Beowulf (2007)

King Hrothgar has constructed a new mead hall, Heorot. The noisy celebration at the hall disturbs the monster Grendel. He attacks the hall, killing many of the men inside. Hrothgar challenges Grendel to fight him instead, but the monster runs off into the night. Hrothgar closes Heorot and proclaims that he will give half the gold in the kingdom to any man who can defeat Grendel. Beowulf and his men arrive by ship, and Beowulf offers to destroy Grendel. He convinces Hrothgar to reopen Heorot and let Beowulf's men stay there. Unferth, the King's advisor, challenges Beowulf's credibility. The warrior tells a tall tale of how he slew several sea serpents, and is capable of slaying Grendel too. Hrothgar offers Beowulf his precious golden drinking horn as a reward for Grendel's death. That evening, Beowulf asks his men to sing loudly. He undresses in order to fight the unarmoured Grendel on equal terms. As expected, Grendel is infuriated by the noise and attacks the hall. Beowulf fights him and eventually manages to tear off the monster’s arm. The dying Grendel flees back to his cave. Beowulf is proclaimed a hero. That night, a private conversation between Hrothgar and his beautiful young wife Wealtheow reveals that Hrothgar was in fact the father of Grendel. Wealtheow has been refusing to have sex with her husband out of revulsion. This is why the king has no heir. Enraged over her son's death, Grendel's mother flies to Heorot. She distracts Beowulf in a dream by taking the guise of Wealtheow. When Beowulf awakes, he finds that all of his men in the hall have been killed. Only his friend Wiglaf survived, because he had been at the beach preparing their ship for departure. Beowulf confronts Hrothgar, who tells Beowulf that Grendel's mother is the last of the monsters. Unferth apologizes to Beowulf for having doubted him, and offers his sword Hrunting for use against Grendel's mother. Beowulf and Wiglaf seek out the cave of Grendel's mother. Beowulf enters the cave alone. Grendel’s mother appears to him in the form of a beautiful woman, offering him fame and power if he will give her another son. She also asks for the Horn of Hrothgar, with the promise that Heorot will be safe as long as it is in her possession. Beowulf returns to Heorot, claiming to have slain Grendel's mother. He brings back Grendel's head as proof of his deeds. He says that he lost Unferth's sword and Hrothgar's horn during the battle. King Hrothgar names Beowulf heir to the throne. Hrothgar then leaps from the balcony to his death. Beowulf is crowned king, and takes Wealtheow as his wife. Many years pass. King Beowulf is unable to enjoy his power and glory, and his relationship with Wealtheow has grown cold. When Unferth's slave Cain finds the Horn of Hrothgar on a barren hill, Beowulf understands that Grendel's mother has ended their deal. Heorot is in danger once more. That night he dreams of his son by Grendel's mother. The son, who appears as a golden youth, threatens to kill Beowulf's wife and his young mistress Ursula. The next day, a fierce dragon attacks a village outside of Heorot. The dragon gives a message to Unferth for Beowulf: "The sins of the father!" Beowulf and Wiglaf ride to the cave of Grendel's mother and Beowulf confronts the dragon. The dragon flies to Beowulf's castle, but Beowulf is able to cling to its back. The dragon spots Wealtheow and Ursula on the castle wall and attempts to burn them. Beowulf finally manages to slay the dragon, losing his own arm in the process. The two fall to the shores far below. The dragon's form changes to that of the golden man from Beowulf's dreams. Wiglaf arrives at the beach in time to hear Beowulf's last words. Beowulf leaves his kingdom to Wiglaf. Wiglaf prepares a Viking funeral for Beowulf. As Wiglaf watches the burning boat that serves as Beowulf's funeral pyre, he sees Grendel's mother kissing the corpse. Grendel's mother then appears in the water in human form and beckons to Wiglaf.