Okay, the original Beowulf epic is about as badass as it gets. But how does the latest modern adaptation compare? In 2007, a version of Beowulf was created and released using motion capture technology to tell a real-looking (kind of) animated iteration of the story. Neil Gaiman ("Good Omens," "The Sandman") was attached to the project as a writer, and it was directed by Robert Zemeckis, who had made the animated Christmas classic "The Polar Express" a few years earlier. Unfortunately, the application of mocap and animated tech at this stage of cinematic history didn't go over as well as planned, and the resulting film, simply titled "Beowulf," was tepidly received by many viewers (it still has a miserable 50% Rotten Tomatoes audience score nearly two decades later).
Nevertheless, the adapted version featured big-name actors' voices, including Anthony Hopkins as King Hrothgar and Angelina Jolie as Grendel's Mother. The screaming Grendel was portrayed by Crispin Glover, and he is similarly defeated by a weaponless Beowulf (Ray Winstone) before suffering dismemberment and fleeing to die from blood loss. However, there are several massive changes that happen in the movie version compared to the original text, so much so that two scenes are nearly unrecognizable.
