Scan and Pan
Monday, December 03, 2007
Beowulf
Denmark in the sixth century: King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) is celebrating the construction of his new mead hall when it's suddenly attacked by the monstrous giant Grendel (Crispin Glover), who kills many of Hrothgar's subjects. Hrothgar offers half of his gold to any hero who can slay Grendel. Every man who takes up the challenge dies. Enter Beowulf (Ray Winstone), a boastful warrior who vows to slay Grendel and bring peace to the kingdom once more. To achieve his goals, he must contend not only with Grendel, but also with Grendel's demonic mother (Angelina Jolie).
The classic poem is reinterpreted for the 21st century by screenwriters Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere, MirrorMask) and Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction, The Rules of Attraction). The film covers the three major events in the life of the titular hero--the slaying of Grendel, the encounter with Grendel's mother, and the slaying of a dragon--while cleverly expanding on the source material to transform it into a more complete and emotionally involving story while maintaining its heroic epic qualities. In the poem, Beowulf is a one dimensional archetypal hero, but here he becomes a more interesting character with emotional conflicts and better definition as an individual. There's also a fine sense of humor that keeps it from becoming too grim.
The film's weakness is the choice made by director Robert Zemeckis (best known for Back to the Future and Forrest Gump) to use motion capture and digital animation by Sony Pictures Imageworks to bring the story to life, just as he did for 2004's The Polar Express. It looks like a fancy video game rather than an epic film, and you may well wonder where your game controller is at times. There are other ways to do a film like this. For example, using live actors and real sets enhanced by visual effects (Lord of the Rings), or using live actors and digital backgrounds (300).
Call me old fashioned, but when I plunk myself down in a cinema seat, I want to see something that looks like a film instead of an oversized video game. As good as the animation may be, the motion capture simply can't quite fully render facial expressions and complex motions without looking fake. However, Gaiman and Avary's screenplay is strong enough to mostly overcome the problems with the animation and suck the audience into the story. It must also be noted that this film would have been pushing an R rating if it had been filmed live action, and the unreality of the animation may have allowed it to get by with a PG-13 rating instead.
Production designer Doug Chiang (The Polar Express) and costume designer Gabriella Pescucci (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Brothers Grimm) provide the film with a strong visual sensibility that looks at once historical and fantastical. Longtime Zemeckis collaborator Alan Silvestri contributes an epic sounding score, along with some songs co-written by Glen Ballard that are hauntingly beautiful.
Because of the motion capture and animation, it's difficult to judge the actors on anything except their voice work, which is of top quality. Hopkins' rich voice is perfectly suited to Hrothgar, Winstone is appropriately heroic while bringing some depth to the role of Beowulf, Glover is strangely sympathetic as Grendel, and Jolie is perfectly cast as a seductive demoness who can make a man lose his powers of reason. The rest of the talented cast includes John Malkovich as Hrothgar's sharp-tongued advisor Unferth, Brendan Gleeson as Beowulf's friend and sidekick, Robin Wright Penn as Hrothgar's queen, and Alison Lohman as Beowulf's mistress.
Literary purists might not approve of some of the changes wrought by the screenwriters, but Beowulf the film is a good epic fantasy with a conflicted hero, a sense of humor, and a wonderfully ambiguous ending. Those qualities allow it to transcend the limitations of motion capture and digital animation, and by the end the story will win you over and you'll forget that it looks like a video game.
[4 out of 5 stars]
The past (an Old English heroic epic poem) meets the future (digital animation) in an entertaining fantasy film.
Denmark in the sixth century: King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) is celebrating the construction of his new mead hall when it's suddenly attacked by the monstrous giant Grendel (Crispin Glover), who kills many of Hrothgar's subjects. Hrothgar offers half of his gold to any hero who can slay Grendel. Every man who takes up the challenge dies. Enter Beowulf (Ray Winstone), a boastful warrior who vows to slay Grendel and bring peace to the kingdom once more. To achieve his goals, he must contend not only with Grendel, but also with Grendel's demonic mother (Angelina Jolie).
The classic poem is reinterpreted for the 21st century by screenwriters Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere, MirrorMask) and Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction, The Rules of Attraction). The film covers the three major events in the life of the titular hero--the slaying of Grendel, the encounter with Grendel's mother, and the slaying of a dragon--while cleverly expanding on the source material to transform it into a more complete and emotionally involving story while maintaining its heroic epic qualities. In the poem, Beowulf is a one dimensional archetypal hero, but here he becomes a more interesting character with emotional conflicts and better definition as an individual. There's also a fine sense of humor that keeps it from becoming too grim.
The film's weakness is the choice made by director Robert Zemeckis (best known for Back to the Future and Forrest Gump) to use motion capture and digital animation by Sony Pictures Imageworks to bring the story to life, just as he did for 2004's The Polar Express. It looks like a fancy video game rather than an epic film, and you may well wonder where your game controller is at times. There are other ways to do a film like this. For example, using live actors and real sets enhanced by visual effects (Lord of the Rings), or using live actors and digital backgrounds (300).
Call me old fashioned, but when I plunk myself down in a cinema seat, I want to see something that looks like a film instead of an oversized video game. As good as the animation may be, the motion capture simply can't quite fully render facial expressions and complex motions without looking fake. However, Gaiman and Avary's screenplay is strong enough to mostly overcome the problems with the animation and suck the audience into the story. It must also be noted that this film would have been pushing an R rating if it had been filmed live action, and the unreality of the animation may have allowed it to get by with a PG-13 rating instead.
Production designer Doug Chiang (The Polar Express) and costume designer Gabriella Pescucci (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Brothers Grimm) provide the film with a strong visual sensibility that looks at once historical and fantastical. Longtime Zemeckis collaborator Alan Silvestri contributes an epic sounding score, along with some songs co-written by Glen Ballard that are hauntingly beautiful.
Because of the motion capture and animation, it's difficult to judge the actors on anything except their voice work, which is of top quality. Hopkins' rich voice is perfectly suited to Hrothgar, Winstone is appropriately heroic while bringing some depth to the role of Beowulf, Glover is strangely sympathetic as Grendel, and Jolie is perfectly cast as a seductive demoness who can make a man lose his powers of reason. The rest of the talented cast includes John Malkovich as Hrothgar's sharp-tongued advisor Unferth, Brendan Gleeson as Beowulf's friend and sidekick, Robin Wright Penn as Hrothgar's queen, and Alison Lohman as Beowulf's mistress.
Literary purists might not approve of some of the changes wrought by the screenwriters, but Beowulf the film is a good epic fantasy with a conflicted hero, a sense of humor, and a wonderfully ambiguous ending. Those qualities allow it to transcend the limitations of motion capture and digital animation, and by the end the story will win you over and you'll forget that it looks like a video game.
[4 out of 5 stars]
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