition into a Playstation game. Having had the opportunity to play the game, I can highly recommend it, especially because the image definition of sea serpents, giant crabs and the feeling of carnal rage become a source of motivation for its players every time you start the adventure mode. Look out!! Beowulf is on his way! 

Beowulf is an ageless hero with the strength of 30 men in his arms. The inclusion of viking longships, breakable weaponry, and squad-based strategies make for the most authentic viking experience yet.

Apart from this, adolescents and youth in general can enjoy Beowulf’s adventures against monsters and at the same time learn about this epic hero without being forced to read the entire poem, since in it, you meet up with Grendel's mother in her den, like in the story. In the game, you're tasked with defending a stone relic, which sits behind you, against numerous waves of enemies. With the special effects, colours and changes in sceneries, this game captures you in such way that, to get through to the end, takes four hours and fifty-one minutes.

The world is a strange mix of medieval and industrial society, although people live in a feudal society, including holding land and defending castles from invaders. But killing monsters is Beowulf’s way of resisting his own natural inclination to become a fiend.

In the game, Beowulf encounters Grendel's Mother and fights against her… The creature slaughters every last person of Herot while Hrothgar and Roland try to keep the doors open and defend their warriors.

Personally, I was amused by the game, though for the Playstation lovers it may seem a little bit like the God of War…

Link to the trailer here. 

Beowulf: Poem vs. Film (by Martín Gómez)

Have you already assumed that films based on books are rarely loyal to the original pieces? I bet you had. But even expecting Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf movie not to be the exception wouldn't do much to prevent you from horrifying at the finding of such a butchery as can be seen in the epic poem 21st century Hollywood version.

Let's just put three major points into consideration:

1. Epic poems main characteristic is the presence of a hero. If you've read the book, you probably got a good idea of how an epic hero of around the 10th century was to behave... Now, what's so heroic about a man who - because of weakness - conceives his own assassination with the monster whose child is killing every 'good guy' around? That doesn't sound like good old Beowulf...

2. The same goes for the respected King Rothgar. In the movie, he's said to have been through the same situation than Beowulf's, conceiving a menace with exactly the same monster years ago! How ironic; heroes were supposed to be extremely difficult to kill, and now somebody has managed to destroy two of them in ten minutes of film...

3. Remember Grendel? That awful, bloody demon which terrified Rothgar's kingdom? And do you remember Grendel's mother? Probably twice as fierce and awful than her son? Well, 2008 Hollywood Grendel's mother is... Angelina Jolie! I don't know you, but I don't think words such as 'monstrosity' and 'Angelina Jolie' can be placed in a same sentence without breaking any moral rule...

Perhaps we should be open-minded and expect remakes to be more like reinterpretations? After all, it seems interesting to see how different societies reinterpret classics such as Beowulf across time, through completely different viewpoints...

PS: if you still want to see the film, I've got a copy at home ready to be lent. It's got a really neat animation!

PS2: Beowulf's not there, though...