DVD Review: Beowulf
Anyone who knows me has heard me rant in regards to last year’s Beowulf. A huge fan of the original epic (I’ve done several papers on it) and an even bigger fan of Neil Gaiman’s work, I was looking forward to the movie more than anything else in its timeframe of release. Unfortunately, it just didn’t deliver.
The story of Beowulf is simple enough, and anyone who has taken a middle school English class knows how it goes, so I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice it to say that Beowulf is a big bad warrior full of talk, and through a series of events finds himself killing the monster Grendel. Told that he now has to slay Grendel’s mother–the last monster–Beowulf sets off, but finds that it’s not as easy as it sounds and is seduced by the promise of everlasting glory and riches. Years go by, and Beowulf’s land continues to prosper, until finally in his old age he’s forced to confront the monster he succumbed to long ago in order to save himself and his people.
It’s the most traditional of the hero archetypes, and Gaiman did an admirable job of adapting it to film. In the same regard, though, Beowulf is a film that just can’t possibly capture our imagination after hearing the original tale. The imagery in the epic isn’t fleshed out enough (like Lord of the Rings) to easily translate to the screen, and thus our mental imagery of Beowulf’s journey will forever be the truest one.
That being said, Beowulf is still a good movie, and the most impressive visual specimen I’ve ever seen. Zemeckis went above and beyond any CGI film to date, and Beowulf is so close to being real that many people will swear it is even after knowing it was CGI. (My friends didn’t know it was animated from the trailers until I told them it was when we went to see it.) It’s a poetically beautiful event that the oldest English tale is now the newest technological feat in film.
In addition to being breathtaking eyecandy, the Beowulf DVD features some of the better special features I’ve seen in quite a while. After watching DVDs like Death at a Funeral and other recent movies with special features consisting purely of a gag reel and trailers, it’s a breath of fresh air.
Most of the special features are short (only two are longer than 5 minutes), but they all provide a pivotal look into the world behind the movie, and the technology behind the film. There’s a thing to educate people on Beowulf, The Art of Beowulf, and a short feature on designing the creatures featured in the film. Most importantly, though, is A Hero’s Journey: The Making of Beowulf. This documentary showcases how they made the film, and the painstaking methods behind it. Anyone considering animated films child’s play will do well to watch this featurrette. The mocap sessions are awesome, and seeing the actors realize that they’ll have to not only read their lines — but act them out — for virtual characters is priceless.
One thing I’d like to note at the end of this review is the uncensored director’s cut portion of the DVD. While watching the movie I noticed absolutely nothing new or changed from the theatrical release I saw twice. A friend claimed that a scene or two was a few seconds longer, but I’m still not too convinced. If you expect tons of extra scenes and carnage, look elsewhere, because this is more or less the movie as seen in theaters last year.
CONTENT - 3/5
The movie itself is mediocre at best. As an exercise of technological achievement it’s fantastic; as a modern take on the classic Beowulf tale it’s no better than Beowulf vs. Grendel.
VIDEO - 5/5
Is it as amazing as seeing it in 3D? Nah. Of course not. It’s still the most impressive animated feature I’ve ever seen though, bar none. The CGI is breathtaking, and it’s astounding how far we’ve come since Toy Story. If you haven’t seen it, check Beowulf out to at least see the future of filmmaking and where we’ll be going.
AUDIO - 5/5
The 5.1 sound is breathtaking, even if the voice acting isn’t that great. Beowulf truly is an audio and visceral treat to behold for fans of films or those with a big TV and speakers set up.
EXTRAS - 4/5
The documentary behind the making of Beowulf is great, and the rest is good enough. When you get a documentary good enough to watch even if you didn’t enjoy the movie, that’s when you know you’ve done a good job.
REPLAY - 2.5/5
If you love it, you’ll watch it again, much like I’ve watched 300 several times already. For most people though Beowulf is a once-and-done treat, watched for the advance in movie technology and ignored later for the lack of a good coherent narrative compared to the source material.
OVERALL - 4/5
The movie is lacking, but everything else about the Beowulf DVD more than makes up for it. Awesome video and audio, awesome extras, and spectacular computer animation make an otherwise TV-only movie worth at least a rent. For fans of 300 and other similar movies, this is a must-own.
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One Response so far
March 4th, 2008
2:06 pm
Beowulf’s animation was all around impressive, though the characters’ movement reminded me a lot of Shrek. I appreciate the fact that this movie gives a pseudo-education in ancient literature (never had to read the book as a child)
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