Beowulf
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Alison Lohman, Crispin Glover, Angelina Jolie, and Star Trek: Enterprise‘s Dominic Keating.
Backstory
The future of filmmaking is tough to predict. Some say that theatres will soon be gone forever, as home theatres begin to grow in popularity and piracy runs rampant. So, just like in the 1950s when Hollywood saw TV as a threat, Hollywood is starting to give us bigger screens and the return of 3D. Throw in Robert Zemeckis telling us that the future is in his new “performance capture” technique (people wearing motion capture suits in front of blue screen, and then adding everything in with computers) being touted as the future, I though that I should pay the extra money and go see Beowulf in IMAX 3D. After all, this is the future.
Plot
Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was King Hrothgar, and his kingdom was besieged by a vicious monster known as the Grendel. Hrothgar offers half his treasure to a hero to defeat the monster. And, along comes the warrior Beowulf, to answer Hrothgar’s call. Beowulf easily dispatches the Grendel, but this soon leads to a more sinister confrontation with Grendel’s Mother. Will Beowulf survive the battle? And what’s Hrothgar’s connection with the Grendel?
What I Liked
This was my first IMAX 3D movie, and I was impressed. Granted, with IMAX 3D, there’s lots of stuff being thrust into the screen to make you duck and all that, but what really impressed me were the vast, vast landscapes. It really looks like you’re looking out a window over the countryside. There’s lots of great visuals in this. Oh, and of course, the best part: IMAX 3D naked Angelina Jolie.
What I Didn’t Like
Ya know, for being the oldest known English-language poem in existence, and studied in high school English classes the world over, it’s really, really light on plot and character development. And between this and 300, I’m starting to think that people shouted a lot in olden times.
Final Assessment
Style wins out over substance in this one. But if you are going to see it, pay the extra money and see it in IMAX 3D. It’ll blow your mind.