Breathtaking and weird

Rating: 8/10 (28 December 2007)

Two years ago "The Polar Express" was released and it was done entirely in 3-D motion capture. The result was amazing landscapes but the people looked glassy and their eyes were soulless and lifeless. Two years later the same thing has been done for "Beowulf" and this time the result is even better. The landscapes, people, and creatures all look better than real life, but the eyes still look soulless, which is why the motion capture idea will never fully work. You can never animate that look in our eyes, that little twinkle, and since they can't it takes away from the realism. That being said this movie is stunning, amazingly well done, and a man's movie. Sure, girls will like it, if they like seeing a guy battle eight sea monsters, simultaneously flying from monster to monster. So this is defiantly for us geeks. Another sequence features Beowulf battling a dragon for a good seven minutes, and it is one of the best action scenes this year. Geek-out time!
Though there are many battles, some parts in-between do drag, all you can think while the characters chat away is, "How are they going to blow me away in the next scene?" And they always do, "Beowulf" will fry your senses. This is not the "Beowulf" you remember reading though, the only thing that remains the same is Beowulf battling Grendel.
And the character of Grendel is a huge achievement. He is so grotesque and yet at the same time you feel pity for him. Props to the designers for making a creature that beats even Gollum of "Lord of the Rings". Ray Winstone as Beowulf does a great job making a regularly bigger, older guy into a muscular warrior all thanks to CG. And of course there is Angelina Jolie as Grendel's serpent like mother, and that's all I'll say. And when you see it, be sure to see it in 3-D, because unlike other 3-D films released lately where they fry your eyeballs, this one doesn't hurt your eyes. And it is so cool seeing snow and arrows fly in front of your eyes, and buckets and buckets of creature blood that dump all over you.
Battles, monsters, and Angelina Jolie, what more could a guy want?