Beowulf was an eye thrilling adventure filled with heroes and villains. I enjoyed Robert Zemeckis's film direction, Ray Winstone's acting was superb as usual as was Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, Robin Wright Penn, and Crispin Glover. I highly recommend this film to any Lord of the Ring fans, and to people who love medieval movies. The only major disappointment I have about this film is the quick pace the film takes you on, I feel that there was a major gap between when Beowulf was younger, to when Beowulf was older as a king. This film was pretty entertaining but I felt like there was never really any answer to what happens in the end, and that is for the people who haven't read the story.
"I am Ripper... Tearer... Slasher... Gouger. I am the Teeth in the Darkness, the Talons in the Night. Mine is Strength... and Lust... and Power! I AM BEOWULF!"
Robert Zemeckis had directed a handful of films which I have enjoyed over the years, including of course what is one of the best trilogies ever made (Back to the Future), one of the finest films of the '90s (Forrest Gump), another Tom Hanks film six years later (Cast Away), and teaming with Hanks to make The Polar Express, where Zemeckis ventured into the territory of motion capture animation. He continues that effort with Beowulf, a take on the legendary Scandinavian warrior now given the spin by writers Neil Gaiman (Stardust) and Roger Avary (Silent Hill).
As the story - written between the 8th and the 11th century - goes, King Hrothgar's (Anthony Hopkins) Danish kingdom is under constant threat from a butt-ugly creature called Grendel (voiced by Crispin Glover, which I swear you'll find it hard to make out what it's actually saying), who hates the kingdom's merry making, and enjoys massacring the King's men. So when all hope is lost, Hrothgar sends word out that worldly rewards be bestowed upon anyone who can rid his Kingdom of the demon. Enter Beowulf (Ray Winstone), a medieval Constantine and his band of merry Vikings, who volunteer their service. Think of it as Leonidas and his 300 men (here it's only 14), a group of professional soldiers of fortune whose aim in life is to seek out adventure, and to gloriously die in battles.
But there's a little bit of mystery added to why Grendel has such affinity to mass destruction, and soon Beowulf learns exactly why temptation is hard to resist, especially if it comes in the form of a naked Angelina Jolie as Grendel's Mother, oozing sex, strange accent and dripping wet, a hybrid of the world's sexiest woman, and a lizard, an object of lustful desire. In fact, the leads have a penchant of getting naked, and Beowulf's habit of stripping and showing off his well buffed body, has the filmmakers employ somewhat unintentionally comedic moments to utilize objects in the scene to preserve his modesty (think Austin Powers style).
Any literary type can tell you this is where the story goes off track. The original Beowulf saga is, like most of these things, an episodic affair; Beowulf kills Grendel, Grendel's mother, and finally a dragon in a battle that leaves him mortally wounded. A nice three-act structure, but Gaiman and Avary have something different and much more cinematic and American in mind - the bargain with Grendel's mother and the hints about her role in Hrothgar's life turn the story into one where the hero must overcome his own lust for power and glory, not to mention gold. (Grendel's mother's lair is strewn with treasures, and she herself first appears looking a bit like Shirley Eaton in Goldfinger.)
Beowulf visits the theme of the greed of Man, whether you're willing to compromise, lie and boast about false achievements in order to gain recognition, fame, fortune and the likes. And of course, what you do echoes in eternity, and the sins of the father will come back to haunt you, naturally. There are those who can be trusted, but sleeping with the enemy is just asking for it. But this film isn't titled Beowulf for nothing, and given his exploits, with actually only two major action sequence involving the titular character, I suppose a Beowulf action figure will sell like hot cakes. One thing's for sure though, this film puts Eragon's monster lizard to shame, even though the latter had more of such flying creatures, but this one's the one that has "menacing" written all over its wings.
Now, the animation... I didn't get to see it in full 3D, but it looks good - the level of detail is enough that the characters are expressive and believable, and at times the photorealism is outright astonishing. Of course, if you're not going to stylize your human characters at all, I have to wonder why not just use live actors against CG backgrounds, but maybe this was easier. Not all of the faces are equally convincing - Hrothgar looks pretty much like they photographed Anthony Hopkins against a blue screen (or are they all green now?), while some of the extras wouldn't have been out of place in the third Shrek. The monsters are what's worth; Grendel is a shambling, vaguely childlike nightmare and well... a practically-nude Angelina Jolie, rendered with extra care by animators who are no doubt mindful of the fact that making this woman look unsexy is a capital crime in many parts of the world, is a sight to behold.
However, Beowulf is still a miss, as far as I'm concerned. There was no real point in making this film - except making money, of course. This is not meant as a message film or is it really interested in drawing anything poetical from the poem, what it wants to do is be entertaining, slightly satirical in its post-modern humour and be pretty to look at - things it more or less got right. If you can accept it on those limited terms, you probably got more out of it than I did. In 1999, the poet Seamus Heaney did a modern translation of the Anglo-Saxon "Beowulf" poem and called it "one of the foundation works of poetry in English." You would have to possess quite an imagination to get that from seeing this film. Thank God for Angelina Jolie.
I wasn't expecting to like this nearly as much as I did.
For a film that's selling point was essentially nothing more spectacle, it never really questioned our intelligence or prided itself on it's 30 minute action sequences over actual development and depth. For that reason, I even preferred this to 300 (which was gimmicky in it's own right)... it was entirely more captivating, and the message the story presents is absolutely timeless.
The motion-capture technique Zemeckis used in both this and The Polar Express is a really neat achievement, although it really has yet to be perfected. The most noticable flaw to me was the eyes... whether a character was in deep concentration or yelling at the top of his lungs, the eyes remained completely the same. It really took a lot of the emotion out of the film, so all we really had to go by was the tone of the voices. Luckily for us, Ray Winstone has the kind of voice a film like this needed - the raw, aggressive, and uber-macho screams are bound to make anyone want to stab their way through the eye of a giant sea monster and shout their name. In my case - " ERICCC~!!!"
The movie is completely over the top and fun in every way, yet doesn't lose the heart of the story itself. We still get good development into greed, desire, corruption, and power to a satisfying extent. The ending was also a very cool touch - with the beautiful Angelina Jolie calling from the water as if she was a mermaid luring someone under the sea. The image of ultimate temptation.
If you're looking to have some fun watching a film, yet you're not wowed by the seemingly endless barrage of lifeless Hollywood action flicks, check this one out.
Well when I was in 10th grade I read the poem of Beowulf, so I knew the whole jist of everthing before it all went down. The movie as a whole didn't really do anything for me as a whole. No great big acting really came from it, it was just this epic story of a hero. And great specail effects. Oh and it had Angie J. in it so that's always a bonus.
Flat; a nothing of a film. Beowulf tries too hard at the wrong aspects, and fails at the right ones. It is a film with as much emotional depth as its pixelated actors blank expressions, and as much intelligence as its monsters incoherent mumblings and torturous cries. Zemeckis left audience resonance along with actors physical performances, and relied too heavily on the awe factor of trying to have his cartooned caricatures be as life-like as possible. With that said, however, for a film entirely shot in computer generated imagery - it is impressive. It's just too bad that technology hasn't advanced far enough to give some life to the eyes and some real movement to the face.
''Are you the one they call Beowulf? Such a strong man you are. A man like you could own the greatest tale ever sung. Beowulf... Stay with me. Give me a son, and I shall make you the greatest king that ever lived. This... I swear... ''
The warrior Beowulf must fight and defeat the monster Grendel who is terrorizing towns, and later, Grendel's mother begins killing out of revenge...
Ray Winstone: Beowulf
Robin Wright Penn: Wealthow
Anthony Hopkins: Hrothgar
Angelina Jolie: Grendel's Mother
The animation in this movie is perfect which is a good and a bad thing. Quite easily they could of done it just with normal real time. The realism is definitely spot on but i find the point of animation is to look like animation otherwise if it's too real then you may as well have the real thing.
Beowulf draws on the same lines as 300 and Gladiator. Instead of ''This is Sparta!'' its ''this is beowulf!''. Talk of glory and battle also reminiscent. But now I've got the bad points out the way i can focus on the good points.
I am well versed in Norse mythology and i know the story of Beowulf & Grendel well. This is a glamed up re-telling that does it's job.
The voice overs are perfect, the visual characters captured to a tee. Acting is above par, it's so damn real the actors actually can give performances. Brendan Gleeson, Anthony Hopkins, Ray Winstone, John Malkovich, Angelina Jolie all add their talents to this masterpiece of sorts. As do all the other cast members.
Some nicely executed horror parts such as Grendel terrorizing the hall or the monstrous dragon breathing fiery flames upon a unsuspecting kingdom.
If you love fantasy, mythology or even imaginative animated films Beowulf is not to be missed.
A triumph again from Robert Zemeckis.
''The time of heroes is dead: the christ god has killed it, leaving nothing but weeping martyrs and fear and shame.''
Beowulf: I am ripper, terror, slasher, gouger. I am teeth in the darkness! The talons in the night! My name is strength! And lust! And power! I AM BEOWULF!
The other ancient epic movie of 2007, from fantastical adventure guru director Robert Zemeckis.
This is the old story, England's national epic, that involves the arrival of the fierce warrior Beowulf into a town being terrorized by a monster, Grendel. Upon slaying the beast, he must then deal with Grendel's mother, and then later save the town from a fierce dragon. That's a pretty easy set up for a three act Hollywood feature, wouldn't you say?
English character actor Ray Winstone stars as the fabled warrior Beowulf, and gives it his all in terms of vocal performance. Winstone is a 50 year old, slightly flabby man, so its a neat choice to see him play a 6'6" golden haired warrior. I mention this because the film uses motion capture technology to create a photo realistic film that is absolutely stunning for the majority of the film.
There is also a fairly large supporting cast that includes Brendan Gleeson as Beowulf's loyal right hand man. Anthony Hopkin's as the old, fat, and perpetually drunk King Hrothgar with a secret of his own. John Malkovich, miles better than he was in Eragorn, as Hrothgar's right hand man and skeptical counter point of Beowulf. Robin Wright Penn and Alison Lohman in the usually boring epic roles, that being the women in these men's lives. Crispin "George McFly" Glover as the hideously misunderstood monster that is Grendel. And Angelina Jolie as the devious and very under dressed mother of Grendel.
I'm glad I did not see this movie in 3D first, because it gave me a chance to see this movie for what it is in terms of story and themes. Watching Beowulf slowly recognize how his pride has effected everyone around him makes him a very intriguing character. He also has some primal brawler fighting tactics that will not be unnoticed by anyone.
King Hrothgar: She's not my curse, not anymore.
Then you have the rest of the story adapted by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery, which while doing enough justice to the original text, changes a few things around (basically everything involving what takes place after defeating Grendel) to effect the roles of some of the characters. This creates some faults in the story, not to mention how familiar and flat some of the characters are, but nothing too drastic.
These moments aside, this movie is stunning visually. Of course the characters are not supposed to be seen as real, animation does not need to do that, but the backgrounds, the action, the monsters, and the inventive and non-possible-if-done-live camera moves make this all so much fun. It is also fun to see the over-the-top wooshes of various objects into the screen, which will of course be more fun in 3D.
Zemeckis regular Alan Silvestri of course has a score that is fitting and appropriate throughout.
This whole movie is very entertaining and Zemeckis completely gets rid of the creepy factor that was "The Polar Express," to make another motion-capture movie that is appropriately well handled.
Note: On second viewing in IMAX 3D, the movie proves to maintain its epicness, possibly increasing it quality. There are a number of fun wooshes into the camera, but overall, its still the same movie.
Beowulf: They say you have a monster. They say your lands are cursed. I am Beowulf, and I will kill your monster.
Towns of Denmark are being terrorized by the demon Grendel. In a classic, epic tale of historic proportion, Beowulf slays the beast Grendel in turn enticing the wrath of his mother. A seductive and evil temptress, Beowulf?s mother will do anything to onset her revenge. What ensues is a battle that will immortalize Beowulf?s name for eternity.
Beowulf is all CGI epic adventure. Based off the poem about Beowulf and Grendel from Danish folklore, is an interesting tale. The CGI is beautiful in many scenes and does have some flaws that occasionally appear on screen. The acting is good for an action movie and animation, but the story is what sells the movie. For the first time in many tries, they finally succeeded in creating a good movie based on the epic tale. Beowulf receives three and half epic tales out of four for the breathtaking animation and epic story that is told.
Finally an animated movie for adults. An extroadinary triumph of storytelling and filmmaking. Stylish, gripping, thrilling and incrediably exhilerating. A totally unstoppable adreniline-rush. A feast for the eyes and ears of state of the art animation. You wont be able to take your eyes of it for a second. Astonishing, chilling and unforgettable. Absolutely spectacular. Jammed with amasing pulse-pounding action sequences throughout, dazzeling performances and eye-popping speacial effects. Truly heart-pounding, dazzeling and very exciting. An explosive and stunning action-packed adventure epic of the finest kind. Director, Robert Zemeckis creates another visually memerising and brilliant masterpiece. Extroadinary and breathtaking. Ray Winstone gives an outstanding and spectacular performance in the lead role of this great character. He once again shows off his true movie star charisma.
I so wanted to give this 5 stars (given who it's about :p), and I did like a lot about it (especially seeing it in 3D!), but the crudity in it (like Beowulf being naked half the movie) dropped it a bit.
wow...great cast, visually incredibly stunning and actually very well made. It vary's a little from the stories I've heard before and from the films I've seen, but it is actually very very good.
Quoi de plus à chier que ca ? je trouve pas ! J'ai vraiment hais ce film. On s'entend à un bon film, là première chose qu'on réalise, tout est de l'animation (très bien rendu par contre). Très décevant au départ. L'histoire est très null, c'est pourri !! De plus, le héro, auquel on deverai s'attaché, est menteur, fandant, manipulateur ... il ne peut faire autre que me répugner. Complètement à proscrire. J'ai meme pas de point positif !
Enjoyable. Totally amazing in IMAX 3-D; see it before it leaves the theatres. As exciting and detailed as any Lord of the Rings movie! They got the CGI likeness of the actors quite accurate; the technology is really improving. A rousing epic; I appreciated the last half of the movie where they jumped ahead to Beowulf's last days. The movie was quite sexual and gorey. The 3-D effects really work; it will be sad to see it on 2-dimensional small-screen DVD.
awesome in 3d! I fuckin loved it I thought it was hilarious, how cocky and psychotic diz guy iz. he's like an adrenaline junkie! couldnt stop laughin. Da action scenes made me feel like i was on a roller coaster ride. I recommend it 2 any 1 lookin 4 mindless entertainment and a good time
Beowulf is the proof of what can be done with animation nowadays, a movie that seems to be acted by real people but that is actually made completely by cgi. A film that follows the same line as 300. Beowulf tells the story of the kingdom of King Hrothgar which is currently being terrorized by a monster named Grendel, help comes in the form of mighty Beowulf, it is his job to slay the monster, but with the death of the monster comes new problems to the powerful hero, the story is very interesting, with a lot of action and adventure that will leave you on the edge of your seat. The cast is just wonderful, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Angelina Jolie, Robin Wright Penn and Ray Winstone everybody with their animated character and giving stunning performances. This is a movie definitely worth to see for the story and the animation.
A long time ago, in the age of 1997, there waged a great war, between the factions of WCW, and WWF (now WWE). Both had many things that made them great. However, WWF had one secret weapon that WCW did not. In the end, it all came down to personality. There are many cool things about Beowulf...primarily, it has a great story. It also has amazing animation, cool monsters and one hot mama. Unfortunately, much like WCW, all of the characters walk through the movie all brooding and tough, and nobody has any personality. As a result, the spectacular action falls flat because I don't really care about the characters. Also, one other thing I wanted to mention was that I saw this in a regular 2D movie theater, and I kept noticing these cheesy "Count Floyd" 3D moments (hoooo!), reminding me that there was a better way to see this, had I not have been too lazy to drive all the way down to Empress Walk, pay $15, plus parking...not in this lifetime! But I digress. Pretty good, but room for improvement.
Trying to recollect back when we had to read it in English class...well, since it's been over a decade, I dunno how true-to-story it was or not. Given I VAGUELY remembered some of the elements of the story, I went in with an open mind. The CGI is AMAZING, the best I've seen thus far on any movie. The plot was relatively straight forward, and there were some dry spells in the movie, but only a couple of times.
All in all, I'd say this was a solid movie, and definitely well worth watching in theaters (I dunno if 3D is necessary or not, I'll leave that up to you.)
Freaking Sweet. Great cg, great story, great cast. It had all the violence that movies like LOTR shyed away from. It has john malkovich getting his face burned in half, naked jolly anthony hopkins, naked giant crispen glover, naked violent ray winstone, naked evil angelina jolie, and of course brendan gleeson as a fat red haired motha effer. Need I say more?
Yes the story strayed from the original and yes the CGI lacked in some areas, but overall as a movie this is a great story. I think the reason the story was different was to make it more interesting and intriguing. Truly shows that pride and arrogance can be a curse. A little too much talking through the movie, but the action scenes were insane, better than any Spider-man type of movie by far. And the reason the whole thing is CGI, not only b/c its groundbreaking work, is b/c most of the movie would have ended up being CGI anyway even if they did use live actors.
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