Movie Review: Beowulf

I had to read Beowulf twice: in high school, and again in college, in a medieval literature course that was bearable only because the professor was just so damn into what he was teaching. So for old time's sake (and simple interest in what promised to be a decent action flick) I decided to see the new film adaptation of the very old epic.

I won't presume to discuss the history and the disputed authorship of the original work here. Suffice it to say, Beowulf was an epic poem originally written in a funny-sounding precursor to our own language known as Old English. This poem was written in the alliterative verse style, which emphasizes repetition of consonant sounds. Note, for example, the repeated "W" in "...he who ruled wide with his words."

The Beowulf I remember from my bygone days of academia begins with a prologue about an ideal Nordic king of the past named Scyld Scefing (pronounced "Shild Shay-fing"). This guy literally drifted in on a boat as an infant. He became a powerful king who drank a lot, gave away tons of treasure, and struck fear into the hearts of his enemies. And if you were a Germanic king back in the day, this was the way to be. Upon his death, his men sent his body back out to sea on a boat laden with treasure and weaponry.

The story then shifts to one of his descendants, another king named Hrothgar, whose mead (beer) hall is attacked by an unspeakably foul monster named Grendel, who is impervious to weapons and tears warriors apart like rag dolls. A legendary warrior named Beowulf hears of this and travels to Hrothgar's kingdom to assist. He engages Grendel in unarmed combat, and tears the monster's arm off. Grendel makes it back to his mother's swamp before bleeding to death.

Beowulf's victory celebration is short-lived; Grendel's mother returns to the hall and slaughters a number of people in retribution for her son's death. So Beowulf sets out to the swamp, where he is dragged into an underwater cavern in which he fights and ultimately beheads Grendel's mother. Hrothgar showers Beowulf with praise and treasure, and Beowulf returns to his homeland.