La légende de Beowulf

In the original epic poem, why does Beowulf come back from defeating Grendel's mother carrying Grendel's head? It's an interesting question that has fired literary critics imaginations for a while, and when Robert Zemeckis set out to make his big screen adaptation of the poem, he went beyond merely adapting the text itself. Instead, he took those questions that critics had considered and ran with them dramatically.

So, what we end up having isn't so much an adaptation of Beowulf, but an adaptation of a master's thesis on Beowulf.

The movie received mixed to positive reviews when it came out. A lot of the negativity seemed connected to the movie's visual style. Expanding what he had done on The Polar Express, Zemeckis used motion capture and computer animation to get realistic-ish looking characters. The problem is that the characters exact right in the middle of the Uncanny Valley. They are too real to treat as cartoons, but not real enough to convince the mind that they are real, so there's a natural barrier that's created because the brain knows it's not real despite a somewhat realistic looking appearance. I was more okay with the look of the film upon its initial release, but less so now.

I understand, though, why Zemeckis was enamored with the technique. The freedom as a filmmaker to build the environments he wanted and place the camera wherever he wanted must have been quite enticing. The problem was the effort at getting photo-realistic effects, which end up falling short. A more cartoonish look might have been less jarring for the audience.

Moving on, though, the movie's approach to the material, as implied, is really smart. It's not just a monster movie, but an exploration of bravery, heroism, and the costs of power. It takes a different approach than the original poem, but that's fine by me. The seduction of power, and the literal seduction of Grendel's mother, is an interesting approach to take, and I think it works really well. Beowulf must sell his soul to achieve power, but when the bill comes due he doesn't lay down like Hrothgar did. He fights. He reclaims his honor and sense of bravery by having a spectacle infused fight with a dragon. It's a sop to modern movie convention, but it's still fun on its own while refusing to undermine the basic point of the story.

Performances, which you mainly need to judge by voices since the faces do have a plastic-like feel that they movie can't escape, are very good. I can see why Zemeckis wanted to cast Ray Winstone as Beowulf because he carries a gravelly voice that matches the vision of the character perfectly, but Winstone is, at the same time, not a body builder with 8 pack abs. Brendan Gleeson is wonderful as Wiglaf, the sad advisor, Anthony Hopkins is wise, sad, and guilt-ridden as Hrothgar, and Angelina Jolie is pure seduction as Grendel's mother. Special nod to Crispin Glover as Grendel, speaking Old English and evoking quite a bit of emotion as a monstrous creature with inside out ears.

The first risk about this version of "Beowulf" is to see it as one of Zemeckis eccentricities. A technique used for a sort of childish game without limits. The second view discovers the purpose of the game - to propose the right essence of poem. The fluidity and dramatism of plot. The bitter flavor of confrontations. And the seed of the victory. Impressive, shocking in few scenes, it is a precise exploration of a world who becomes less familiar. Because, behind shadows and animation, violence and nudity, the message of "Beowulf" becomes more clear. And usefull. And, maybe, this is the most important thing in its case.

I have read Beowulf a couple of times. It's great northern European mythology, and mandatory reading when you are young in my opinion (Along with Norse, Greek and Roman Mythology as well). And though the movie wants to re-write some of the epic, you will need to separate the Hollywood version from the beautiful measure of the original works. Being a work of CGI, you will also have to allow for the flaws of pure CGI work. Very stylized and beautifully colored, it is an epic adventure that elevated Zemeckis' previous work "The Polar Express" to a new level. Polar was beautifully modeled after Chris Van Allsburg illustrations for his book, but Zemeckis' adaptation to the story went a little over the top when it became a musical. Even though most of Beowulf's story line is answered here, it did make me pause and wonder:

Why didn't Robert Zemeckis just direct this thing in real life instead of virtual?

With the capabilities of dropping in CGI into real life action, this telling of the story could have had so much more of an impact if the expressions were more poignant. Look what he did with "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"? Zemeckis is fully capable of it. Also, to add to this, when you have CGI characters like Jacksons Gollum and King Kong to compare notes with, the modeling here just isn't up to snuff. I felt the entire movie came off like a gigantic "cut-scene" to a video game than a full featured animated project. I can only give this a little better than a good, hence the exclamation. I do this sadly. You really should see this in a theater, bigger than life. The dragon is excellent, the ugly v/s the beautiful is wild, the sequencing is uneven, though at the end it takes you on a great ride. Oh, and for you people that want to go see Angela Jolie nekkid? IT'S CGI!!! I've seen harder stuff on Fox networks! Seeing my wife and I saw this as a matinée, the crowd was on the sparse side and there was literally no kids present. I couldn't get a solid feeling from the audience though most people as they left seemed genuinely happy with their experience. I'm sure it was PG13'd because of the sequences with Angela, otherwise it would be a solid PG. I wouldn't suggest this for a kid under 8.

Normally I loathe CGI, but here, it's necessary. And it works - well.

Here's my breakdown:

STORY: As I understand it, the story was originally just a poem, but it was filled out nicely.

Warrior stories are endless, but this has a plot twist I've not seen or read before, and it's pivotal for the story.

I could have done without Jolie and the copious amount of lust, but men like their stories of war and women. Oy ...

ACTING: This includes the "acting" of Anthony Hopkins, a brilliant British actor who I've followed since his earlier years.

Otherwise I thought the characters were decent, though their development is not the emphasis.

ENTERTAINMENT: Moderate to high value, but as always, it depends on your tastes

TEMPO: Quite good, though it must have crazed blood and carnage to satiate the lusts of men

CINEMATOGRAPHY: For a CGI film I was very impressed. What's intriguing is how difficult it is to "draw" the human mouth while speaking.

There are so many muscles in the face, jaw, and tongue so those subtleties are lost, but an excellent attempt.

MUSIC / SOUND: A beautiful song "Hero comes home" but otherwise far too much "epic" music

DIRECTING / WRITING: Director: Zemeckis has a very impressive resume, and this reinforces his ability to handle a wide variety of genre.

I've seen many of his films, and nearly all have left strong impressions.

Writers: While I thought this story was reasonably well done, the combined works of the two screenplay writers is flat or filled with TV waste.

Is it a good film? Yes

Should you watch this once? Yes

Rating: 7.5.

It takes a while for your eyes to get used to the uncanny animation, but once you overcome the ordeal, Beowulf turns into an outrageously entertaining ride. The performances are solid, the visuals are unique, the score is uplifting, and it has great action sequences. It's really good fun for adults of all ages.