Letters to the Editor
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An intelligent analysis
I am so pleased to finally see a review of the new Beowulf movie that does not begin with the same tired cliche about "being forced to read a boring poem in middle school". As a PhD candidate working in medieval English who translated and wrote on Beowulf for my MA, I am delighted to see a review which not only has kind words for the original poem but offers a concise and intelligent synopsis and description of it. I too hated the Shrek-meets-American-Pie movie adaptation with its dirty jokes and breasts replacing elegant speeches. I was irritated by the swords and bodies constantly and needlessly flying at the camera to show off the 3-D effects. The entire pagan-Christian worldview and its nuances were thrown away for a trendy throwaway reference to 'Odin'. The comparison to Tolkien was apt not only for Tolkien's love of the poem but because of the far better and richer adaptation of his work. Well done.