Beowulf

A CGI experience based on one of the oldest stories ever translated. This movie is more then an evolution in movie making with over 300 cameras used to capture live actors and place them in a digital realm. This movie is an epic tale, made a bit more epic with some liberties taken by the director and writers. The question is; is this movie worth looking at?
First off, the graphics are incredible. This movie takes some faces that everyone knows; Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich; these people are well known, and it’s an incredible display of confidence in the special effects because when you take a face people know, every flaw is easily recognized. Here, the battle scenes, the characters, and the land are all extremely well done. Why would you want to do a CGI movie? The answer is clear in this movie. With CGI, the battle scenes were all perfectly rendered, the characters were all clearly larger than life, and the expressions and drama are much more clearly rendered. Now, the story is as old as any story. The original has Beowulf saving King Hrothgar and his kingdom of Herot from the evil Grendel. After the monster Grendel is destroyed, Beowulf is forced to fight another demon in Grendel’s mother. Finally, it is proven that Beowulf is a true hero with the strength of 10 men, and is a legend that will be told forever. The movie, however, has a bit of a different, and I think significant twist. We find Beowulf coming to save the kingdom of Hrothgar from Grendel, who is the result of the king making a deal with the devil, in Grendel’s mother. After defeating Grendel, Beowulf is tempted by the same deal Hrothgar is, immortality, greatness, and a chance to have sex with Angelina Jolie. I’m not really sure how anyone could turn that down, she could’ve kept the whole greatness thing. Anyway, I digress. The movie ends in an interesting twist that has a Faustus-esque story with a bit of social commentary on mankind, and the temptations they face.
Now, the good in this movie is by far, the special effects. The characters are perfectly rendered and you can truly see who these people are taken from. The fight scenes are truly epic and the landscape is gorgeous. The bad, besides Beowulf fighting naked in an Austin Powers type scene, where his package is conveniently hidden by random objects, the good is also the bad. While the special effects are beautiful, it is very difficult to show all the emotions of the characters, and make it believable. Also, the end, while interesting, I think could’ve had more emotion into the epic ending of a hero. Overall, a good movie that is worth a rent, and I think, one large step for movie making in the future.