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Beowulf (2007)
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Myth and technology combine in this spectacular animated fantasy that reworks the English language's oldest surviving poem using 21st-century computer power. As in The Polar Express, director Robert Zemeckis employs state-of-the-art “performance capture” techniques to turn his cast — including Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins and Brendan Gleeson — into digital avatars. The earthily entertaining script by award-winning comic-book writer Neil Gaiman (Stardust) and Pulp Fiction co-writer Roger Avary adds a bold new dimension to the story of Beowulf's battle against the monstrous Grendel (Crispin Hellion Glover) in 6th-century Denmark. Zemeckis creates a dark fantasy full of haunting images, not least Angelina Jolie's sultry turn as Grendel's demonic mother. Ironically, the attempt to take animation to a new level of photorealism occasionally produces a strange distancing effect; some viewers may feel more intrigued by the process than immersed in the action, particularly when they can choose from conventional 35mm, IMAX 3D, Real D and Dolby 3D Digital Cinema formats. JR
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Tell us what you think
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Running time
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109min
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Country of origin
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US
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Genre
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Animated Fantasy Adventure
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Original language
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English
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Screenplay
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Neil Gaiman, Roger Avary, from the epic poem by Anonymous
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Theatrical distributor
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Warner Bros
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UK cinema certificate
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12A
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UK cinema release date
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November 2007
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Film certification logos reproduced by kind permission of BBFC |
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