How does one become a warrior? All it takes is an arrangement of warriors, a pair of brass gahones, and the ability to rip apart your enemies while yelling your own name, “I am Beowulf!”
Well, I hadn’t intended to see this flick, but I had a few hours last night before my 12 a.m. class (GAAAR) and so I stopped by the local Regal to see what was what. I’d been hoping to get my grubbies on a pair of August Rush tickets, please don’t ask, when I saw that Beowulf was out. I figured, “what the hell? I really wanna see that Abrams trailer that everyone’s talking about.” So Beowulf it was.
And wow. I’m kinda surprised.
With atonement, warriors, epic-ly naked battles with a spice of mead and nudity, how the hell could you go wrong during the holiday season. Sounds like every great family Christmas party I’ve been to in the past few years.
BTW, this isn’t the film to take your nympho-aunt or AA uncle to see this season, unless you’re looking to stir up a little trouble.
I don’t really know what I was expecting going in. I’m prone to disliking CG humans, especially as protagonists. And I feel vindicated in so far as that I felt, for most of the film, that I was watching either the human extras from Shrek or an epic composed in The Sims. Many, many times there was no presence, no, I guess for lack of another word, weight to their movements. I found it distracting, as I usually do, except for a few scenes. There were three or four moments that stick out in my mind for their realism; CG hero shots I guess. Angelina’s introduction (which would make Jenna Jamison blush), Beowulf’s ride to the Danish shores, Grendel’s first home invasion, and, awkwardly enough, Anthony Hopkins face. These four shots alone must’ve taken their fair share of render time.
Admittedly, I don’t have an intimate knowledge of the poem and I found Gaiman’s adaptation entertaining. Instead of jamming the film with plot, he chose a very intimate look at at the characters and the very nature of storytelling. The themes were awesome and yet didn’t overpower the pacing or story. It was adventurous and epic.
I had a good time. I don’t think this is a great film by any means. I also don’t think this is going to be a feather in the hat of CG film making, but I did enjoy the flick. Neil’s on his way to being one of the most influental writers in the entertainment bizz, and if this year is any indication, he’s doing great. I highly recommend his other flick that came out this year, Stardust. It’s nice to see some original work every once in a while.
P.S.
Forgot, Robert Zemeckis “directed”.
Written by: Plus1 on Fri, Nov 16, 2007