A Critique of Film Beowulf Essay Example

fear after a raid. With their use of brutal means of murder, the affected human race is left to live in total fear. Grendel, for instance, uses his supernatural strength to kill and eat warriors in Denmark. The Dragon in Sweden, on the other hand, spits fire that burns houses, animals, and people. These creatures are unique in their physique. In this film, we see Grendel having the ugliest face that anyone could ever imagine. Out of fear of the unknown ramifications that Grendel is likely to bring with him in the subsequent attacks, the Danes are portrayed as prayerful people. One of the advisors of the king admonishes him that they should seek the assistance of a Savior, Jesus Christ, in their war against the monster. The myth reinforces the fact that during desperate moments as this, humanity requires the intervention of a higher force for them to survive – it is virtually impossible for the warriors to fight back because none of their weapons can hurt these creatures as they are immune to all the weapons that men use in war.

As it has always been the case for many mythical tales, a mortal man that is divinely gifted with incredible strength and distinctive tactics of war is the only one who can tackle a giant and restore dignity to the kingdom. This was no different in Danes; a superman and the hero of the story named Beowulf, travels from his home country to a foreign land where he triumphs over an enemy called Grendel. He has a human helper, a close friend whose name is Wiglaf, a warrior whom he takes whenever he

has a fierce war to wage. After the war with the Dragon in his home, Beowulf dies a cruel death after sustaining injuries from the deadly fight with the giant.

Also, there is the mythical narration of the existence of a spiritual realm that is governed by demons, angels, and God. The Danes believe that there is a god of war and wisdom, whose name is Odin. The king refers to Grendel and his mother as demons and attributes their origin to Cain who is a famous character in the Old Testament of the Bible that killed his brother Abel because of jealousy. They pray to Odin to help them in the fight against these demons. Grendel’s character entirely conforms to the view of many mythical tales as he is a vile creature whose aim is to destroy man.

There are several points of departure between the movie and the traditional poem. First of all, the poem explains to us how Grendel came into being; that Hrothgar had been tempted earlier by his mother into having sex with her in exchange for a lasting and powerful kingdom. After watching the film, one can hardly find any instance that validates this explanation as it is given in the poem. Secondly, the explanation that the poem gives about Grendel’s mother does not fit the one in the movie at all. According to the poem, she lives in a horrible place, and one would expect to see a creature that is as ugly as Grendel. However, she appears as a very charming girl, her body having a gold covering. Thirdly, Beowulf does not dwell in Hrothgar’s city and marry the

queen he had been promised. Although this is the script from the poem, it is not the case in the film as Beowulf returns to his country and becomes the king there. Additionally in the old times, as the poem narrates, an individual who was wealthy and had a good status in the society would be buried in a ship with worldly goods. This was due to the belief that the individual might be in need of these things in his next life. Although this practice is found in the texts, it is not seen in the movie. However, the pagan practice of cremation is heavily present in this film. When Beowulf’s comrades die after an encounter with Grendel, their bodies are cremated. Also, Beowulf’s body is burned on a cliff that is overlooking the sea. The incoming king, Wiglaf, gives Beowulf a typical Norse funeral to commemorate him as a hero.

In a nutshell, this film features a great warrior who risks his life to save his fellow human beings from the torture and harassment of an evil force. He is to be remembered even in the ages to come for his historic achievements as songs, and poems are composed to praise him for his sacrifice and acts of heroism. This movie has been compared to that of the Hindu people featuring Indra and Vritra. In the Hindu religious story, Vritra was an evil force that had kept the waters of this world captive until Indra murdered him. Just like Beowulf, Indra was a great warrior that was fighting an evil force that was constantly at war with sons of men. Although he knew that

the monster he was facing was enormous, he put his life on the line so as to rescue his community. This is precisely what the hero of the film Beowulf does, but unlike his counterpart in the Hindu religion, his life is cut short by the injuries he gets from the war. Nonetheless, both figures are revered to date as great men for having traded their lives for the sake of the society they were living in.

The multiple settings of the movie are responsible for the spectacular visual effects of the various scenes of the film. Although much of the action happens around Hrothgar’s mead hall called Heorot, others occur under water and at Beowulf’s Geatland. These different settings make the movie interesting to watch.

The greatest decision that director Robert Zemeckis must have done for this film was the choice of the cast. Each of the characters has adequately and uniquely performed their roles throughout the film. No other character would have suitably served as Beowulf than Ray Winstone. He is well built and a strong man. Ray perfectly epitomizes the hero and warrior traits that a giant fighter should have. He is willing to put his life on the line and save the lives of his people. When he comes to wage war against Grendel, he categorically states to Hrothgar’s advisor that his motivation is not the goodies that were to be awarded to the person who would destroy the monster. He retorts that it would be better to die in war than to live a coward all his live. We can also see his bravery when he risks his life even in old

age to fight the Dragon. Besides Winstone, Angelina Jolie was a great character in the film. She perfectly manages to double as a malevolent demon and a beautiful lady who successfully invokes her seductive wiles to mislead Beowulf.

The costumes that the cast used in this film were also on point. Since the picture that the film tries to portray was of the people who probably lived in the 17th century, it was a great decision for the men in the cast to wear robes. Also, the use of a crown to indicate authority makes it easy for the audience to understand that the film is mostly presenting scenes of the ancient times.

I found the lighting of the movie to be quite poor and of low quality. Although much of the action of the movie happen in the night, the poor quality lighting makes the movie dull. Watching the film, one might be tempted to think it was shot at one place because the poor lighting cannot easily distinguish the different locations from where the movie was recorded. One is likely to believe that the entire happenings in the film occurred at night because of the dark scenes. Besides, there were no cases of unexpected plot twists. The movie looked predictable but had a few breathtaking moments such as when Beowulf was fighting the Dragon.

The soundtrack of the film was significant in summarizing who Beowulf was – a hero, and what he did – saving his people. This movie remains to be one of the best pieces of art that have ever existed. Both Christianity and paganism are presented side by side with minimal collisions, unlike

one would expect. It is an excellent work of art that one can use to unravel the myths of the ancient times and relate them to the present day. I would highly recommend that the movie be used in future in higher institutions of learning due to the rich mythological content it carries.