The new animated movie BEOWULF is based on the epic 11th century poem of the same name. Like the poem it tells the story of the warrior Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, and his three epic battles against three monsters: the monstrous, murdrous Grendel; Grendel's equally monstrous mother; and, in his old age, a fearsome dragon.
Adapted for the screen by Neil Gaiman (the novelist best known for his Sandman comics for DC) and Roger Avery (whose screen credits also include Rules of Attraction and Pulp Fiction) BEOWULF is directed by Roger Zemeckis, using the same motion-capture technique he first exmployed on The Polar Express.
It's a suprising intelligent reworking of the original Anglo-Saxon poem, and although some liberties have been taken with the story (such as Beowulf becoming Hrothgar's heir and later ruling in his stead rather than returning to his own home) they're done in such a way that they feel neither contrived, nor offensive to anyone who knows the story well. Indeed, the screenplay adds a fatal flaw to Beowulf's character not present in the original epic, from which the third act of the narrative gains both a key plot point and surprising pathos; and transforming it into a true tragedy in the Greek sense of the word.
While there are scenes recalling John Gardner's 1971 novel Grendel (adapted for the screen as an animated feature, Grendel Grendel Grendel, the lugubrious Peter Ustinov voicing the unfortunate monster who narrates both book and the film alike) in which the misshapen monster is cast in an almost sympathetic light; there are scenes countering this which show Grendel as the original poem portrayed him, a "creature of evil: grim and greedy," whose attacks on the folk sleeping in Hereot, the meadhall of King Hrothgar, are savage in the extreme - though not, it must be said, unmotivated. Grendel's mother, conversely, is presented as a much more seductive creature than the skalds of old saw her. Rather than "a monstrous ogress...this water hag, damned thing of the deep", she is a sensual, seductive creature, both voiced by and styled upon Angelina Jolie.
Beowulf is voiced by Ray Winstone, King Hrothgar by Anthony Hopkins, and Hrothgar's beautiful young wife (though tragically for Beowulf, perhaps not beautiful enough) is voiced by Robin Wright Penn.
Save - oddly enough - for Winstone himself, most of these actors are recognisable as themselves, thanks to the motion capture technique used by Zemeckis (which involves filming scenes live and then digitally animating them). While the resulting characters are disconcertingly almost human, but not human enough, they're certainly more convincing than those in The Polar Express, which with their waxy skin and blank eyes looked like aliens pretending to be human, or shop dummies come to life.
The film suffers from a lack of momentum in its middle act, where the story sags a little; and it must be said that some of the dialogue is more than a little silly: as is its classicallyAmerican coyness when it comes to showing nipples on women or genitals on men. The scene where a naked Beowulf is strutting around Hereot, his cock obscured by everything from swords and candles to his best friend's forearm, is the most ludicrous example of this.
Such criticisms aside, I enjoyed Beowulf immensely, certainly more than I expected to; it's immeasurably better than the last animated epic which came along, the dire 300, thanks in part to having characters with more than one dimension who do more than shout 'This is SPARTA!' all the time.
The animation is fluid and detailed, with our point of view moving in ways a real camera never could, ensuring that there are some truly startling and breathtaking scenes on display. Seen in 3D at IMAX, the film becomes quite simply spectacular. Lurid, vivid, gory and dramatic, it also manages to convey mood and dread, atmosphere and emotion in equal measure. The film's spectacular climax, where the aged Beowulf battles a ferocious dragon, is truly one of the most stunning scenes I've seen on screen all year. Grab your popcorn, sit back and prepare to be amazed, because for all its faults, BEOWULF is one hell of a ride.
Not quite four stars, but close.
