Ok, I admit it. It was the teaser trailer of a naked, wet Angelina Jolie rising from a mystical lake that first drew my attention to Robert Zemeckis’s new vision of the epic poem “Beowulf.” So, is it great art? No. But it certainly has its merits, and for the most part I was entertained.
I’ve seen reviews complaining that the filmmakers added characterizations, changed situations, and “sexed up” this version of the story instead of following the tone of the original poem. Let’s be fair here- the screenwriters started with a poem of an unknown time period (somewhere between the 8th and 11th centuries), with unknown religious “affiliations” (could be Christian, as it was written in post-conversion England; or Pagan, since it takes place in pre-Christian Scandinavia, and references to both sit side-by-side in the original manuscript), and even of unknown authorship. Personally I’m glad that the writers have given it some originality. And as for “sexing it up”? Well, that’s just good movie making!
There’s really not much to the story- it takes place in a time of heroes when great men did extraordinary things, and magic, demons, and dragons flourished. Beowulf is the hero (arguably, in this version), and we follow his escapades from the battle with the monster Grendel through his final dragon-battling days. The script is well thought out and makes the most of a rather clichéd genre, but it’s the presentation that makes this film stand out. I had the choice of seeing it in the “standard” format or in Digital 3D. To be honest, I’m not sure I would have enjoyed it as much without the 3D gimmick; it’s what makes the film enjoyable.
It takes a while to get over the feeling that you’re trapped in a very well-conceived video game over which you have no control; instead you’re forced to sit back and watch Zemeckis play. Not a bad thing, once you get used to it. The entire film is rendered with an amazing attention to detail, and the CGI animation serves it very well. There are, of course, objects thrust in our face (these effects are VERY convincing- I jumped in my seat a couple of times), but even beyond that, there is crystal clarity and depth to even the quietest scenes. We’ve come a long way since the days of those flimsy red and blue glasses.
Character animation has come a long way in the last few years as well. The men are animated beautifully, with every detail of their worn, haggard faces portrayed perfectly. The women, on the other hand, still seem to suffer a bit from the frozen expressions of “The Polar Express”, Zemeckis’s earlier CGI experiment. But this is, after all, a warrior society ruled by men; perhaps the lack of definition in the female characters is intentional and simply reflects the view of the times? In any case, it’s hard to tell where the actor’s performance stops and the CG performance takes over, and that’s saying something.
And now, an observation. Those who know me know that I am no prude. In any sense of the word. And yet I couldn’t help wondering about the rating of this film. I’ve seen films where there is no violence, no nudity, but the utterance of a single “fuck” will get you a PG-13 rating. Have the balls to say it again, and you’ve got yourself an R. In this film we’re treated to a battle of monster-versus-man…in which both monster AND man are totally nude. You see, our hero claims he wants to be on even ground when meeting the monster Grendel, which apparently means being bare-assed, as Grendel is not one of those civilized monsters that wears clothes. We never get a full-frontal (although they do find lots of amusing ways to hide the “naughty bits”), but even for me it was a bit of a distraction watching the naked cartoon guy fight with the naked ugly monster guy.
During this battle, we also get to see some interesting acts of mutilation. Arms and legs are ripped from sockets, men are pulled in half, heads are eaten And the blood…those amazing CGI blood splatters, so prominent in last year’s “300”, are flung everywhere in gory, glorious 3D.
Then there’s the aforementioned Angelina Jolie. Her scenes go FAR beyond the trailer (yeah baby!), but we’re talking Full Monty here. Full front. Full rear. She does seem to be covered in some kind of gold slime, but that really doesn’t hide a whole hell of a lot. There’s more tit displayed here than in all of Angie’s other films combined. And this film is rated…PG-13??
Does the fact that a film is animated mean that male asses, female breasts, and blood galore lose some of their shock value in the eyes of the members of the MPAA? Apparently, the answer is yes. Shocking to me? Not in the least. But I’m glad I’m not the parents with the two pre-teen boys who were sitting in front of me. I’ll bet there were some pretty interesting discussions (or awkward silences and blank stares?) going on at that house later.
I’ve seen reviews complaining that the filmmakers added characterizations, changed situations, and “sexed up” this version of the story instead of following the tone of the original poem. Let’s be fair here- the screenwriters started with a poem of an unknown time period (somewhere between the 8th and 11th centuries), with unknown religious “affiliations” (could be Christian, as it was written in post-conversion England; or Pagan, since it takes place in pre-Christian Scandinavia, and references to both sit side-by-side in the original manuscript), and even of unknown authorship. Personally I’m glad that the writers have given it some originality. And as for “sexing it up”? Well, that’s just good movie making!
There’s really not much to the story- it takes place in a time of heroes when great men did extraordinary things, and magic, demons, and dragons flourished. Beowulf is the hero (arguably, in this version), and we follow his escapades from the battle with the monster Grendel through his final dragon-battling days. The script is well thought out and makes the most of a rather clichéd genre, but it’s the presentation that makes this film stand out. I had the choice of seeing it in the “standard” format or in Digital 3D. To be honest, I’m not sure I would have enjoyed it as much without the 3D gimmick; it’s what makes the film enjoyable.
It takes a while to get over the feeling that you’re trapped in a very well-conceived video game over which you have no control; instead you’re forced to sit back and watch Zemeckis play. Not a bad thing, once you get used to it. The entire film is rendered with an amazing attention to detail, and the CGI animation serves it very well. There are, of course, objects thrust in our face (these effects are VERY convincing- I jumped in my seat a couple of times), but even beyond that, there is crystal clarity and depth to even the quietest scenes. We’ve come a long way since the days of those flimsy red and blue glasses.
Character animation has come a long way in the last few years as well. The men are animated beautifully, with every detail of their worn, haggard faces portrayed perfectly. The women, on the other hand, still seem to suffer a bit from the frozen expressions of “The Polar Express”, Zemeckis’s earlier CGI experiment. But this is, after all, a warrior society ruled by men; perhaps the lack of definition in the female characters is intentional and simply reflects the view of the times? In any case, it’s hard to tell where the actor’s performance stops and the CG performance takes over, and that’s saying something.
And now, an observation. Those who know me know that I am no prude. In any sense of the word. And yet I couldn’t help wondering about the rating of this film. I’ve seen films where there is no violence, no nudity, but the utterance of a single “fuck” will get you a PG-13 rating. Have the balls to say it again, and you’ve got yourself an R. In this film we’re treated to a battle of monster-versus-man…in which both monster AND man are totally nude. You see, our hero claims he wants to be on even ground when meeting the monster Grendel, which apparently means being bare-assed, as Grendel is not one of those civilized monsters that wears clothes. We never get a full-frontal (although they do find lots of amusing ways to hide the “naughty bits”), but even for me it was a bit of a distraction watching the naked cartoon guy fight with the naked ugly monster guy.
During this battle, we also get to see some interesting acts of mutilation. Arms and legs are ripped from sockets, men are pulled in half, heads are eaten And the blood…those amazing CGI blood splatters, so prominent in last year’s “300”, are flung everywhere in gory, glorious 3D.
Then there’s the aforementioned Angelina Jolie. Her scenes go FAR beyond the trailer (yeah baby!), but we’re talking Full Monty here. Full front. Full rear. She does seem to be covered in some kind of gold slime, but that really doesn’t hide a whole hell of a lot. There’s more tit displayed here than in all of Angie’s other films combined. And this film is rated…PG-13??
Does the fact that a film is animated mean that male asses, female breasts, and blood galore lose some of their shock value in the eyes of the members of the MPAA? Apparently, the answer is yes. Shocking to me? Not in the least. But I’m glad I’m not the parents with the two pre-teen boys who were sitting in front of me. I’ll bet there were some pretty interesting discussions (or awkward silences and blank stares?) going on at that house later.
1 comment:
Upon the first glimpse of the coma faced queen, only a minute into the movie, I knew that I was stuck with a shit movie for the next couple of hours.
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