Who’s responsible? Robert Zemeckis (director), Ray Winstone (Beowulf), Anthony Hopkins (Hrothgar), John Malkovich (Unferth), Angelina Jolie (Grendel’s Mother)

When can we see it? November 16, 2007

What’s it about? The original English epic presented in cutting-edge, motion-capture computer animation. Beowulf fights monsters, dragons, and Angelina Jolie?!

What looks good? The character animation looks impressive, especially compared to the doll-eyed zombie children on view in The Polar Express. The designs look convincingly Anglo-Saxon, the cinematography looks rich, subtle, and distinctively un-cartoony, and Grendel (who will speak all his lines in Old English) looks like one nasty son of a bitch.

What looks bad? Angelina Jolie plays Grendel’s Mother, which suggests they’re taking considerable liberties with the source material. Computers still can’t simulate fire convincingly, or water, or horses, or . . .

Worth seeing? All signs point to “Yes.”

Worth GOING to see? Yes. You can’t get 3-D IMAX in your living room. (Yet.)

Where can I see the trailer? HERE