The producers of the genre hit, MORTAL KOMBAT (1995), filmed BEOWULF in 1998, hoping that the same combination of primeval action and techno-metal soundtrack would mimic the success of their previous effort. BEOWULF was picked up by Miramax at the same time as THE 13^TH WARRIOR (another interpretation of the classic poem, Beowulf) went to theaters. Because their big budget medieval adaptation tanked at the box office, Mirimax (wisely) played it safe, and skipped the theatrical release for BEOWULF. Instead, they opted for a direct-to-video VHS and DVD release through their Dimension label.

Director Graham Baker previously gave us ALIEN NATION and the third OMEN sequel, THE FINAL CONFLICT. Everyone is familiar with the genre work of Christopher Lambert (from the HIGHLANDER and FORTRESS film series). Here Lambert is the depressing and secretive warrior of the title. Actress Rhona Mitra’s claim to fame is that her busty figure was used as the basis for Lara Croft in the popular videogame. In BEOWULF, Mitra plays Kyra, a warrior woman who falls for Lambert’s character. Oliver (THE SICILIAN) Cotten portray’s Kyra’s father, Hrothgar, ruler of the outpost and a man who has secrets of his own. Gotz (TOMORROW NEVER DIES) Otto plays Roland, captain of the guard and Beowulf’s rival for Kyra’s affections. The exotic Layla (ARMAGEDDON) Roberts plays the enigmatic mother of the beastly Grendel.

A primitive future world is besieged by warring tribes, and an invisible menace terrorizes a mechanized castle. The lord of this castle is Hrothgar (Oliver Cotton), and together with his warlord chief, Roland (Gotz Otto), they carve out a niche for themselves in this lawless world. But a mysterious shape-changing beast keeps slaughtering the residents of the castle. Everytime Hrothgar faces the demon, it disappears as if avoiding a confrontation with him. Roland has lecherous intentions for Hrothgar’s willful daughter, Kyra, but she does not reciprocate. The monster cannot be stopped by Hrothgar’s people, so when a nomad warrior called Beowulf (Christpher Lambert) enters the castle claiming he can destroy the beast, he is well received by all (except for Roland). Indeed the mysterious nature of Beowulf stirs up the sensibilities of those around him, including the creature he calls Grendel. Alerted by Beowulf’s presence, the beast goes on a vicious rampage through the castle, slaughtering women and children (offscreen of course).

Beowulf has numerous run-ins with the beast, and Beowulf’s battle scars mysteriously heal before the eyes of Kyra, who bandages his wounds. The residents of the castle realize that there is something inhuman about this man, Beowulf, who can stand up the super-powerful monster, and survive when no else has. Much to the chagrin of Roland, Kayla begins to initiate a romance between herself and Beowulf, who initially warns her that their love can never be. But the castle walls also holds another evil force (in the form of the luscious Layla Roberts), who attempts to seduce the ruler of the castle, Hrothgar. But what is the mysterious connection between the evil forces that dwell in the castle, and the elder Hrothgar? What is the secret of Beowulf, and why is he the only one powerful enough to vanquish the Grendel?

The fantasy films of the 1980s (like DRAGONSLAYER, CLASH OF THE TITANS, KRULL, and THE BEAST MASTER) may not have been perfect, but at least they had an epic scale, or ample amounts of charm. BEOWULF on the other hand, is as soulless as a film can be, with sterile digital effects (that are not even that good) and equally vapid acting. Christopher Lambert usually excels in this type of B-film, but he bases his entire look and performance on Rutgar Hauer circa SPLIT SECOND and THE BLOOD OF HEROES. If you don’t believe me, check out Lambert’s short blonde hair! Lambert does a capable job with the material, and portrays the character of Beowulf as a depressed and miserable individual. The rest of the cast however, does not fair so well. We are talking TV-movie caliber acting here, folks. But at least the starlets are easy on the eyes.

Reactions to BEOWULF have been varied; people either tend to like it, or hate it with a passion. There are several reasons for this. The original poem on which this film is loosely based, is one of the great works of the English language. Both literary scholars and adventure lovers have studied the poem for centuries. It is the inspiration for such classic fantasy works such as Lord of the Rings and Dungeons and Dragons, and it is reviewed by every English class that ever existed. Because of the difficulty to convert the original poem to a film, the filmmakers made a lot of changes, to the chagrin of literary purists everywhere. For one, the location has been changed to a medieval future, and the great Hall of Herot has been converted to a battle-outpost, where civilization has taken a step backwards. Only a few traces of a superior technology exists in this world, such as night vision and methane-run torches, and everything else has been reduced to a typical sword and cross-bow environment, combined with outrageous-looking primal weapons. In other words, it’s part MAD MAX, and part DRAGONSLAYER. In this film, Hrothgar is the leader of the Outpost, and he has a beautiful daughter named Kyra. The character of Unferth has been changed to Roland for no apparent reason. Additional subplots have been added that include Hrothgar’s relationship with Grendel and his mother, and Kyra's relationship with Roland. The most dynamic change, however, is in the character of Beowulf himself. No longer is he a happy-go-lucky, adventurous fighter for good, but a brooding, subtly aggressive man who carries his share of secrets and emotional baggage. Lambert pulls it off, though some of his lines are of a decidedly campy nature.

There were some huge flaws in logic, and I ‘m not sure if I should blame the incompetence of the screenwriters, or blame Dimension, who have a knack for cutting and reediting films. For instance, there is an army of barbarians that wait outside the castle, and when Beowulf hangs up Grendel’s severed arm as a trophy, the barbarians pack up and leave without an explanation. The writers come with an entirely paint-by-numbers affair that contains virtually every cliché in the action film genre. The unsatisfactory resolution is cut and dry, but leaves the viewer scratching their heads. Graham Baker’s direction lacks any kind of style whatsoever, which gives BEOWULF a generic, B-movie feel.

Christopher Lambert is surprisingly good as Beowulf, playing the part subtly and without overacting. Like in the poem, he is a man of few words, just wanting to fight and get the job over with. Though his motives are different; The Beowulf of the poem lives for the fight. This Beowulf simply wants to overcome the evil within. While I don't think Lambert would work in a literary version of Beowulf, he does fine here, as a hero torn between his lust for evil and his desire to fight it. He's got just the right tone, and his eyes speak multitudes. Penthouse Pet Layla Roberts plays Grendel’s mother, but as exotic as she is, she’s a terrible actress. Which is unfortunate because her character has complex motivations and important lines. She looks like a cheap stripper and is out of place in this film. Rhona Mitra has an equally good figure, and is only a marginally better actress than Roberts. Thank good for veteran character actor Oliver Cotton, who brings a sense of urgency to the entire production.

The filmmakers were trying to capture that mixture of over-choreographed Kung Fu action and techno-metal score that made MORTAL KOMBAT a success. But Kung Fu is out of place here in this post-apocalyptic world, and the soundtrack just plain annoys. The monster Grendel is a rip-off of the Predator and is no where near as effective (along with Graham Baker’s direction) as that classic beastie. To hide the ineffectiveness of the monster suit, they superimpose a digital haze around him, so we don’t get a clear look at the creature. On the positive side, BEOWULF has a sleek, low-budget look with some nice production values and costumes. The weapons are particularly memorable and exciting. There is plenty of violence and blood in the movie, including brutal fights between Beowulf and Grendel, and several monsters-stalking-human scenes. But nothing we have not seen before in other (and more superior) films.

-  Danel Griffin and Phil Chandler