When the renowned Beowulf (Ray Winstone) comes to a Danish town to rid them of their monster Grendel he is heralded as their saviour.
But the famous hero finds more than he bargained for when he comes face to face with Grendel's mother.

Don't let the fact that this film is CGI fool you into thinking it is a family friendly flick filled with comical and cute characters.
Fantasy violence, seemingly un-motivated nudity and plenty of limb-ripping action culminates in a very adult animated offering.

Beowulf is a far cry from the Zemeckis' previous delve into CGI with The Polar Express – both in terms of realism and narrative.
But while the advancement to near life-like animation is often impressive, it proves to be a hinder rather than a help.

All the major protagonists (bar the overtly improved Ray Winstone in the title role) bear uncanny similarities to their onscreen counterparts.
Anthony Hopkins is undeniably life-like, as is Angelina Jolie (whose scantily clad feature is sure to whip teenage boys into a frenzy).

But the fact they look so real only begs the question, why not make Beowulf live action and take advantage of modern special effects?
The shots are framed using conventional methods, and the more fantastical effects are by no means out of the reach of FX wizards like ILM.

While the film strives for perfection it doesn't quite reach it.
Rigid animal movements, masculine features on the women and the fact that many of the characters look cross-eyed all act as speed bumps in the suspension of disbelief.

But whether it succeeds in convincing audiences or not visually, Neil Gaiman's script is certainly a compelling re-telling of the famous legend – throwing together all the necessary components of a good old fashioned adventure film into one.

With technology rapidly invading on the creativity of Hollywood, Beowulf serves as warning to film makers to stop and ask themselves whether they should make a film in complete CGI, rather than ask if they could.

6/10 – Short of legendary, but still worthy – a sign of things to come.