Keith McLean- Cortes

Mr.Sinning
CP English 12
10/8/15
Beowulf Movie Review

If you were to ask me which media version of Beowulf I preferred; the poem or the book;
my vote would go for the poem. There are many differences between the plot of the poem and
the way the movie was directed, such as, how the Mother of Grendel was dealt with, who the
father of Grendel was and the parents of the Dragon, and how Beowulf was viewed.
To begin my first thought in the differences, Grendel's Mother in the poem had
attempted to seek revenge against those whom attempted to assist Beowulf but only managed
to snatch one Geat while they were all sleeping and took him back to her lair, most likely killing
him, with the rest of the warriors trailing behind her. Once they catch up and find the Mother's
lair, Beowulf enters to battle the Mother and kills her, whereas in the movie the Mother sneaks in
killing all of Beowulf's men except one. Wanting revenge, Beowulf and his companion set out to
Grendel's Mother's cave, which the king knows a great deal about, and doesn't kill her. Instead
the Mother seduces Beowulf to have a son with her and allows her to live, hiding in the dark as
long as a horn made of gold stayed with her.
Next, the identity of Grendel's father was never revealed in the poem of Beowulf. It
merely stated that he had a mother, Beowulf was challenged to defeat her, and no mention of
Hrothgar being the father. Unlike the poem though, the director makes a bold move to suggest
that the king be Grendel's father. Also, the Dragon was a random menace in the poem. He
came from nowhere deciding to terrorize Beowulfs native homeland. Although random in the
text, the director decided to add background to the Dragon by making Grendel's Mother his
mother and Beowulf his father.

Lastly, in the text Beowulf was viewed almost as if a god. He was well respected and
treated like he was invincible. He is portrayed as the perfect hero, and unflawed specimen that
never fails to impress and amaze. Although he is viewed highly in the text, the movie
exemplifies him as a flawed man. A man who makes mistakes and lies to king Hrothgar and the
kings townsmen. He claimed he killed Grendel's Mother with evidence of bringing back
Grendel's head after defeating his Mother by stabbing her in the chest twice with his sword
when she sprung back to life his first attempt where the sword stayed forever. He makes up a
huge story to try and convince the king that he undoubtedly slayed her.
To add, the poem never talked about women, except for Grendel's Mother. They played
no part in the story, having no major (nor minor) roles. Even with no roles of women through the
poem, the movie depicted them with having roles. Beowulf was essentially a ladies man, able to
sleep with any whom he'd chosen. Additionally, when Hrothgar was king his Queen in the movie,
she was unwilling to ever lay with Hrothgar knowing he slept with her, producing his son
Grendel.
To conclude, the movie and poem of Beowulf differ quite profoundly between the actual
text and how the director decided to portray the story. The differences include the death of
Grendel's Mother, the lineage of both monsters, and the idea of who Beowulf is.
P.S. Throughout the movie his genitals are covered by objects and such as seen in The
Simpson's and Austin Powers. Although this technique is a great way to add humor to a dark
movie, it is funnier in those movies than Beowulf.