Beowulf

Basic Story Idea:
The old story made into a new modern take. A monster torments the House of Hrothgar and a hero is needed. Beowulf and his loyal group of Geats answer Hrothgar's call for help. Beowulf is the mighty hero of the Geats and plans to slay the monster and it's mother to bring peace to the Thanes. The story is changed, characters are changed, and a lot of the differences are huge, but overall it works for this movie.

Acting:
The Voice Acting is solid. High-Billed Actors provide the main voices and do a great job doing so. No complaints at all. Also, the song hummed by Grendel's mother over her dead son is both scary and tearjerking at the same time. That is a fantastic moment in the film.

Writing/Story:
First up...
IF you are a HUGE fan of the original story, you will probably be disappointed. A LOT has been changed to make it all work as a single fluid story for those who've never even heard of or read the original old "legend" story. But to me, it worked.
There are some parts that seem a bit odd to me, due to me being so familiar with the original tale, but overall nothing was overly bad or boring. However, there are a few moments in the film that seem to drag on for no reason at all other than they are "cool scenes", and at times these scenes could have been half the length they are and would have been just as effective, if not more so.

Animation Quality:
Very, Very Awesome...for the most part. The best part is how they made the character models LOOK like the Voice Actors (those that count/the main ones), but they aren't slavishly done to replicate said VA's, so there is some liberty taken. The backgrounds, the water, the fire, the creatures, the effects, they are all fantastic! Top-notch! The problem with some of the animation is that at times the arm movements were way too stiff and doll-like. Also at times the arms and hands seemed too plastic-y and odd-looking, compared to the rest of the body on the characters.

The Main Disappointments:
1.) - Just part of the animation where it seems a bit "glitchy". Mainly it's on character arm movement. It is never major, but as an animation buff - those pop out at me.
2.) - The fact that Beowulf yells out "BEOWULF!" at times when it seems totally unnecessary. It's a bit too cheesy here.
3.) - Some scenes go on too long just to keep the "coolness" and "That's Awesome!" factors going. They could have shaved about 15-18 minutes off this movie and it would have felt like a better movie.

Overall Opinion and Rating:
Rating - 8 outta 10.
A cool fun action flick with some depth where it needs it and some shallowness at points that require it. Overall it's a nice movie, very entertaining and I LOVE how they worked with several of the characters to make them better for film.

Extra Thoughts:
One thing that really caught me was the glistening on the snow and the simple things of the backgrounds and animation. Very nicely done details.