GRAFFITI MOVIE REVIEWS™
Movie: Beowulf
Graffiti Review: "Ending sucks"
Does JohnEats Agree?: Don't know, haven't seen it, but it sure looks like more than just the ending would suck.
Penmanship of Reviewer: Lousy
posted by John Eats at 6:27 AM
9 Comments:
I concur -- my penmanship, however, is even worse, so no one has been able to decipher my various vitriolic scrawls.
Not sure if you can argue with the ending since it's the same as in the 8th century poem. But hey! That's just me!
With all due respect, dartanjal, there's plenty to argue with about the ending. (And that's without debating the date of the poem's composition, whatever that would mean in an oral-into-manuscript culture. [How does one "date Beowulf"? First, buy him several flagons of mead...])
SPOILERS
I'll let slide the fact that the poem's Beowulf doesn't take over Hrothgar's kingdom - that change adds to our contemporary desire for "dramatic unity." But while it's true that the dragon dies in the poem, it's not true that the dragon is the "love child, never meant to be" of Beowulf and Mama G. Nor that Mama G. comes back to tempt Wiglaf.
Neil, Neil, why hast thou disappointed me...?
Uh -- no, it's not. And the assertion that it's "an 8th century poem" is a big laugh, too. People who have "read" it in high school seldom have the slightest idea what the actual poem is like (which is usually their teacher's fault, although bad translations hurt, too).
Please go easy on Dartanjal, you two...when he opened up this particular can of worms, little did he know that two of this blog's most active readers (and commenters) actually have bona fide literature degrees and have taught the "book". ;-)
Ok... from now on I will be careful with my literature comments.
I did enjoy the movie and I did enjoy the ending.
Ok. New subject:
"Anthony's naked behind."
"little did he know that two of this blog's most active readers (and commenters) actually have bona fide literature degrees"
Actually I would say that they're just "comic book guy from the simpson" level geeks, and probably very boring to talk to.
Worst comment ever.
---Tom
Well, Tom, you're partially right -- one of them actually has a PhD in comics scholarship, and he's my brother. The other one is my sister-in-law, who's got a PhD in medieval lit. And they're not boring to talk to, they just happen to know way too much about Beowulf.
So now that my family and one of my best friends have had a flame war because of my stupid blog, can we all agree to disagree? Thanks.
Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg, and all that. Peace out!
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