Dungeons and dragons
Based on the famous eighth century English poem, Beowulf is about the legendary exploits of a Scandinavian warrior (Ray Winstone), whose success in eliminating various mythical creatures led to a rewarding career as king of the lands. His first significant achievement came after helping King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) destroy the creature Grendel (Crispin Glover), who attacked the king’s hall and killed many of his subjects. The creature was not the last of its kind though, and the king was willing to part with his riches, throne and even his young queen, Wealthow (Robin Wright Penn) if Beowulf eliminates Grendel’s mother (Angelina Jolie) as well. With a lustful eye on the queen, Beowulf set out on his quest and returned with proof of his deed. And thus, Beowulf claimed his rewards and became ruler of Hrothgar’s kingdom. Unbeknownst to all, the hero king paid a hefty price when dealing with Grendel’s mother, a mistake that would return to haunt him in the future. Some liberties have been taken from the original poem in order to enhance the drama.
There are a few reasons why Beowulf is a noteworthy movie. It is the first among several digital 3D movies marketed to the masses as the future of cinematic entertainment. Not to be confused with the ones with the red and blue tinted glasses, these movies use a new technology that lets you watch 3D in more than two colours. (Note: Beowulf 3D is not available in Singapore.) Also, Beowulf is probably the first Hollywood mainstream animation that features mature elements like blood, gore and nudity. Its success should finally pull the animation studios’ head out of the kid-friendly cartoon hole, and start realising the lucrative mature audience market currently dominated by overpriced Japanese animation DVDs. Last but not least, unlike many 3D animated movies, Beowulf’s story department just gosh darn didn’t suck at all. In fact, it’s pretty damn good based on initial expectations, and it breaks the notion that photo-real 3D animations can’t deliver engaging storylines (e.g. Final Fantasy: The Movie).
It didn’t hurt either that director Robert Zemeckis steered the movie with a great knack for camerawork, performance and spectacle. The Grendel attack scenes are the highlights of his skill, blending thrills and tragedy together. The monster itself is an unforgettable creation – brutal, repulsive and poignant. Other worthy moments include the sea creatures and the awesome fire breathing dragon, scenes that will remind gamers of key moments in The Legend of Zelda and God of War. Zemeckis also managed to resolve the “dead-eye” issue involving the facial expressions of photo-real 3D characters. Well, parts of it at least. One of the methods they used to hide the "dead-eye" was to replicate the features of the voice actors onto their 3D counterparts, which is why Hrothgar looks and acts exactly like Anthony Hopkins, Unferth like John Malkovich, and so on. Because the CG characters resemble real people, perhaps the familiarity makes us more impervious to the flaws in realistic human CG characters. There are performances as strong as the one between Beowulf and a war captive, but there are also those that are as artificial-looking as the humans from Shrek. The plastic faces may not communicate well especially with audiences who are not as familiar with 3D art as video gamers, but most males would agree that they didn’t find any communication breakdown with the seductive and mostly naked Grendel’s mum, who looks an awful lot like Tomb Raider Lara Croft.
But amidst all the graphical hoopla, the thing that ultimately sold Beowulf to me was Beowulf’s story, written by comic scribe Neil Gaiman and Pulp Fiction co-writer Roger Avary. He was the quintessential mythological hero, who had enormous spirit, bravery and physical talents to battle monstrosities hundreds of times his size. Yet, like any other average, non-hero heterosexual males, he just couldn’t resist a good lay. He lost a race over a mermaid, fought demons because he got to keep Hrothgar’s queen, and spawned a monster (that became both his shame and undoing) in exchange for a shot at Angelina’s Jolies. Even in his later years, he kept a nubile concubine at his beck and call. To top that up, the symbolic object representing the passing of Hrothgar’s curse was, of all things, a golden horn! Yet, unlike Hrothgar, when the time came for Beowulf to live up to his own mistake, he did not pass the baton to someone else, and fought and bled his way to redemption like a true badass. - BMF
For the record:
Beowulf > 300
Reminded me of = Excalibur (King Arthur also fought his son; both died)
Music ? Eighties adventure movies’ scores (e.g. Conan)
Wasted = John Malkovich’s Unferth.
Back to the Future, back together: Robert Zemeckis (director) and Crispin Glover (George McFly)
Trivia (from IMDb.com): According Ray Winstone, he and his fellow cast spent days filming in blue skintight suit, "showing up all your lumps and bumps in all the wrong places. Which can be hard when you're standing in front of Angelina, who looks stunning in hers."
Directed by Robert Zemeckis (The Polar Express, Cast Away) and screenplay by Neil Gaiman (MirrorMask) and Roger Avary (Silent Hill). Voiced by Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, John Malkovich, Alison Lohman and Crispin Glover. Based on the poem "Beowulf" whose author remains unknown. |
