Beowulf (1999)

 

Beowulf (1999)

1999

Director- Graham Baker

Cast- Christopher Lambert, Rhona Mitra, Götz Otto, Layla Roberts, Oliver Cotton, Charlie Robinson, Vincent Hammond, Patricia Velásquez

           

    You already know the story of Beowulf. A monster, Grendel, stalks the halls of King Rothgar, killing people in the night. A legendary hero, Beowulf, arrives and slays Grendel only to find that its mother remains as a threat. Beowulf must then deal with her.

            

      The important thing here is not the story but how it’s told. Instead of the usual Dark Ages Scandinavian setting, this story takes place in a sci-fi fantasy setting mixing post-apocalyptic aesthetics with a medieval local. It’s like Mad Max meets Masters of the Universe, no kidding. No time or location is ever given, so it takes place whenever or wherever you think is best.

           

     

     

   Besides the fact that it’s a Beowulf movie, the main reason to watch this is the cast. Christopher Lambert plays the hero. For whatever reason, Lambert never achieved mainstream success but has given us an enjoyable legacy of genre films. Starting with the fantasy epic Highlander, Lambert has starred in several entertaining movies and in at least half of them he was sword fighting. It also stars genre favorite Rhona Mitra (Doomsday, Underworld 3) and Götz Otto from Iron Sky. Really old school fans will recognize Charlie Robinson who played Mac on Night Court. The part of Grendel’s mother was played by beautiful Playboy playmate Layla Roberts. Patricia Velásquez has a small part in the film. She is best known to horror fans as Anck-su-namun from The Mummy movies but also from 2019’s The Curse of La Llorona.

      The director, Graham Baker, was no stranger to genre films himself. He directed the third installment of the Omen franchise. His best known film though is 1988’s Alien Nation.

            

       This movie could serve as a time capsule of 90’s genre films. Besides the cast (Christopher Lambert starred in at least 9 sci-fi/ fantasy/ action films in the decade including Mortal Kombat and Fortress and 2 Highlander sequels) it’s got plenty of the 90’s tropes. Shot during the era of Xena Warrior Princess, Beowulf is filled with similar acrobatics and stunts. Why simply jump down when you can somersault down? Why run when you can double back flip? It also has the non-stop industrial/ electronic music that was so popular in that era. The costumes though, are better than what was usually seen in Xena or Hercules.

            

     

     The movie is pure cheese but that is not to say that it’s not enjoyable. Lambert lays it on thick as the tragic hero that’s just too brooding to fall in love. Layla Roberts is really hot has Grendel’s mom, and I’d probably watch Rhona Mitra eat crackers. The only complaint I have is that her part wasn’t very good. She was too much of a damsel in distress and if you’ve seen Underworld 3 or Doomsday then you know that she can hold her own in an action film. Also, the look of the film was cool. Grendel, when we finally get a good look, is well done, but they use this pseudo-Predator cloaking that keeps us from seeing him until the end of the film.

The movie’s grasp exceeds its reach in the finale when Grendel’s mother turns into a giant CGI monster. Cheap CGI never ages well and 90’s CGI is the worst of the bunch. But, as they say, go big or go home, and they swung for the fences.

Critically, Beowulf has a lot of flaws. But it is very entertaining, so long as you just take it for what it is; a horror/ sci-fi/fantasy/action mash up with genre favorites.