RUNNING TIME: 1 hr. 53 min.
RATING: PG-13 - intense
sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sexual material and
some nudity
CAST: Ray Winstone,
Anthony Hopkins,
John Malkovich,
Robin Wright Penn,
Brendan Gleeson,
Crispin Glover,
Alison Lohman,
Angelina Jolie
DIRECTOR: Robert Zemeckis
GENRE: Period Film, Adventure
Wait for it. Here it comes.
This is going to be legendary.
Robert Zemeckis’ epic animated
film, Beowulf, is an amazing visual masterpiece that grabs you from the opening
credits and stays with you long after you’ve left the theater.
In other words, it ain’t your
father’s Beowulf.
Oh wait, I am a father. Bad
referenced. Well you know what I mean.
I know many of us, myself
included, slumbered through Beowulf sometime in the 10th grade. I
found it arduous to read. Didn’t really know what was going on. And, well, to
me it was plain boring.
Robert Zemeckis’ interpretation of
the poem is anything but. Thankfully he and screenwriters, Neil Gaiman and
Roger Avary, have left most of it behind.
For those of you who also
slumbered through 10th grade English, Beowulf is set in the 9th
century and tells the story of a vain, egotistical (maybe delusional) warrior
who comes to the aide of King Hrogarth (Anthony Hopkins) and his Danish
kingdom.
It seems every time they drink
their famous mead and sing obnoxiously, a creature named Grendel(Crispin
Glover), who incidentally, is truly terrifying upon his first appearance, comes
to town and terrorizes everyone. He is a tumored, tortured, part supernatural
soul.
The kingdom’s bad neighbor policy
doesn’t really help either.
After an opening scene, which is
truly horrific, Hrogarth puts out the call for a hero. Beowulf and his men answer.
Beowulf (Ray Winstone) slays Grendel, only to incur the wrath of his mother, a
demon played by a sultry and very naked, yes she’s naked with nips, Angelina
Jolie.
Unable to kill the demon, Beowulf
makes a deal with her…one that will come back to haunt him later in life. And
this is where the real legend begins.
Watching Beowulf, I couldn’t help
thinking that this was somehow a metaphor for the mess President Bush has
created in Iraq. Beowulf and his men land on the Scandinavian shores, proclaiming,
“I am Beowulf and I am hear to kill your monster.” Through his following lies and deceits he creates an
absolute mess. His pride and too many secrets blind him to the reality of his
situation.
This is a film that is about
fighting demons – both outer in the form of naked Angelina Jolie and a dragon,
as well as your inner demons – lust, pride and deceit. The film is also ripe
with Oedipus themes.
While I thoroughly enjoyed Winstone’s
performance, I felt Robin Wright Penn’s Wealthow was pretty underused -
although I did like her display of disdain for Hopkins’ drunken, loud and lusty
king in the beginning. Now on the other hand, the best story arc of the film
belongs to John Malkovich’s Unferth. It’s fascinating to watch him grow from a
believer in nothing to a believer in Winstone’s Beowulf, and finally switch to
the ultimate believer in Christ. His belief gets challenged, but never
shattered.
Visually and story wise this is
the best-animated feature of the year. The Oscars will have a tough choice between
this, Ratatouille and Bee Movie. Possibly the Simpsons. Yes, sometimes the
characters look a tad waxy and their movements are sometimes jerky, but all is
forgiven during the action sequences – especially the climax. Robert Zemeckis has moved this type of
animation several rungs up from 2004’s Polar Express. Alan Silvestri’s score is
also worth noting.
Also in the film compendium of man
versus dragons, the climatic fight between Beowulf and the demon’s dragon will
be hard to beat for sometime. It is jaw-dropping, edge-of-the-seat spectacular.
So while not as emotionally deep
as say, Lord of the Rings, Beowulf is a welcome visual feast. And thankfully
the visuals never overtake the story. In fact, the story pretty much overtakes
the visuals.
I can’t wait to go back and see it
in Imax 3-D. Pardon me while I dream a bit of Angelina Jolie naked in 3-D…on
Imax. Oh for the women and my gay friends, Ray Winstone is also naked…a
lot…especially during an intense, sometimes funny showdown with Grendel. For the
truly brave ones, we also see Anthony Hopkins’ naked butt. I think I just threw
up in my mouth.
If Beowulf is as successful as I
think it will be, look for other 10th grade snorefests, such as Sir
Gawain and The Green Knight and The Canterbury Tales, to be turned into
sprawling features.
FOUR BALL
POINT PENS.