The weekend it came out, I went to see "Beowulf"--in 3D. Being a big "Beowulf" fan, and having an extensive background in Old English, I was eager to see what the 21st century take on the story would be. Also, I'm kind of a fan of technology. I was thrilled and disappointed.
   I was thrilled by the technology. It was fun to see humans behave like animated characters, and it was fun to be the target of a rain of arrows; but the best part of the 3D was the depth of field. High Def to the max. It made the dragon sequence awesome as they fought and flew and dived and swerved through mountains and canyons. Absolutely breathtaking.
   I was thrilled with the up-to-a-point faithfulness to the original story. To see Grendel's arm ripped away, to watch him chew on the warriors' bones,to hear his agony, to hear the cadences, if not the direct translations, of the old language made my heart happy. To hear the old language spoken by the outcast mother and son to each other in such a way as to acustom the uninitiated ear to its sounds and finally help the listener understand what Grendel said was such a masterfully orchestrated moment.
   I was disappointed in the last part of the story. Now, it is not uncomon to add an adventure to an old story; each age likes to make its mark. So I was willing to accept that perhaps Beowulf did not kill Grendel's mother but had a sexual encounter with her. After all, Beowulf was a lusty young man. BUT he was not King Arthur. His offspring should not have been a Modred-like character, AND I have issues with changing the nature of the classic hero that Beowulf was. Beowulf would not have lied about his affair. He would not have hedged the question. Those are modern values. The classic hero could exagerate his exploits (he killed 963 men that day); he could boast about his accomplishments (no one gives more treasure to his thanes than I do), but he could not out and out lie.
   Finally, I was most bothered by the end of this movie. You see, in the original story, hubis (too much pride) is Beowulf's downfall. He dies because he insists on fighting the dragon to prove he can still get treasure and protect his men even though he is too old. The story is a warning to old heros to know when to hang their sword over the fireplace and retire. The end of the story in this version, however, makes his tragic flaw his inability to resist sexual seduction, again a more modern theme. The endurance of evil and its transcendence over time through three kings is modern, too. In my "Beowulf," the story ends when the hero does. His fight was not an existential metaphor for the uselessness of combat against the forces of evil. His fight was for glory, for honor, for treasure, and for having his name remembered centuries after his death. This interesting and conflicting film does keep his name alive for this century, so I am happy for that. The name of my monster-killer hero will live on for a while longer. It's a good story; I am glad I went.