Starring: Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
(12A), 118 mins, 2007, USA
What's the story?
If you weren't lucky enough to have studied the 9th century English poem at school, then we'll break it down for you: Beowulf, a legendary warrior of rock star proportions, arrives in a small Danish village after hearing they have a spot of monster trouble. The trouble comes in the form of Grendel, a demon hell bent on tearing up their parties and ruining all their fun. Beowulf heroically slays the demon, but incurs the wrath of Grendel's mother, a maniacal sex/child bearing addict, which causes all sorts of problems for our hero.
Who's in it?
Ray Winstone is superb as Beowulf, although you won't recognise him in his motion-capture, animated form - you can thank Aaron Stephens for the Adonis-like body. Alas, you can't help but giggle at his East London accent as he bellows out the soon-to-be-famous phrase, "I am Beowulf, I 'av come to kill your monsta!"
Also putting in a memorable appearance is the rather wonderful Anthony Hopkins who plays the corrupt, but ever so adorable King Hrothgar, and Angelina Jolie, who bestows us with one of her most steamy performances to date, as Grendel's mother.
Liking?
As a 3D entity, Beowulf is an action adventure unlike anything we've ever seen. It's consuming, gripping, exhilarating and exceedingly beautiful to look at. The motion-capture animation is a format we could certainly grow to love, as the characters are both realistic and charming in their look and movement. As a story, Beowulf has blatantly been sexed up for the big screen, but it's been lovingly done and in no way makes it less pleasing to watch.
Not liking?
Being a relatively new form of animation, there are still a few kinks to be ironed out in the motion capture style of film making. For example in Polar Express, they just couldn't get the eyes right - a symptom thankfully remedied in Beowulf. In this new film, it is the horses that look a little clunky and out of place.
Verdict?
Having not seen the flat, 2D version of Beowulf, we can't help but wonder if this movie would be as exciting to watch had it not been in 3D. Therefore, we can only recommend that you pop down to your nearest IMAX to ensure you get the most out of this fantastic, rollercoaster ride of a film.
Rating
4.5 out of 5
Website
www.warnerbros.co.uk/beowulf
