Film Review - Beowulf (in IMAX 3D)

Rating: 8/10 (30 November 2007)

About two minutes into Robert Zemeckis' sumptuous Beowulf, you'll breathe a sigh of relief; for the most part, the 'hollow-zombie-evil-eyes' syndrome which plagued Zemeckis' previous motion-capture outing, The Polar Express, has been enormously improved upon. Granted, the technology still remains unable to fully replicate the spark and nuance of actual human performance, but early in the piece, it becomes very clear that Zemeckis and co. have come damned close.
A modern re-jigging of the Old English epic, Beowulf sees its titular hero arrive at the hall of the aging King Hrothgar to slay the demon who's befouled his once-great kingdom and torn half of its inhabitants limb from bloody limb. Voiced with gruff swagger by a stalwart Ray Winstone, this Beowulf is a boastful champion, a man almost as great as the stories he tells of himself, but by golly, does he know it. This pride proves Beowulf's curse, and his lesson in humility and, in turn, true greatness, could scarce come harder learned.
An excellent supporting cast all rise to the occasion here, with Anthony Hopkins as the ill-fated Hrothgar and an ethereal Angelina Jolie as the demon's succubus honeytrap mother fleshing out the tragedy and elevating this to the level of genuine (albeit heightened) drama. As written by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary, Beowulf is an exhilarating spin on the classic hero's journey that sees richly realised characters brought to vivid, mesmerising life by Zemeckis' eye for scope and detail and the incredible technology at his disposal.
In fact, the only real complaint is that the film could have benefited from a few extra minutes to further cultivate plot and character and really push this into the realms of greatness for which its flawed hero so desperately grasps. Despite a solid effort in ensuring characters are given time to come into their own, the plot seems to move at whipcrack pace, and, at its completion, does leave the impression of being comprised almost entirely of action. That's not to say the film is left in want of character complexity, however, but more that the sheer spectacle of it all can tend to overwhelm its various more subtle aspects.
As for the technology, in IMAX 3D, Beowulf becomes a wholly immersive experience. The film's visual extravagance is serviced magnificently by the format; the major set-pieces bookending the film are nothing short of spectacular when witnessed like this. The 3D is rich and crisp and wholly convincing, providing, quite literally, an entirely new dimension to the action. If you plan on seeing the film at all, plan on seeing it like this.
Teeming with bawdy humour, surprisingly graphic violence and finely-honed visual inventiveness, Beowulf is not only Zemeckis' best film for some time, but also rates as one of the year's most fabulously exciting exercises in bang. If you like your action literate, with brains as well as boom, don't make the mistake of overlooking Beowulf.