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Movie: Beowulf
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Actors: Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, John Malkovich, Brendan Gleeson, Angelina Jolie
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The film is based on the Old English poem of the same name, Beowulf, a mighty Viking warrior, hired by king Hrothgar, to battle the demon Grendel. Beowulf doesn't know that there's something more dangerous than Grendel. His mom, a ruthless yet very sensual monster, forms a much larger threat. Is the powerful warrior strong enough to resist the enchanting curves of Grendel's mom?
Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump) uses the same technique he created for his previous production, The Polar Express. The actors' performances are being captured and processed by computers, and to make a long technical story short, a pixel version of Anthony Hopkins as Hrothgar and Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mom comes out. Beowulf looks a lot less than his performer, Ray Winstone, and rest of the cast also includes John Malkovich as Unferth, Robin Wright Penn as Wealthow, Brendan Gleeson as Wiglaf and a fantastic voice performance by Crispin Glover (George McFly from Back to the Future) as Grendel. The big question is of course; why make a photorealistic computer animation if some of the characters look a lot like the actors themselves? Why not film the real deal instead? My question got answered real quick. First, the setting and fantasy-like genre lends itself perfectly for an animated feature. Second, you're able to place the camera on any given location thanks to this technique. An extreme close-up changes into one big wide, the camera moves through space and the smallest objects with ease. They are no boundaries. And third, budget doesn't influence the action sequences. The craziest things are possible. And that's what Zemeckis does, he totally goes nuts during the insane battle against Grendel and the breathtaking final fight with the dragon.
Beowulf makes a funny jump halfway through the movie that feels a bit off and the story doesn't have too many layers but writers Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery (co-writer of Pulp Fiction) bring an interesting twist to the legendary Beowulf myth. What I appreciate the most is that Robert Zemeckis doesn't deliver your average fantasy tale. Beowulf is violent, sensual and very dark and gritty, just the way I like it! And to make it even more unique, I've seen this baby in IMAX 3D. My advice, go see this version, it's the future of cinema, guys!
I agree with some of you guys, photorealistic computer animation will never mirror the emotion of real people but Beowulf does bring something different to the overloaded film market. Beowulf blew me away and offers a very unique movie experience.
Written by Reggy 18/11/07
© warner bros 2007
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