18.11.07

Beowulf


I just saw Beowulf and even though the motion capture execution was amazing, the movie itself was a little disappointing ... I did love the details in each character - Beowulf's scars on his skin, his beard and hair or Anthony Hopkin's fat arms, but the motion of the figures was disturbing. They were kind of sluggish and still video game like. And their eyes were completely still! If you want to mimic a human being, wouldn't you want to put as much detail and realistic touches to the most expressive part of the face? I don't really like that part, and the mouths sometimes were not very well synchronized.
Aside from the technical quirks, I did not like how they changed the plot! There were so many Hollywood elements, at times I thought it was ridiculously cheesy, and there was nothing cheesy about life in North Europe in the 600s BC! I still dislike Angelina Jolie, and her character was very flat, unlike the real monster from the story - it is a very fervently discussed figure, especially after the 1970s. Plus, her high heels were ridiculous! The golden streaks of water were very cool though. I am not sure how many people have read the real story, no matter which translation but the screenplay was only a third correct! Why didn't Beowulf kill Grendel's mother? The only thing that made the movie a little more enjoyable, considering my disappointment with the plot, was Ray Winston's character (ok, fine, body). Even just an animated character, he was hot! The accent kind of bothered me throughout the movie, because I knew I've heard it before, and couldn't place it within the accents I can recognize, but apparently it's just plain ol' cockney :)

Go see the movie, it's an interesting experience, just don't expect to see the real literary work in it, just watch it for what it is, and maybe you'll like it.

No comments: