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Nov. 16th, 2007 12:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eee1313I saw Beowulf last night.
I'm not sure what to think. I'm really not. First and foremost, I'd definitely recommend that if you want to see this, do see it on a big screen and not wait for DVD, and second DEFINITELY see it in 3D if you have the chance. And if you have the chance to see it in IMAX 3D, then by all means do THAT. This movie is getting a lot of praise for its animation, and it really is pretty amazing. As for the animated renditions of the actors, they vary from being so realistic you forget they're not human to looking cartoonish. It just depends.
As for the story, it's kind of "meh" for me. I really enjoyed the first half of the movie, which follows the original "Beowulf" epic fairly well: the monster Grendel wreaks havoc, Beowulf shows up and kills him, Grendel's mom gets pissed about her son's death, Beowulf kills her. Well, in this version that last bit doesn't happen. Grendel's mom lives on and the rest of Beowulf's life is blighted by his memory of her, despite his "hero king" status. They work the whole "Beowulf vs. the dragon" bit into the last part of the story as well, tying it back in with Grendel's mother.
It's an interesting work-around to make the whole poem fit into the movie, but I'll admit that the second half left me rather empty. I think it's because of the character Beowulf himself. He's such a MAN that it was a bit hard for me to connect with him when he's just being a king and not a monster-killing warrior. When the guy gets older, he still has his loyal wife, but also his young mistress, and he came off as a scumbag. (He's shown early on to be a lover of the ladies, what with a random mermaid and Grendel's mom and all. But after desiring the queen so obviously, it just annoyed me that he seemed to lose any desire for her once he'd won her.) I mean, I know that in those times the men were MEN and the women weren't much of anything, and it wouldn't be true to the story to make the queen suddenly this awesome hardcore kickass woman who is an equal to her husband in her own way (see Queen Gorgo in 300). But it did make it harder for me to like the character of Beowulf in the latter half of the film.
While we're discussing gender issues and this movie, I'd like to state that afterwards the Scientist commented on how none of the women in the movie were very pretty, except for Grendel's mother. The queen had a similar appearance to Robin Wright Penn, and Ursula (the mistress) was very similar in looks to Allison Lohman. However, there was something a bit off to them, like their jaws were a bit too wide, making their faces more square and plain. In comparison, Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother was spot-on. Her face was softer, more curvy than the other women, differentiating her look from the others. And of course, they played up the sex appeal to the hilt with her. She even had high-heeled feet. Yes, FEET, not shoes. My friend Krista at work HATED that detail, as it was completely out of context because no one wore high heels then and it just was an excuse to amp up the sex factor in the character. It bothered me as well because it looked so very modern, and my only defense of that bizarre over-sexualized detail is that at least they made the heels look like the detailing on Beowulf's dragon cup. Anyway, it was interesting to me that the Scientist thought that all of the women were made less pretty by the animators except for Grendel's mother, which was certainly a conscious choice on their part. But the female characters were either existing simply for sexual gratification (Ursula, Grendel's mom, the common women) or were meant to suffer nobly in silence (the queen). Between this and the MEN ARE WARRIORS aspect of the film, it very much makes this a guys' movie.
I really did enjoy the horror aspect of the film. Grendel is introduced VERY early into the film, and he's just creepy. Really, really creepy. He's extremely gross to look at, and he's amazingly violent. His first attack was much more gorey than I expected, and I have to say it was a blast to watch in 3D. (The blood from a corpse hanging from the ceiling drips AT you!) It's really quite horrific. Grendel is voiced by Crispin Glover, who is himself rather creepy. He speaks almost entirely in Old English, which at first totally confused me because it sounds like English but it's not. The Scientist (who has hearing loss and sometimes relies on reading lips) leaned over at one point and asked to me of Grendel "Is he even saying WORDS?" And to that, I just shrugged. Grendel's mom starts out sounding like she's speaking half in Old English and half in modern English, but once Grendel dies it's English as normal. HOWEVER, Angelina speaks in this weird accent and cadence that I can best describe as Aaliyah's dialect in Queen of the Damned. Seriously, they sounded the same. Very odd.
Also, as my friend Steve@theMovies said, "John Malkovich's performance proves that, yes, even 100 percent digitally created characters can overact like a pro." TOTALLY.
Anyway, in the end I'd have to say that I'm very glad I saw this in a theater, and in 3D. I'm also glad I saw it for free. Heh. Whether or not any of you will enjoy it, I'm not sure. But I will say this: for being such a guys' movie, they certainly provided enough eye candy for the ladies, what with naked Beowulf running around. Hooray for naked cartoon men! ;)
I'm not sure what to think. I'm really not. First and foremost, I'd definitely recommend that if you want to see this, do see it on a big screen and not wait for DVD, and second DEFINITELY see it in 3D if you have the chance. And if you have the chance to see it in IMAX 3D, then by all means do THAT. This movie is getting a lot of praise for its animation, and it really is pretty amazing. As for the animated renditions of the actors, they vary from being so realistic you forget they're not human to looking cartoonish. It just depends.
As for the story, it's kind of "meh" for me. I really enjoyed the first half of the movie, which follows the original "Beowulf" epic fairly well: the monster Grendel wreaks havoc, Beowulf shows up and kills him, Grendel's mom gets pissed about her son's death, Beowulf kills her. Well, in this version that last bit doesn't happen. Grendel's mom lives on and the rest of Beowulf's life is blighted by his memory of her, despite his "hero king" status. They work the whole "Beowulf vs. the dragon" bit into the last part of the story as well, tying it back in with Grendel's mother.
It's an interesting work-around to make the whole poem fit into the movie, but I'll admit that the second half left me rather empty. I think it's because of the character Beowulf himself. He's such a MAN that it was a bit hard for me to connect with him when he's just being a king and not a monster-killing warrior. When the guy gets older, he still has his loyal wife, but also his young mistress, and he came off as a scumbag. (He's shown early on to be a lover of the ladies, what with a random mermaid and Grendel's mom and all. But after desiring the queen so obviously, it just annoyed me that he seemed to lose any desire for her once he'd won her.) I mean, I know that in those times the men were MEN and the women weren't much of anything, and it wouldn't be true to the story to make the queen suddenly this awesome hardcore kickass woman who is an equal to her husband in her own way (see Queen Gorgo in 300). But it did make it harder for me to like the character of Beowulf in the latter half of the film.
While we're discussing gender issues and this movie, I'd like to state that afterwards the Scientist commented on how none of the women in the movie were very pretty, except for Grendel's mother. The queen had a similar appearance to Robin Wright Penn, and Ursula (the mistress) was very similar in looks to Allison Lohman. However, there was something a bit off to them, like their jaws were a bit too wide, making their faces more square and plain. In comparison, Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother was spot-on. Her face was softer, more curvy than the other women, differentiating her look from the others. And of course, they played up the sex appeal to the hilt with her. She even had high-heeled feet. Yes, FEET, not shoes. My friend Krista at work HATED that detail, as it was completely out of context because no one wore high heels then and it just was an excuse to amp up the sex factor in the character. It bothered me as well because it looked so very modern, and my only defense of that bizarre over-sexualized detail is that at least they made the heels look like the detailing on Beowulf's dragon cup. Anyway, it was interesting to me that the Scientist thought that all of the women were made less pretty by the animators except for Grendel's mother, which was certainly a conscious choice on their part. But the female characters were either existing simply for sexual gratification (Ursula, Grendel's mom, the common women) or were meant to suffer nobly in silence (the queen). Between this and the MEN ARE WARRIORS aspect of the film, it very much makes this a guys' movie.
I really did enjoy the horror aspect of the film. Grendel is introduced VERY early into the film, and he's just creepy. Really, really creepy. He's extremely gross to look at, and he's amazingly violent. His first attack was much more gorey than I expected, and I have to say it was a blast to watch in 3D. (The blood from a corpse hanging from the ceiling drips AT you!) It's really quite horrific. Grendel is voiced by Crispin Glover, who is himself rather creepy. He speaks almost entirely in Old English, which at first totally confused me because it sounds like English but it's not. The Scientist (who has hearing loss and sometimes relies on reading lips) leaned over at one point and asked to me of Grendel "Is he even saying WORDS?" And to that, I just shrugged. Grendel's mom starts out sounding like she's speaking half in Old English and half in modern English, but once Grendel dies it's English as normal. HOWEVER, Angelina speaks in this weird accent and cadence that I can best describe as Aaliyah's dialect in Queen of the Damned. Seriously, they sounded the same. Very odd.
Also, as my friend Steve@theMovies said, "John Malkovich's performance proves that, yes, even 100 percent digitally created characters can overact like a pro." TOTALLY.
Anyway, in the end I'd have to say that I'm very glad I saw this in a theater, and in 3D. I'm also glad I saw it for free. Heh. Whether or not any of you will enjoy it, I'm not sure. But I will say this: for being such a guys' movie, they certainly provided enough eye candy for the ladies, what with naked Beowulf running around. Hooray for naked cartoon men! ;)
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no subject
Date: 2007-11-16 07:45 pm (UTC)I actually preferred this script to the poem. Of course, I hated Beowulf when I was forced to read it, so I am not at all objective. But I liked that they tied in that last battle to the rest of the film, and that they set up a cycle of men selling their souls for power.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-16 09:01 pm (UTC)HA! You know, I think there was a, for lack of a better term, "fleshier" look to the human women. There was a distinct difference between Grendel's mom and the other women. Then again, there's a distinct difference between Angelina and 99% of the women on the planet, so...
I've actually never read the whole poem. I read a VERY abbreviated version of it years and years ago, so my knowledge of the story was pretty sketchy. I agree that the way they tie the dragon fight in with the rest of the story made more sense, and especially with the "cycle" you mentioned. But I did find the movie lacking once the Grendel factor was out of the picture.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-16 09:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-16 10:12 pm (UTC)He says it at least 3 times in the movie. Yes, that same way.