Beowulf

"Sins of the fathers!" To start with, here’s my main objection: although performance capture animation has advanced a step or two since Polar Express, but it still suffers from Madame Tussaud’s waxwork syndrome. And some movements are a bit weird, to say the least. Mainly, I am trying hard to forget the horses. Right, and now for the “rest". The environment, the free floating camera, action scenes, Silvestri’s soundtrack, the voice performances and the excellent adaptation of this saga in verse into a classic-looking heroic drama that respects the spirit of this ancient saga. A movie that could have been outstanding, but the sterility of the characters doesn’t allow you to tune into the huge wave of strong emotions that can be found here. This applies partially to the part with Grendel, not to the outstanding royal part. That works as it should in all aspects and as a whole. Zemickis would doubtless have done better to make this as a classic epic. On the other hand, that would have meant no technical challenge, no leap forward for filmmaking, so it would have been rather pointless. And still Beowulf left a strong impression on me that will take a long time to fade. I don’t deny that the Imax version is responsible. At least we have a solid picture for adults that makes full use of the possibilities offered by 3D. And to make things better, it isn’t dubbed into Czech and so for the first time ever, the volume at Prague’s Imax wasn’t turned right down, so the clash with the dragon at the end was really spectacular. The sound pushes you back into your seat and the “such and such" flying at you has you flinching involuntarily. Beowulf could and, essentially, should be better. It is too significant a work for it to be just a mediocre movie. In this respect, it might have been better to make a more toned-down adaptation, a demythicized Beowulf & Grendel. But the subject material is so powerful that it has something to offer even in the places that it lacks energy. But you have to be ready to forgive the filmmakers a lot. An average movie that is perfect as a demo of the technical capabilities of Imax, and of cinema entertainment of the future in general. (29.11.2007)

Beowulf is visually stunning in all respects, with great music by Alan Silvestri, whether spectacular or dark, in Angelina Jolie’s cave. Also, the atmosphere of the film is so thick that it could be cut with a knife and the violence, sex and the overall maturity of the film are major pluses. These aspects make Beowulf an original and much livelier animated movie than the childish Polar Express. But there is one big but... these digital pictures just don’t have heart, no matter how hard they try. And at the moments when there is no Anthony Hopkins, Angelina or some monster, there’s nothing to watch. If Robert Zemeckis mastered the heart of digital animation, he might make better movies than Pixar. But he still has a lot to learn. (07.01.2008)

Just like the hero Beowulf, despite his bravery, is ultimately a toy in the hands of unpredictable fate, the transfer of his story to the big screen is a toy for Zemeckis and his team. A toy that is enticing for the audience and almost irresistible for some. However, it is unattainable for most of them. The creators played with it for so long that it became usable only for their own enjoyment. The race in the sea, the battle with the dragon, or the camera flyover from the king's hall to Grendel are scenes that will stay in my mind for months, but the story itself was shamefully lost among them. After all, Beowulf is an ancient legend that has inspired many famous works of fantasy. So why does it rely almost exclusively on pathetic speeches or vulgar (meaning crudely rough for the time) outbursts in the first half? I don't know if I would want to see a determined warrior in a live-action version, as such blunders would be even more pronounced. Additionally, despite the animation "filter," the actors are truly excellent, Winstone has charisma to spare, and even Alison Lohman, despite having limited screen time, can brighten up the fading ending with her traditional gentle beauty. But I still trust Zemeckis. I just can't shake off the fear that he won't ultimately deliver that perfectly combined story with revolutionary animation. (21.12.2007)

Sure, if Zemeckis had conceived of it as a feature film, he would have saved himself a lot of work and money, but he chose a more thorny path because he has always been Mr. Playful and I admire people like him. So I won't bemoan the fact that the young queen of Wealhthéow looks very stupid with her deadpan expression (to the point of being an eyesore), that the movements of the galloping horses lack their natural grace, and that the representation of emotions in the human face through pixels leaves a lot to be desired. After all, this is an animated film, why analyse every twitch of a facial muscle? Besides, Beowulf is mainly adorned with other things: a story that draws you in and doesn't let go, a compelling mythology, lots of blood, as well as heroic, even poetic music, when Wealthéow plays his lute. And what’s more important, the cluster of pixels managed to evoke the atmosphere of the cold Nordic lands, no matter what anyone says. Once upon a time, years ago, I admired the amazing animated intro and the cut scenes on the legendary game “Diablo 2”, which the guys from Blizzard have always mastered perfectly, and dreamed how interesting and daring it would be to make a whole movie in this spirit. Zemeckis came out with something like that and he made me happy. (20.04.2008)

The action sections are reminiscent of a slightly above-average computer game intro (although even here the creators could learn a lot, for example from the intro of The Witcher), the characters are inhumanely bulbous, the horses roll like fates, and the moments when emotions are supposed to radiate from the animation completely miss the mark. Which is actually a shame, because otherwise Beowulf is quite a nice and surprisingly not entirely clichéd heroic epic – if it is judged by the standards of Hollywood. It has decent music and a good atmosphere in places, but the animation absolutely fails with regard to reviving the world "offscreen". Beowulf is a horribly narrow film that lives only in a small section of the camera; otherwise, it resembles an indifferent thing that fatally lacks persuasiveness. (10.06.2009)