Beowulf (12)

FANS of blood and violence will no doubt be anticipating the release of this latest motion capture movie.
For those of you not forced to study the Old English epic poem during school like I was, Beowulf is the story of the warrior - Beowulf (Ray Winstone) - who helps King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) protect the Danish hall of Heorot from the powerful and monstrous looking Grendel (Crispin Hellion Glover).
After defeating him, in a gory showdown in which we see the computer generated Winstone strip to his birthday suit, Grendel's mother (Angelina Jolie) is unsurprisingly upset and sets about killing more of Hrothgar's men in an even gorier revenge.
So Beowulf decides he has to kill her too but, like a stereotypical man, is easily distracted and seduced by the beautiful cleavage-enhanced woman he finds in frolicking in a cave and instead of killing her does quite the opposite - which sets the ball rolling for big trouble later.
While parts of the film remain true to the original poem the plot is very different - especially towards the second half - so fans of the original story may be a tad disappointed. But the action-packed fancy visuals will certainly win some people over.
If you enjoyed 300 you will love this one and Jolie fans will be in their element, but if not I'd give this one a miss.

6/10