For a long time, now, we’ve been hearing how computer generated actors would be replacing their flesh and blood counterparts, and, if Robert Zemeckis had it his way, that day won’t come soon enough. The director who brought us “real” movies, like “Back to the Future” and “Forest Gump”, has been well-entrenched in the digital domain for the better part of a decade, tinkering with the latest gizmos, experimenting with the newest gadgets, and, ultimately, playing God to a world in which ones and zeroes can become anything – or anyone – his heart desires. And, while it may be a little while before CGI actors become the norm, the technology on display in Zemeckis’ “Beowulf” proves that the day may not be quite as far off as we think.
Based (quite loosely) on the epic poem, Beowulf tells the tale of the titular hero (voiced by, but suspiciously looking nothing like, Ray Winstone) and his journey to the kingdom of the withered and defeated Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins). Since the opening of the kingdom’s mead hall, Hrothgar’s people have been besieged by a villainous troll named Grendel (Crispin Glover), and the heroic Beowulf has come to do what he does best – slay monsters, save kingdoms, and tell tall tales. Hrothgar and his people rejoice at the arrival of the great hero and his fellow warriors, especially when Beowulf suggests the mead hall be reopened, even though doing so will surely raise the ire of Grendel.
Beowulf’s gambit pays off, as Grendel falls into his trap, is critically wounded, and flees into the darkness, never to be seen again. The kingdom celebrates their heroes, but, the eve before he is set to depart, Beowulf is visited by Grendel’s mother (Angelina Jolie), exposing a dark secret about the origin of Grendel, as well as that of Hrothgar’s rise to power. Beowulf confronts the king about Grendel’s mother, and Hrothgar admits it is he who fathered the treacherous beast, but only because the promise of power and fortune Grendel’s mother made to him was to intoxicating to resist. Beowulf scoffs at this, and demands to be led to the creature’s cave, where he can kill her as he did her son. However, once there, will the promise of eternal power, wealth, and glory prove too much for even the mighty Beowulf to pass up?
Written by Neil Gaimen and Roger Avary, Zemeckis’ Beowulf takes many liberties with the source material, and then expands upon them, making this very different than the “poem” most of us were forced to endure in school. This Beowulf is an obvious braggart (even his own men comment on how his stories grow more embellished with every telling), and a warrior whose skill is matched only by his luck. One gets the impression that when Beowulf and his men first set eyes on Grendel, they’re quite shocked to see the actual sort of monster they’ve so long boasted about killing, and it’s a bit comical to see how slipshod they are as a fighting unit when it comes time to take the creature down. It’s the little touches like this that made Beowulf so refreshing, and made the film as much of a feast for the imagination as it was a feast for the eyes.
I’ve still got my qualms about motion capture technology, and while, for the most part, the work here is astonishing, there are still some nagging issues that make it difficult to become fully immersed in this virtual world. Characters still tend to move as though underwater, with slow, meticulously graceful sweeps of the arms, or waves of the hands that just don’t look or feel natural to my eyes. Speaking of eyes, they’ve come a long way since the “dead eyes” of “The Polar Express”, but not far enough to keep me from feeling a bit creeped out by them. The same goes for the mouths, which, for some strange reason, all look like black, hollow voids. These are minor quibbles, though, and, when compared to the bounty of eye candy that Beowulf represents, hardly something one would notice in one viewing. After a second or third, though…
Paramount offers Beowulf in an unrated Director’s Cut Edition, which sports a bit more “nudity”, lots more blood, and a few nifty extras, including some short behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and a host of techy stuff that shows how the characters and the world they inhabited were created. It’s a decent crop of supplements, but they’re all rather brief, and I suspect the more comprehensive stuff will come in a well-stocked special edition somewhere down the road.
Beowulf is the kind of movie everyone needs to see at least once, as it’s truly bleeding edge stuff on display here, and, regardless of whether or not you like the idea of computer generated actors and worlds replacing the real deal, only an absolute technophobe could walk away from this film anything less than thoroughly entertained and thoroughly impressed by what was achieved here.
