When I first saw trailers for Beowulf I was fooled into thinking that this was another retelling of a classic tale. I felt that the idea was a long time in coming and had every chance of being as good as other movies like it. Then recently a phone call revealed to me one factor I was unaware of: the strange feeling the trailer gave me that I couldn’t put my finger on was that the entire film was in CGI, more akin to Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within than it was Lord of the Rings.
This made a huge difference in what the film meant to the industry and a different barometer for weighing out the films merits. It’s unfair to compare a CGI movie to a live action one at this juncture in the craft. As a film Beowulf deserves to be judged on its own two feet, and not weighed down by undeserving expectations.
What I really like about the Beowulf film was the seriousness of the story overall. The characters looked far too similar to the human characters in the Shreck films, and if there would have been too much slap stick and humor, than the movie would have lost me. The film walked that very fine line for the films duration, and did a good job of convincing the audience to take it seriously, especially considering an opening sequence that was filled with amusing celebration, this movie could have easily became bad comedy, but it didn’t.
The movie was surprisingly graphic (very important considering that CGI typically means a younger audience), I would not recommend this film for kids. The entire time I watched, the feeling I got was that Robert Zemeckis wanted to tell a serious story without the hampering of special effects budgets, and the limitations of human actors, and in that he was very successful. Beowulf is a movie that you have to take as seriously as you took Braveheart. That’s not to say however that this movie was perfect.
Visually, the movie had spots that made me question the whole CGI thing; I kept telling myself, “Wait that was real wasn’t it? That couldn’t be CGI!” But that wasn’t the case all of the time; in fact one character never looked quite right and was very disappointing. Angelina Jolie as Grendal’s mother never looked right, and the moment you actually see her, she sucks you right out of the story and suddenly you’re watching a hi-tech cartoon again. All the other actors CGI counterparts had detailed costumes, or complex skin complexion that made it easier for them to appear as believable representations of their real life counterparts.
But Jolie doesn’t wear anything, and she’s eternally young. The challenge of making an exact representation of Jolie was largely unmet and because of that she looked ‘fake’ or incomplete compared to the rest of the CGI sprites. What really saved her was the voice acting, it really eased how visually disruptive she could be later in the film.
In the final analysis this is a film you should not miss. I strongly suggest you take the time to see it in IMAX 3-D where it will be the most visually stunning. The movie definitely deserves to win at least 3 Academy Award (animation, special effects, etc.) and even then, that won’t do the film justice. Let me explain; when you watch this film, play close attention to the human movements and mannerisms, not in the action scenes, but in the acting scenes. That’s where the movie’s strength lies, in its ability to convey an idea, or emotional situation, with the same strength as a full motion picture. That’s where the magic lies, where Beowulf redefines the CGI genre. If you take this movie seriously, and just sit back and let it tell you its story, you will be glad you did.
