Myth and technology combine in this spectacular animated fantasy that reworks the English language's oldest surviving poem using 21st-century computer power. As in The Polar Express, director Robert Zemeckis employs state-of-the-art "performance capture" techniques to turn his cast - including Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins and Brendan Gleeson - into digital avatars. The earthily entertaining script by award-winning comic-book writer Neil Gaiman (Stardust) and Pulp Fiction co-writer Roger Avary adds a bold new dimension to the story of Beowulf's battle against the monstrous Grendel (Crispin Hellion Glover) in 6th-century Denmark. Zemeckis creates a dark fantasy full of haunting images, not least Angelina Jolie's sultry turn as Grendel's demonic mother. Ironically, the attempt to take animation to a new level of photorealism occasionally produces a strange distancing effect; some viewers may feel more intrigued by the process than immersed in the action, particularly when they can choose from conventional 35mm, IMAX 3D, Real D and Dolby 3D Digital Cinema formats.

A 6th-century Scandinavian warrior named Beowulf embarks on a mission to slay the man-like ogre, Grendel.