Film: Beowulf

First things first: Beowulf is no film for kids. Please expect gratuitous violence and scenes of a sexual nature if you decide to watch this film. More importantly, do NOT take an eight year old child. I was cringing throughout the film for those younguns in our audience.

Just like The Polar Express (which was made by the same people), Beowulf offers the same super realistic yet kinda disturbing CGI visuals. There's something creepy about the the not-quite-right actors here, but you soon get over that. To be honest, at first glance I didn't even realise it was CGI.

But instead of the soft and cuddly Christmas setting of that train film, we now find ourselves in cold Denmark fighting demons, monsters and dragons. And seeing how computer animation allows us to see some of the most fantastic action sequences, this should have been gripping stuff.

Alas, the film doesn't quite hit the mark. Both (yes, that means all two of them) fighting sequences are very well done and leave the viewer pretty dazzled, and in some ways it was worth sitting through the rest of the film just to see them. In others, it isn't really at all - Beowulf seems devoid of a middle between its beginning and end, and this gap turns out to be pretty fatal for it.

No recommendations here I'm afraid.