Beowulf: A Review

Not since Speed 2: Cruise Control has there been a movie like Beowulf. It is unclear as to which translation the movie makers used. In 1999 Seamus Heaney translated the epic poem and was quickly accepted as the translation. It seems however they were using a translation that was loosely based on the original. Possibly the great illustrated classic version? It would be too easy to list the fundamental flaws in the movie, there are just too many. But it fun to try anyway.
Beowulf is a flawed man, not even considered to be a hero. Correction: Beowulf was the original hero. He defines what epic even means.
It was interesting that there were hardly any Christian over tones in the original poem, in fact, there were none. How is it then that praying to a one God versus the God of Thor and other Viking Gods because center issue what Grendel comes to attack Heorot? Grendel himself was not at all what the poem played him out to be. But that is for another day. Correction: Please don't humanize a monster.
In the translation that I read, again I reference Heaney, Beowulf and Grendel's mother have a battle which results in her death. How then does Grendel's mother come out of the sea at the end of the movie? Correction: I believe it would be to make a sequel. Possibly Beowulf 2: Grendel's Mom takes Manhattan. Yes, that will do.
A certain sense of humility was felt upon entering the theater and looking around at the high school teenagers that were sitting a few rows up. It's no doubt that they were reading the poem in their 'senior English' class. I don't know of many high schools that release their students without having a jaunt with Beowulf. Of course an English scholar ( [skol-er] a student; pupil.) would not be caught dead in the theater watching the death of a hero like Beowulf.
On the whole, I think Beowulf came out to be perfect. A must see for those that would love to read the poem but 'just haven't got around to it'. True to the words that were written centuries ago. Right.