Beowulf barks and sometimes bites beautifully

Rating: 7/10 (16 November 2007)

I went to Beowulf because of the animation and Anthony Hopkins. Here's what I got: A beautiful piece of art spiced with the voice of one of the best performers in movie history.
The story is a wonderful piece of lore. Too bad that masterpiece has to compete with another masterpiece, which is the CGI. So you have the classic story working against visual splendor. What a weird thing to happen. It was not bad, I gave it a 7, it was just almost irritating. I was dodging things thrown at my face and blood dripping into my eye. I lived to tell about it though, thank God.
Here's the problem with the CGI. The faces often didn't stay the same. It wasn't a matter of facial expression, they just changed so it looked like more than one person had his/her own impression how the face should appear. It wasn't a major problem, it was just noticeable. BUT, one big problem with the CGI is they still cannot make a beautiful woman look like a beautiful woman. Sure they have no problem getting Hopkins' aging wrinkled skin right but they still make young women look like plastic Barbie dolls. Yes it sounds picky and probably petty but it is a fact. They will get it right one day I am sure.
As far as they have come with CGI, this movie deserves credit for its historic achievement. I applaud everyone for a job well done. But I want to say, they just need to learn to stop trying to overwhelming the viewer with art so other aspects are not drowned out.
See it for the CGI and you will not be disappointed.