I went to see Beowulf last night and I must say it is totally awesome. I heard some less than complementary reviews, but they obviously saw a different film to me. I thought the storey was good, the visuals were amazing and I thought the characters had some depth.
I’ve found myself getting a bit sick of visual effects lately, but when the whole film is CGI, the “less real” affects like dragons, seem all the more real. I guess it’s easier to suspend your disbelief when the whole thing is a posh cartoon, as opposed to live action.
I didn’t think the visuals were a giant leap forward from Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, which is probably an indication of how well they did the job 6 years ago, rather than a criticism of Beowulf.
When I got back from OpenWorld I noticed a mouse had taken up residence in my house. I wouldn’t mind only I’m a bit nervous about it chewing through my electrical cables, so I decided to buy a humane trap and see if I could get rid of it. When I got back home from watching Beowulf I noticed the trap was triggered and my little furry friend was inside. I drove off to a field and let it go into a hedgerow. I forgot how fast mice can move. I didn’t so much see it move and see the leaves swish in it’s wake. 🙂 It was about -2 degrees last night so I feel a little guilty…
Cheers
Tim…
I am going to take my son to watch beowulf this week. Have read some reviews and it does sound good.
I went yesterday, together with a friend. I think I can speak (or write) for him, when I put it into one word: Aaaargggghhhh.
I’m sorry, I don’t want to start a discussion about taste, but this movie certainly qualifies for the “worst movie ever” contest.
Each to their own. 🙂
I know, I know. We didn’t plan on watching it, but we’ve been late for “Free Rainer”. 😉
One thing we both couldn’t understand: They’ve got some interesting cast, and yet
they don’t use those actors in nature? CGIs, in my opinion, no matter how detailed,
can never create that sense of “reality”, regardless of the story, which in this case
already had its own weak spots. The only scene that came close to “realness” was
the first cave scene with her face ascending from the water.
Movies like Planet Terror or the Resident Evil series seriously lack acting and got a
plot line that fits on a business card, but despite all their irks they never create such
an “computer game feeling” as FF or Beowolf. But as you wrote: “each to their own”.
I have to say that I was a little surprised after watching Beowulf that it had been given a 12A rating in the UK. For my mind, 12A was a low rating. Given the “adult” humour (or, lets be honest, blatant innuendo) and the bad language, plus the gore etc. Perhaps I’m just old fashioned!
However, just checked on Wikipedia and found an explanation of the 12A rating – now that was a surprise to me (and Yes, I know you can’t trust everything you surf, so I even checked the BBFC sites definitoin)! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_picture_rating_system#United_Kingdom
I think I am old fashioned, but even so, I enjoyed the film.
just watched it with my son: finally made it to Australia!…
for what it is, it’s awesome. sure: it’s no Hitchcock movie nor
I think is anyone expecting it. but for sheer use of the 3d capability,
it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen. those final scenes are incredible!
Noons said. “for what it is, it’s awesome”
Exactly. It’s not going to bring about world peace. It’s not going to solve world hunger. But it is a good laugh and it’s visually amazing.
Cheers
Tim…
I can honestly say that Beowulf was almost exactly as I thought it was going to be.
Beowulf has always been a difficult story to translate onto the screen; and that difficulty was manifested in many ways.
I was worried about another completely CG movie; and CG still has problems as the technology continues to advance.
I was concerned that Angelina Jolie would bring nothing but nudity to her role; and I was really, really right.
In short, I had lots of concerns and I was right on every case. The only huge surprise in the movie was the amount of dudity. You know, dude nudity. First we get Anthony Hopkins’ pale white butt (in 3D), then we get an “Austin Powers”-inspired bit of “let’s always keep something in front of Beowulf’s junk”.
I’m glad I saw it in theaters, probably won’t buy the DVD.
http://ovrnite.com/movies/beowulf-review/2007/12/09/
http://ovrnite.com/
good to read some more takes on this. i had originally planned on seeing in movies, but changed my mind once i saw the reviews. i’ll watch it on DVD.