Introduction
The movies, Beowulf and The 13th Warrior had their setting in the ancient days where technology was not yet established. They were the times of swords, arrows and bows. Both movies have got characters that are not somewhat fully human. Like in Beowulf, there is a monstrous creature called Grendel while in the 13th Warrior, the antagonists are half men and half bear. This personality of being is what stimulates these two films. Both represent wars between the ordinary man and a creature that is definitely much stronger. However in both films, despite the, despite the physical advantage, the antagonists are defeated. Man goes out in his own way and applies knowledge as well as wisdom and finds a way to overpower the antagonists. The effects that these two films have on the viewers are however different in comparison to how intriguing they are.
Beowulf starts with a celebration by king Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) of the construction of his mead hall, Heorot. The music played disturbs Grendel (the monstrous creature) and he is enraged by it. He responds to this disturbance by attacking the mead hall and nearly kills everybody. A reward is then offered for any hero who kills Grendel and that is where Beowulf (Ray Winstone) appears. He agrees to slay Grendel and in doing this, he strips naked with a reason to be fair to his opponent. Grendel is once again attracted by singing in the mead hall not knowing that it is a trap. He shows up and manages to kill some of the Geats (Beowulf’s group) before he and Beowulf engage in a fierce battle. In this fight, Beowulf wounds Grendel by breaking his left arm after which Grendel flees to his mother (Angelina Jolie) in the cave and dies in her arms.
In The 13th Warrior, the antagonists attack a certain village and they engage in a serious battle with the inhabitants. Before his first war, Ahmed (Antonio Banderas) claims that he is not a warrior but circumstances force him to be one. Compared to Beowulf, The 13th Warrior has intriguing battle scenes which are captivating. Following that the main character is a well known actor makes it even more interesting due to his acting ability. The effects in this movie are more stimulating because of the war and how for example the blood spills when a person is cut. Visually, The 13th Warrior is more appealing than Beowulf.
Both versions are not realistic as they employ the aspect of fantasy. In Beowulf there is a monstrous character that does not exist in the real world. On the other hand, The 13th Warrior has characters who are half men and half bears which is also not evident in the real world. Grendel in Beowulf does not wear any clothes and his physical appearance is what brings out the sense of fantasy. In The 13th Warrior the antagonists carry away bodies of whom they have slain where they go and start feeding on them. This is what brings out their inhuman character thus fostering the aspect of fantasy.
The Grendel character is far from being sympathetic as he kills many people. This makes him to be a villain. Crichton’s Grendel character is also a murderous monster that has done this for twelve good years. Gardner mainly focuses on Grendel starting from his childhood but in this he is also depicted as a monster. Both versions of Crichton and Gardner are common to that of Beowulf as they both have the nearly the same views and descriptions of Grendel. The monstrous appearance of Grendel in Beowulf is evidence enough to prove this.
Conclusion
Both movies have their strengths and weaknesses are more appealing to watch. The aspect of fantasy is what makes them even more interesting. The battles between man and monsters are very intriguing and fascinating. Generally both movies have succeeded to win over the viewers’ attention because of their captive nature.
