Beowulf 3D Blu-ray Review
MOVIE REVIEW
Beowulf is a 2007 motion capture animated film from the director Robert Zemeckis. (Loosely) based on the legendary poem, this film follows the story of Beowulf, a Geat hero who is called to Denmark by King Hrothgar to defeat a menacing demon named Grendel. It starts that way, at least. But after he does so, he's then sent to kills Grendel's mother. And what follows is a dark story of lust, pride, and the cost of the pursuit of glory.
Of all the three mo-cap films we've gotten from Zemeckis (the other two being The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol), Beowulf may not be technically the best, but I definitely find it the most fascinating on several different levels. For one, I seldom hear anything on this film besides when people bring up Robert Zemeckis's history with motion capture animation. And I think the reason for that may be partially that unlike the other two films, it doesn't have the luxury of bring a Christmas movie and being brought up once a year. Secondly, whereas The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol are geared more towards families, Beowulf is more strictly for the older crowd. Animated films for adults have always been around (South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut comes to mind). But a serious animated sword and sandal epic? That's a new one, though I guess with the amount of CG that went into films like 300 and Immortals, you could probably call them animated. And than there's the story itself and how it works as an adaptation. Initially, I found its changes from the original poem to be quite laughable. But over time, and the more I watched it, I came to find that the changes not only help the film to work on its own merits, but in some ways, also deepen the themes of the original poem.
When looking on paper, yes, many of places this rendition of Beowulf go seem quite silly, such as how some of the dialogue plays out, how Beowulf fights Grendel in the buff, how they go all out in the 3D pop out department (more on that later), and how they turn Grendel's mother into an Angelina Jolie-played seductress that sleeps with the main protagonist rather than getting defeated by him. In all honesty, though, that makes this adaptation a pretty interesting one to talk about. Adaptations come in all different forms, and most everyone has their own different version of what a "good" adaptation looks like. Some people want fidelity to story and others want fidelity to themes. From my personal standpoint, I don't really base my opinion on a film adaptation so much on how "true" the film stays to the book, but rather how it can take the elements of the original story and turn them into something that works as a great film. That's why even though most people have given films like A Christmas Carol (2009) and The Great Gatsby plenty of flack for their deviations of the source material, I still highly enjoyed them.
And that same truth is applicable to Beowulf. If you divorce this film from the material it's based on, there's a lot to enjoy here. The action is frenetic and stylized, the story is often engaging, and the characters all feel unique, with Beowulf himself feeling especially larger than life. Honestly, the hyper-realistic animation combined with the 6th century setting and the fantastical story reminded me a lot of recent video games such as Eldon Ring and The Witcher that use similar elements, the only difference here being that you can't actually play as the main character. This is a very unique vibe that I can't say I've seen in any other movie and I'd love it if more films nowadays, especially with the rise of hyper-realistic video games, tried their hand at it. And speaking of the animation, this is probably the least uncanny valley looking of Zemeckis's animated trilogy. And in a few moments, it can almost be mistaken for real life. Even if you're not a fan of this film's lack of fidelity to its source material, it still gets by simply because of how entertaining it is.
But in the areas where the film does show fidelity, there is actually much that holds up, and not quite in the ways you would expect. One of the main complaints people have with the film is that it changes up the story from the original poem in a ton of different ways. That is certainly true. But if you actually look back at the original poem, Beowulf's character feels somewhat distant. And while there is a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall, it's not exactly an overarching theme that unites the story in a, dare I say, poetic fashion. That's not to discredit the good things about the original story. But it's pretty clear that when it comes to the poem, spectacle is the name of the game. The movie adaptation certainly has spectacle, in fact it's overrun with it. But a good movie also needs substance such as character development and an overarching theme. And I think the substance for this Beowulf adaptation not only works greater than people give it credit for, but also even deepens the concept of the hero's tragic flaw that we never got in the poem.
Throughout the film, although the film never loses sight of Beowulf as a big, legendary hero, it also sprinkles in elements of lust, pride, and ego in pretty clever ways that build up over the course of the film. And as Beowulf sees the consequences of his sins, we see him grow as a character and question what it really means to be a hero. And by the time he gets to his inevitable death, we find Beowulf's death somewhat personal. Beneath all the 3D action, epic one-liners, and slick direction, it manages to say something pretty insightful about the way we think of heroes. Beowulf reminds us that just because we can be strong or well-respected doesn't automatically make us "good." And when you really get down to it, none of us are really "good" (I automatically think of Romans 3:23). We all have done plenty of shameful things. But what makes us truly respectable as people isn't what we pursue in the name of selfish glory, but how we restrain our pride and perception of superiority. I know written out, that message seems pretty basic. But when it hits you in the middle of an over the top action movie where you're rooting for the "good guy" to "show those bad guys who's boss," it comes off as pretty profound.
Beowulf is a pretty weird, but also very intriguing film that while I can understand the criticisms for, I also can't help but feel a soft spot for. The areas in which it deviates from the source material will certainly turn people off. But the new stuff it adds in doesn't just make it highly enjoyable as its own movie, but also even somewhat improve on what was already there. Personally, I'm a bit of sucker for motion capture movies. But I must admit, here, it seems like they've done something right. Like I said before, I like how this film reminds of a realistic video game almost (and that's why I'd love to see someone maybe pull out the mo-cap technology again to bring something like, I don't know, an over the top zombie movie). I know this won't be a film for everyone. But I think for people like me who will be willing to take the film for what it tries to accomplish rather than how "true" it stays to the poem it's based on, it'll make for fun watch. See it and decide for yourself which side of the audience you fall on.
A quick word of caution, though: in spite of what the PG-13 rating may have you think, this isn't a film for the child or younger teen crowd. I get that PG-13 technically means that the film is most appropriate for those over 13 and parents aren't recommended to take anyone under that age. But I see parents all the time taking their kids to see PG-13 material like The Avengers or Jurassic World as if it's intended to be a family affair. But Beowulf kinda borders on an R in plenty of respects, mainly its graphic violence and scenes of nudity. Even Angelina Jolie herself was shocked with how much they were able to get away with in the final product. So with all the dismemberment, blood, and buttocks on display, you might be asking how did the film get away with a PG-13? Well, it's because the movie is animated. And in the MPAA's eyes, that means it packs less of a punch than if the content was real. And because no one used any strong language (unlike in the South Park movie), the people at the ratings board determined the rest of the film's content to be appropriate for your average 13-year-old. True, the violence does have a certain animated quality to it and you're not looking at anyone's actual skin. But the hyperrealism does give the film a realistic edge that would make it difficult for me to recommend into an average 13-year-old. For the adults and older teens, Beowulf is good bloody fun. But if you're planning to take anyone younger than say, 15 at the least, I'd say to pretend it's an R anyway and then judge accordingly.
OVERALL FILM RATING: 4/5
3D REVIEW
Do I even need to go into detail onto Robert Zemeckis's excellent relationship with 3D, especially in his motion capture features? You've seen it before with The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol, and Beowulf is yet another demonstration of it. Now, to be fair, I think of Zemeckis's mo-cap trilogy, this one might have the least impressive 3D. That's not it's by any means bad, it's actually quite the contrary. But there are a couple of aspects about it that I think could've slightly been improved on. Still, this presentation is error free and the 3D it does offer can at time, have you on the edge of your seat.
I don't it would be fair to talk about a motion capture movie from Robert Zemeckis without first talking about the pop outs. And boy, are there a lot of pop outs. I'm not just talking about characters protruding the screen during a talking scene, I'm talking about "catch you off guard" "throwing you into the the line of fire" pop outs. The action sequences, of course, feature the best examples of this. You get everything flying your way from people to blood to fire to Grendel's foot to Grendel's severed arm (spoilers) to spears to arrows to limbs to scalding hot mead to a Grendel jump scare to a dragon's head to sea monsters to underwater bubbles floating in your face. And even if the 3D doesn't throw things at you specifically, the camera direction allows for great composition of objects to leave the screen such as with chains, coins being thrown midair, swords, rocks, boats, rain, snow, fire, and even a spear pretty early on being held by one of the guards when Beowulf first arrives in Denmark. Heck, even the title of movie has letters flying in from right over your head.
As good as the pop outs are, though, they flow from the main stylistic strength that all these 3D motion capture movies possess, which is how they move the camera around the environment to make the film more immersive. This is something that's a little hard to describe in words, but I can tell you what happens in these scenes that occur to at least give you an idea of what you might be headed into. For one thing, the camera at times likes to place itself on the ground and let the land come right out of the screen, giving the impression you too are lying on the ground (in a fashion similar to what I've seen from Jaws (1975) in 3D when the camera is hovering over the water, which come to think of it, does actually happen in this movie). And that especially comes into play early on when Beowulf and his men bring in their boat and they move it on the rocks, and right in front of your face. During the fight scenes with Grendel, the camera moves all around demon's body as people try to attack it, making you fear for your life around it. And there's one shot in particular where it feels like he grabs you. In 3D, you don't just witness the havoc Grendel wrecks on the mead hall, you feel it. And the dragon climax at the end that sees him flying through the sky, injuring people, and destroying bridges has quite a few shots that make one dizzy.
Besides what the films pokes out at you, though, the 3D is still being excellent in other ways throughout. One pretty interesting recurring usage of 3D I see is in shots that utilize reflection, whether it's in shields or in the water. It's a mesmerizing and engaging storytelling device. And even during the more modest scenes, character separation is still evident. The mead hall still feels large, and there are even a few neat moments where you can look through the entrance door.
Here now, is where I start talking about the depth in-screen. And this is the area that I felt could've used some work as throughout the movie, there's actually hardly any. Most of the backgrounds not only fall flat, but they're often right on or just ever so slightly behind the screen. Never does it really feel like you're truly looking off into the distance. Now, in most 3D movies, I'd see this as a problem. But here, it's a bit like The Polar Express's IMAX 3D presentation where it feels almost intention. You see, what the film does is it gives all the foreground elements proper depth and space between them and it usually pushes them all out of the screen, which is where the background lays. This is a pretty interesting way to use 3D. On one hand, sure, the background doesn't go too far back. But on other hand, such as in the climax when the dragon terrorizes the people on the bridge, the furthest back the picture goes, in this case the drop, still looks far down in relation to the foreground elements, such as the bridge itself and the people on it. I'm not the biggest fan of this style of 3D, but I acknowledge it doesn't ruin anything either. If anything, as long as you watch the movie as intended by focusing on the things the movie wants you to focus on, you probably won't be bothered by it.
So yeah, the flat backdrops might be the thing holding back Beowulf from exceeding the 3D heights brought on by the other two films in Zemeckis's mo-cap trilogy. But it's still an excellent 3D presentation none the less that's immersive, over-the-top, and full of creative 3D choreography. If you're going to watch Beowulf at all, this is the way it must be seen. Now, the less fortunate news is the 3D Blu-ray isn't manufactured here in America, but instead overseas in Japan. And last I checked, Beowulf isn't getting an IMAX 3D re-release anytime soon. But if you are willing to have it imported (and as of now, the 3D Blu-ray is selling on Amazon for a pretty reasonable price), it's more than worth the money. If you already have The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol in your 3D collection, go ahead and complete the trilogy. And the good news is you don't have to wait until Christmastime to put it on.
3D RATING: EXCELLENT
OTHER SOURCES THAT REVIEW THIS MOVIE'S 3D
Go Find Fun's Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2ceN2d2Jfk
FINAL THOUGHTS
Many people are quite split on Beowulf. With most of the reviews I've seen online, most people either fall into 2 categories: the people who've seen it and talk about how awesome it was in IMAX 3D and those who hate it and thought it did the original story a disservice. In a way, I think there's some truth to both of them. Personally, I think the film actually takes the original poem into a new direction that's thought-provoking and fits in well with the spectacle of the original story. But at the same time, yes, maybe for most people, this film is better taken as an experience. I remember thinking this film was simply ok the first couple times I saw it on my laptop. But upon seeing it on my 3D projector the with sound turned up to 11, it was like watching an entirely different movie. In fact, I felt almost a part of it. I guess the common consensus with this film will be that if you can see it in it's most entertaining form, it'll be remembered as a fond time. And I can concur with that. While I honestly think it's a pretty underrated film with a unique take on its source material, in the end, it all comes down to whether or not it's just your cup of tea. And for that, you'll just have to see it yourself. The one thing we can all agree on, though, is that the 3D is fantastic and the definitive way of watching the film. It's probably not like Avatar where you can commonly talk with people about how great it is. But no matter, Beowulf is certainly up there with some of the best 3D films Hollywood has ever produced. Even against modern 3D presentations that are always meeting that high bar, it still holds up. Whether your a 3D fan or someone looking to have a fun popcorn feature that'll also make you think, Beowulf is 3D Blu-ray must-buy.
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