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Mixed or average reviews - based on 35 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 207 Ratings

  • Starring: Angelina Jolie, Crispin Glover, Ray Winstone
  • Summary: In a time of heroes, the mighty warrior Beowulf slays the monster Grendel and incurs the wrath of its monstrous yet seductive mother, in a conflict that transforms a king into a legend. (Paramount Pictures)
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 35
  2. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. 88
    Zemeckis springs so many pow 3-D surprises you'll think Beowulf is your own private fun house.
  2. Reviewed by: Richard Corliss
    80
    It's got power and depth, and two kings whose greatness is diluted by hubris, and a thrilling dragon fight, and the demon Grendel as a tortured outcast, and a naked monster who looks a lot like Angelina Jolie.
  3. Reviewed by: Tom Ambrose
    80
    It’s not a reinvention of the wheel, but in 3D this is an astonishing experience that borders on ‘must-see’, and raises the bar for what James Cameron is planning with Avatar. And you’ll be glad to know that the creepy dead eyes thing has been fixed.
  4. Reviewed by: Justin Chang
    60
    For all its visual sweep and propulsively violent action, this bloodthirsty rendition of the Old English epic can't overcome the disadvantage of being enacted by digital waxworks rather than flesh-and-blood Danes and demons.

See all 35 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 84 out of 130
  2. Negative: 27 out of 130
  1. The animation and the story are incredible. Definitely one of the best movies ever made. I can't wait to watch it again. One of those movies that make the real world so boring for a few days after you watch it. Expand
  2. BEOWULF is an amazing movie, but it is clearly for adults only. Even though it has blood, gore, and nudity galore, the animation concept was quite seemingly used to be rated PG-13 rather than rated a well-deserved R--the animation is quite realistic, believe it or not. Besides that fact, I have not read the epic poem off which this film is based, so I can't exactly dictate how faithful it is to the source material, but it was well-produced, well-acted (or voice-acted, if you wish), and intensely thrilling in a great stupefying way that will leave you emitting at least fifty "wow"s throughout its entirety. Expand
  3. "Beowulf" is a epic remake of the original tale of vikings. It lacks the depth or symbolism of the characters, but it certainly does have the glorious gore and blood going on. Expand
  4. None of the reviewers who gave it over a 30 actually have ever read beowulf, I have and this has almost zero to do with the epic poem. It is just a bad attempt to "hollywoodize" the poem Expand

See all 130 User Reviews