True confession time: I’m a fan of Angelina Jolie. Despite that, lukewarm reviews kept me away from seeing Beowulf. Then it hit the dollar theatre, so I gave it a try. It was better than I thought it would be. I know, that’s not a huge recommendation. Still . . .

It started slowly. For the first half hour, I kept thinking, OK, let’s get this story moving. But it got better.

The animation was better than I thought it would be. (There’s that phrase again.) It looked off in a couple of spots, especially with Robin Wright Penn’s character. The acting was strong as well—Ray Winstone in particular as the title character. And Jolie was awesome—I loved how her “tail” became braided hair and how her feet had built-in heels. Campy? Oh, absolutely. But it was campy in a good way. The gold shimmer on her body was a nice touch, too.

The story was different from the poem in a number of ways, but I’m one of those people who can generally appreciate a book and movie separate from each other. Ultimately, Beowulf was worth seeing, although I don’t feel a burning need to see it again anytime soon. I haven’t decided if I’ll buy it on DVD. I probably wouldn’t, but it does have Angelina Jolie . . .