Beowulf (2007)
Back in school, many years ago, my english class read the epic poem of Beowulf. The story of a great hero named that becomes king after defeating a beast/monster called Grendel. Back then, it wasn’t a story I had that much interest in.
Now, like Mr.Zemeckis’ earlier CG movie POLAR EXPRESS, the movie is presented in 3-D (where available). Personally, I have issues with modern “3-D” movies. For one thing, the polarized lens glasses don’t often work for me or I end up with a headache by the end of the movie. In addition to this, if you’re not in the dead center of the auditorium, the polarized images don’t line up and the 3-D effect is lost (not to mention the eye strain from trying to focus). Finally, “3-D” movies just seem too gimmicky. Like many “3-D” movies, my a point to point things at the viewer to overly emphasize the fact you’re watching a “3-D” movie. It’s my belief that if directors like Robert Zemeckis, George Lucas & James Cameron want 3-D to be the future of movies, they need to use the effect of depth not as marketing tools or visual toys, but as a normal part of the film making process. Don’t get me wrong, visually the movie is great. The 3-D plus the computer animated characters made them look more real, especially Grendel. However, some of the computer animated characters still lack that little bit of life in their performance. Unlike other CG movies, like FINAL FANTASY: SPIRITS WITHIN, not all the characters suffered from the lifeless animated mannequin effect. The most real looking was not so much Beowulf, but King Hrothgar (played/voiced by Sir Anthony Hopkins.) The least real looking was Queen Wealtheow (played/voiced by Robin Wright Penn.) Which brings me to the impressive line of actors they cast for this movie. Just to name a few Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, and John Malkovich. And thats mainly the supporting cast. Ray Winstone, Robin Wright Penn and Alison Lohman might not be household names, but the average person would recognize them if they saw their prior popular works.
As I said, the character models seemed to be more mannequin like, but that’s not the fault of the actors (who mostly did their characters motion capture, as well as the voice). It’s the technology. It’s just not quite there just yet. Overall I would recommend this movie. Whether to see it in “3-D” is up to you. It won’t kill you if you do only see it in 2-D, but many camera shots have the “3-D” in mind. Keep in mind, this movie is more or less entertaining, but we’re not talking Best Picture.
