It’s so easy take english literature for granted back in high school, when it was required in the third year curriculum and the teacher wasn’t as well versed with European geniuses. Beowulf was one of those we were required to read and analyze in class.

Truth be told, I remember almost nothing about the epic poem. What I can recall would be a bit hazy; to even try to explain what the plot is would be a sacrilege to its still unknown author and its modern day script writer, Neil Gaiman. Yup, you read that right, the movie showing in theaters today was co-written by the none other than the master graphic novelist himself.

If you’re quite unfamiliar with Gaiman’s works, you’d best read his journals (there are several shorts in his site too; read the one with the 21 blackbirds) and you’ll see just what kind of creative genius produced this adapted film.The film also stars Academy Award/Oscar winners and nominees like Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, and Alison Lohman. Robert Zemeckis directs the stellar cast.

This highly advanced animated film (that used a lot of digital sensors to capture human movement as closely as possible) will awe you for its very creative production and close imitation of “real life”, as well as the story that put Scandinavia on the literary map. You’ll see, this isn’t just another big Hollywood production. You can read the original text or the modern version of the poem here.

You can check out the trailer at www.beowulfmovie.com. Go see the movie now and tell me what you think!