What is Beowulf about?
A 6th-century Scandinavian warrior named Beowulf embarks on a mission to slay the man-like ogre, Grendel.
Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)
Bittersweet. It earns its ending, but not everyone gets what they want.
A legendary warrior battles a monstrous ogre in an atmospheric, gritty, and epic adventure.
Pulpy. A late-night trip at a measured pace. Emotionally it is heavy.
Streaming on Kanopy (free) and Hoopla (free).
Beowulf parents guide
For a PG-13, this one goes further: moderate sex and nudity, brutal violence, and graphic gore. Beyond that, mild language and a few tense moments.
Our estimate: fine from about 16, higher than the PG-13 suggests, because of the gore and violence.
- Scare
- Mildly scary
- A few tense or eerie moments.
- Jump scares
- A couple
- One or two sudden jolts.
- Gore
- Graphic gore
- Blood and wounds shown clearly.
- Violence
- Brutal violence
- Our top level for violence.
- Sex and nudity
- Moderate
- Moderate means a sex scene or nudity on screen, even brief, or sexual violence that is described or implied but never shown.
- Language
- Mild
- Mild words like damn, hell or crap.
How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.
Three questions
- Is Beowulf scary?
- Only a little. Beowulf has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.
- How gory is Beowulf?
- Graphic gore and brutal violence. If graphic gore is a dealbreaker, skip it.
- What is Beowulf rated, and is it OK for kids?
- Rated PG-13. Expect moderate sex and nudity, brutal violence, and graphic gore, so it suits teens more than kids.
Cast and crew
Directed byRobert Zemeckis
StarringRay Winstone, Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robin Wright, Brendan Gleeson
More like Beowulf
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)Epic · family watch · strong violence · emotionally heavyA fellowship of heroes embarks on an epic, gritty adventure to destroy a powerful, corrupting ring.
Gladiator (2000)Epic · full attention · brutal violence · graphic goreA betrayed general fights for honor in the brutal Roman arena, fueled by vengeance and sorrow.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)Gritty · late-night trip · brutal violence · graphic goreTwo rebels on the run navigate a stark, broken world in a relentless, gritty fight for survival.
The Mandalorian (2019)Epic · full attention · strong violence · measuredA lone gunfighter navigates the galaxy's lawless outer reaches in an atmospheric, gritty, and epic adventure.
Arcane (2021)Gritty · full attention · brutal violence · graphic goreTwin cities clash as two sisters lead opposing sides in a gritty, suspenseful war of magic and conviction.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)Epic · family watch · strong violence · emotionally heavyHeroes pursue separate, perilous paths as an ancient evil's power grows, threatening all Middle-earth.
Firefly (2002)Dry wit · gritty · late-night trip · strong violenceA renegade spaceship crew navigates a lawless 26th-century galaxy, blending gritty action with witty, pulpy adventure.
Game of Thrones (2011)Epic · full attention · brutal violence · graphic goreNoble families clash in an epic, gritty war for control, while an ancient evil awakens in the frozen north.
Beowulf is on our Animation on Kanopy and Animation on Hoopla lists.
More like this feeling
Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.
- “a fun halloween movie, not too scary”
- “a movie that will make me cry”
- “funny but not stupid, under two hours”
Lists with the same feel: Most violent and Late night.
Five more like Beowulf
Say the mood. Five picks with where they stream, right here.
Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.