I AM BEOWULF!

[number8]

Posted my review.

Consensus to those seeing it: who plans to see it on 3D, who plans on IMAX 3D, and who plans on regular 2D?

EDIT: Link (http://www.justpressplay.net/movies/beowulf/review/).

[Raiders]

This is the new "This is Sparta!," isn't it?

I'll be seeing this in 2D, I believe.

[Rowland]

My theater is showing it in all three versions. Should I go to the IMAX one? Given that the 3D effects are what's big about this, I see no reason in bothering with 2D.

[number8]

Should I go to the IMAX one?

Uh, duh.


Given that the 3D effects are what's big about this

Or so it seems...

[Ezee E]

Digital 3D. IMAX 3D is too far and I'm not too pumped for it. I'm curious though.

[Barty]

I will be seeing it in IMAX 3D. Thankfully I start at a new theatre on Friday, a megaplex with an IMAX, so I have a new perk to the job. :pritch:

[megladon8]

Wow, you gave it a 9? Really?

The same score as No Country For Old Men?

Have you always been in the "this is going to be awesome" camp, or were you skeptical going in?

And the pervert in me wants to know if Angelina is always covered in gold paint, or if she's ever really nekkid? :P

[Ezee E]

I will be seeing it in IMAX 3D. Thankfully I start at a new theatre on Friday, a megaplex with an IMAX, so I have a new perk to the job. :pritch:
Promotion? Congrats.

And Meg. It's PG-13. I'm pretty sure she stays in the gold paint.

[Raiders]

And Meg. It's PG-13. I'm pretty sure she stays in the gold paint.

Plus it's not like she has spent the rest of her career hiding her body. Though she wasn't animated in those. Sorry, Wats.

[megladon8]

Promotion? Congrats.

And Meg. It's PG-13. I'm pretty sure she stays in the gold paint.


What happened to all this "R-rated" and "this movie is so controversial it's going to get an NC-17 rating" crap?

Now I know that's absolutely nothing in it that will make me want to see it.

[MadMan]

If I see this in theaters I'll have to resist the urge to yell "I AM BEOWULF!" in the theater. It looks crazy and a lot like 300 so I'd probably enjoy the hell out of it.

[Sycophant]

You've sold me, 8. I'm seeing this ASAP. I'll be doing 3-D if possibly, but may end up seeing it 2-D, if that's what's available nearby.

[number8]

I just saw a TV spot that is downright embarrassing. It took a dozen quotes from Peter Travers alone, and at one point the narrator guy actually had to say "Peter Travers of Rolling Stone says put on your 3D glasses and ride baby ride!" Ew.

[Morris Schæffer]

I'm trying to go 3D on this one which would be a first. Part of me wants to catch a glimpse of what Avatar is going to be like.

[Raiders]

I'm trying to go 3D on this one which would be a first. Part of me wants to catch a glimpse of what Avatar is going to be like.

Isn't that a completely different technology? Similar results maybe, but I thought Cameron's film would be the first of its kind.

[Ivan Drago]

I'm seeing it in digital 3D on Saturday. Can't fucking wait.

[[ETM]]

Part of me wants to catch a glimpse of what Avatar is going to be like.

God, I hope Cameron does a better job than that.

[Morris Schæffer]

Isn't that a completely different technology? Similar results maybe, but I thought Cameron's film would be the first of its kind.

You could be right which is why I used the word "glimpse." Surely they aren't completely dissimilar even if I still have no friggin' clue what to expect of Avatar.

[Henry Gale]

Surely they aren't completely dissimilar even if I still have no friggin' clue what to expect of Avatar.

I would just expect the kind of thing we've seen with The Polar Express, Monster House and this, except maybe a bit more fluid and realistic. And if it's miles better than any of that, then I think we'll all be pretty happy.

I can't wait to go see Beowulf in Digital 3D tomorrow in one of the nearer theatres to me. Usually I have to trek out great lengths to see stuff like The Polar Express, Superman Returns and Order Of The Phoenix in IMAX just for the 3D.

[megladon8]

I still wanna know what happened to all this NC-17 stuff.

Did they chop it to hell and make it PG-13 to sell more tickets?

[Kurosawa Fan]

I still wanna know what happened to all this NC-17 stuff.

It was probably all B.S. started by the studio to generate interest in the film during post-production. I never heard anything about it being NC-17 except for on this site.

[Ezee E]

Yeah. I need to find out the difference beween Avatar and this.

[megladon8]

I thought Avatar's big innovation was that it was somehow going to be 3-D without needing the glasses?

[Henry Gale]

I thought Avatar's big innovation was that it was somehow going to be 3-D without needing the glasses?

Woah, Cameron's going to give the audience acid?!

[number8]

I still wanna know what happened to all this NC-17 stuff.

Did they chop it to hell and make it PG-13 to sell more tickets?

It was all online speculation because of how gory and sexual the movie is, which still ended up in the film. The film had Grendel ripping dudes in half so you can see his entrails, Beowulf ripping a monster in the stomach and letting all the innards spill out, Angelina Jolie golden cameltoe, and an uncomfortably extended shot of Grendel chewing some dude's head. All this would have led to a definite R or a possible NC-17 had they been live action. Apparently the MPAA is not as strict to cartoons.

[Biff Justice]

I just saw a TV spot that is downright embarrassing. It took a dozen quotes from Peter Travers alone, and at one point the narrator guy actually had to say "Peter Travers of Rolling Stone says put on your 3D glasses and ride baby ride!" Ew.

I think I saw this same spot and it almost scared me off from seeing the film after being quite excited about it at first. Glad to see your review, 8, I now have most of my entrhusiasm back.

[Sxottlan]

I'll see this tomorrow, but for all the advertising about the 3-D, I don't think any theatres in my town have the ability to show it that way.

Not that I really mind. 3-D still strikes me as pretty gimmicky anyway.

I'm generally looking forward to it, but would have still preferred it to be live action.

[Ezee E]

I'll see this tomorrow, but for all the advertising about the 3-D, I don't think any theatres in my town have the ability to show it that way.

Not that I really mind. 3-D still strikes me as pretty gimmicky anyway.

I'm generally looking forward to it, but would have still preferred it to be live action.
Yeah, I was originally pumped thinking it was live-action.

[Watashi]

Has anyone read Ebert's "review" for this film? It's one of the most non-sensical things he's ever written. He had to be on something. It's barely a paragraph long.

Here (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/REVIEWS/71115004/-1/REVIEWS01)

[Mysterious Dude]

Has anyone read Ebert's "review" for this film? It's one of the most non-sensical things he's ever written. He had to be on something. It's barely a paragraph long.

Here (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/REVIEWS/71115004/-1/REVIEWS01)

His actual review is quite a bit longer.

link (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/REVIEWS/71115001)

[Ivan Drago]

I did really like this movie - the visuals and action sequences were phenomenal - but the filmmakers made a severe change to the story that threw me off-guard. What happened was in the story, Beowulf battles Grendel's mother in combat and does defeat her, but in the movie he gives in to Grendel's mother's temptations and has a demon/dragon son with her. But it was a good change, as it added another conflict to the third act of the story.

[Henry Gale]

I really liked it. I saw it in the Real D digital projection which honestly, I wasn't really amazed by in terms of the projection itself as you could see almost every pixel at times (at least from the third row where we were sitting). When things jumped out like coins or blood, it made the effects look kind of cheap and digitally magnified. But some of the detail and fluidity of scenes where the shots were far more still was when it was actually quite impressive, especially with things like the way water moved or the gold liquid fell down Digi-Jolie's nude body.

Anyway, the movie itself. Most of what I thought has already been said elsewhere but it really is a great, entertaining and thrilling animated action picture with great performances and characters. Sure the characters still don't look quite real, but as someone who didn't really mind (but noticed) the eyes everyone still seems so hung up on in The Polar Express, I found myself more distracted by other things like all the characters' lips all looking like elastic bands entirely symmetrical in their movements and how the female characters looked really shiny and always seeming to be in a much brighter scene than everyone else. Oh and the horses...

The story, its structure and how Gaiman and Avary actually go about writing the details of it is actually pretty genius. When they do the big jump in time, everything you need to know about what Winstone's Beowulf has gone through in that time is made heartbreakingly clear in his confrontation with that soldier. That scene sort of made the movie for me, because it actually managed to convey something unexpected from me in a big way: emotion.

I definately want to see it again sometime before it leaves theatres, maybe even in IMAX 3D which I found to be mindblowingly good with the last Zemeckis film.

[Sycophant]

I liked it. Some of the action setpieces were fantastic. Overall, the production design was just fantastic, with Grendel standing out as a marvelously conceived creature. I liked the way the film aged, taking us with Beowulf from brash youth to somber, lost old age, with its shifting values.

What was up, by the way, with not aging Robin Wright Penn at all? She looked like she just dyed her hair a stylish silver color. In other words, still totally hot.

[dreamdead]

Currently scheduled to see this with the missus next Tuesday in 3D, with alcohol to help the amusement. I'm pleased to see that the enjoyment level seems to be pretty good on the boards so far...

[KK2.0]

good, it's being more well received than i'd thought it would be.

can't wait to watch it in 3D

[lovejuice]

damn, i'm getting more and more wanting to see this. i probably won't watch it in 3D though since all my friends seem to have some antipathy toward the technology.

[Watashi]

damn, i'm getting more and more wanting to see this. i probably won't watch it in 3D though since all my friends seem to have some antipathy toward the technology.
I can't imagine NOT seeing it in 3D. It adds a whole layer of depth to the movie. Not to mention the Coraline trailer beforehand.

Surprised few people on this board saw the film.

[Sycophant]

I do wish there was slightly less 3-D exhibition. There's one thing where a guy is holding a sword in a way that looks awfully contrived and poorly framed, though it does totally come out at you.

I'd actually be interested in seeing it 2-D. (I did not see IMAX 3-D, by the way.)

[KK2.0]

Surprised few people on this board saw the film.


I guess it opens in my country only in december...

[Mysterious Dude]

I can't imagine NOT seeing it in 3D. It adds a whole layer of depth to the movie.Could you expound on this? What kind of "depth" does it have in 3D that it doesn't have in 2D? Or are you just talking about the illusion of depth inherent to a 3D movie?

[Henry Gale]

Wow...


3-D Makes Big Comeback

The majority of moviegoers who saw Beowulf over the weekend sought out 3-D theaters to see it in, Paramount indicated Sunday. Although the film played in just 740 theaters equipped with digital 3-D projectors, the film earned twice as much in those theaters than in all the rest combined. In all, the film grossed $28.1 million -- a figure that came in at the low end of analysts' expectations. Nevertheless, Paramount marketing and distribution chief Rob Moore told today's (Monday) Los Angeles Times: "This will do great work in terms of convincing exhibitors that they should be investing in 3-D technology."

[Watashi]

Or are you just talking about the illusion of depth inherent to a 3D movie?

This. It brings out the detail regular 2D can not. It has no impact on the story or characters.

[MadMan]

His actual review is quite a bit longer.

link (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/REVIEWS/71115001)That review rocks. Seriously. The opening paragraph is hilarious.

[Barty]

Wow...

IMAX dominates. The theatre where I work at was the 5th busiest theatre in North America this weekend thanks to it.

[lovejuice]

this movie kicks all kinda ass, but to be honest, i'm not too impressed with the 3D. perhaps more thought later.

[Sycophant]

this movie kicks all kinda ass, but to be honest, i'm not too impressed with the 3D. perhaps more thought later.
I didn't see the IMAX 3-D, so I don't know how much of a step down the Real-D experience is, but honestly, I can take or leave 3-D. The only moments where I really remember the 3-D aspect of the film were the cringe-inducing "COMIN' ATCHA!" moments.

[number8]

Great 3-D is when you don't notice it, no? I thought the 3-D was great because it enhanced the depth of the film without being overbearing. There were only one or two things poppin' out moments. The rest were used very effectively, like the sensual scene with Jolie.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Well, I guess I'm the first to say that this film sucked. I should have trusted my instincts, but I got caught up in the 3-D theater experience.

This type of animation is awful, and unless it makes incredible improvements, I'm not excited for the "future of animation". Grendel looked pretty good, as did the dragon, but there wasn't anything about any human character that impressed me. Their eyes lack emotion, their expressions don't match their state of mind most of the time if there's any expression at all, their movements seem arthritic, etc.

I wasn't very impressed by the action sequences until the final one with the dragon, but by then the stodgy storytelling had all but lost me. The dialogue was just plain bad, the voice acting inconsistent, and it was definitely a Robert Zemeckis film. It never felt bold or imaginative, it just felt safe and boring throughout. And don't get me started on that second fight with Grendel, with Meh-owulf jumping around naked while Zemeckis finds new objects to cover his "bits and pieces". Great decision making there Rob. That didn't make a mockery of what could have been an exciting sequence.

This movie sucked.

[Watashi]

And don't get me started on that second fight with Grendel, with Meh-owulf jumping around naked while Zemeckis finds new objects to cover his "bits and pieces". Great decision making there Rob. That didn't make a mockery of what could have been an exciting sequence.

This movie sucked.

Um, that fight was hilarious and was well-intended mockery. If you thought Zemeckis was trying to frame that fight seriously, then you misunderstood it. I'm slowly beginning to agree with Ebert's review that Beowulf is a satire on epic fantasy films. Gaiman's traditional humor is found all over the film.

Oh, and the animation is stunning. It isn't creepy or anything. I fully support the use of this technology in future films.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Um, that fight was hilarious and was well-intended mockery. If you thought Zemeckis was trying to frame that fight seriously, then you misunderstood it. I'm slowly beginning to agree with Ebert's review that Beowulf is a satire on epic fantasy films. Gaiman's traditional humor is found all over the film.

Oh, and the animation is stunning. It isn't creepy or anything. I fully support the use of this technology in future films.


Okay, then it wasn't funny. At all. It's a tired joke that's worthy of eye-rolls. Seriously, they did the same stuff in Austin Powers. Either way, it was bad.

[Ezee E]

Okay, then it wasn't funny. At all. It's a tired joke that's worthy of eye-rolls. Seriously, they did the same stuff in Austin Powers. Either way, it was bad.
Hmm... I'm torn on this one. The 3D experience definitely made it worthy of seeing, and once I started getting into it, the 3D enhancement brought a new look to movies that makes me excited for the future of it. After all, HDTV can't be that right? At least not yet.

And majority of the movie was exciting, but I don't get where the movie is intentionally a satire. It seems to get that way by accident, especially in its "Austin Powers" scene which would've been great had it not been for the disguising of it all. The rest of the action scenes were fun to watch, and I really liked everything in the cave and with the dragon.

I think I like it more then I dislike it, but it certainly has some flaws, but there aren't many movies like it.

Hmm... I'll have to read this entire thread now.

[number8]

I liked the script most of all.

[lovejuice]

I liked the script most of all.

i agree with your review, especially that the movie is an anti-epic. another interesting point is how Zemeckis, Gaiman, and co. introduce the concept of lust as a sin into their mythology -- something that is very im-mythological.

[Ezee E]

i agree with your review, especially that the movie is an anti-epic. another interesting point is how Zemeckis, Gaiman, and co. introduce the concept of lust as a sin into their mythology -- something that is very im-mythological.
Is it? I mean, in The Odyssey you have the main character that ties himself to a boat so that he doesn't succumb to the seducing voices of nymphs on an island.

[Ezee E]

Q: To me, "Beowulf" was one of the most thrilling movies ever. I can't believe you thought people should have been laughing at it.
Ronnie Barzell, Los Angeles

A. Not at it, with it. You can laugh and still be thrilled (see "Raiders of the Lost Ark"). I thought it was a send-up of itself, and asked Roger Avary, the co-writer (who also co-wrote "Pulp Fiction") if he had "a glint in his eye" as he was working on it. He responds: "A glint for sure. I still can't believe we got away with it. I feel like I just pulled off a crazy stunt." After I congratulated him on the film's opening-week grosses: "Now I can unleash more weirdness onto the masses. My fiendish plan is nearly complete! All the pieces are in place ..."

There you go.

[lovejuice]

Is it? I mean, in The Odyssey you have the main character that ties himself to a boat so that he doesn't succumb to the seducing voices of nymphs on an island.

i am sure if i do read the odyssey i can argue around with that. but for example, how's about zeus' licentiousness? or the whole civilization springing from gilgamesh's sperm or something. i think, Beowulf's message, if-you-fuck-around-you-have-to-pay-the-price, is very refreshing in this mythological framework.

[bac0n]

I caught this in the theatres yesterday, and loved the hell out of it. Pretty braindead fun and, yes, the character models were well within the uncanny valley, but dammmit, I wasn't looking for anything other than some braindead fantasy fun ala Clash of the Titans, and I wasn't disapointed.

I think I enjoyed the big 3-D pans such as the big backwards one towards the beginning, and a few of the dragon POV ones later on in the film the best. Oh yeah, and Jolie's scene just about popped my eyes out of my head. Yowza.

[Grouchy]

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/HawleyGriffin/beowulf_3.jpg?t=1196061588

Beowulf
Robert Zemeckis, 2007

The Beowulf was one of the most entertaining forced reads I had during highschool. It's the only entire surviving literary work from the Middle Ages, and it's a piece of literature oddity that has managed to survive the pass of time. It's as entertaining a piece of epic to read as the undoubtedly better-written Odyssey and Lord of the Rings sagas. It's a very simple and very moving read. Beowulf is a hero who comes to kill the monster, Grendel, then finds that Grendel's mother is alive and revenge-willing, kills her, and becomes a king as a result of his hero battles. 50 years later, he battles a dragon and dies, very much injured. The End.

A film adaptation of Beowulf is therefore a very simple affair. There are three big fights, and a great deal of testosterone-fueled dialogue along the way. There's a 90's Christopher Lambert film which, if it had better production values and an action director, would be a classic epic film. This new film adaptation, which has been stuck in development hell for 20 years and has only recently come to the attention of millionaire hack director Robert Zemeckis, takes the bone structure of the poem and works it into a contemporary and pop-culture savvy epic movie. I think the main forces we have to thank for it are scriptwirters Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary.

Gaiman is a classic folklore nerd, but what he has done with this story is to present us with the anti-epic, and turn Beowulf into a doubtful hero, one that thinks of himself as a monster because he has fallen into temptation and the desire for fame and glory. Beowulf is a technology-based movie. And what technology is it. It allows us to enjoy the impossibility and woeful imagination of an animated movie while actually savoring the performances of recognizable and good actors, through the simple method of rotoscoping. Yet, even discarding the awesome experience of seeing it on a bigger-than-life IMAX screen with 3D glasses on, the reason why it works so well is its script, which both embraces the barbarian satisfaction of reading the gore-heavy Old English poem and presents us with a believable, XX-century dramatic conflict.

I dunno what else to say. Zemeckis isn't a particularly good director, but he had a nice smell instinct when he assembled the cast for this movie and decided to go for this animation technique. The actors sell you the feelings, while the animation provides the eye-candy. I've seen Dial M for Murder and House of Wax on home DVD, no-3D systems, and pondered the possibilities of a 3D viewing in a theoretical way. To actually experience the feeling on a theater is a different groove. And I can safely say that Bewoulf takes every advantage modern technology provides it with. There are deeper, more complex movies out there, but in a year where entertainment ass-kicking blockbusters are either too pretentious (Spiderman 3) or too lackluster (Transformers), this is a genuinely balls-to-the-wall movie that doesn't disappoint. It deviates from its source in intelligent ways which do not offend and provide you with actual thought-food. Hugely recommended.

[Boner M]

I'd just like to say that the misbegotten term 'meh-owulf' has been on my mind all day, in a mantric loop doomed to play forever.

meh-owulf meh-owulf meh-owulf meh-owulf meh-owulf meh-owulf meh-owulf meh-owulf

It's getting to the point that I'm making out 'Wolf Mayo' more than anything. That sounds gross.

[Morris Schæffer]

About what I expected with regards to the actual film. Some elements feel too randomized such as the dragon. Perhaps not out of nowhere since I understand the dragon to be the offspring of Beowulf and Grendel's mother, but even in the fantasy genre, that is a hard sell. As such, it felt more like an excuse to inject some much needed action and life into the film. The obligatory dragon in other words since it seems that every fantasy flick requires one. The resulting action scene still felt considerably exciting, but there's none of the wonderful build-up and genuine awe one might have seen and felt in the Lord of the rings when our heroes confront the Balrog.

The 3D aspect has somewhat blown me the heck away however. This was my first 3D experience and several moments I found breathtaking. Never expected it to be this persuasive, this immersive.

[Watashi]

MZS finally posted his review here (http://mattzollerseitz.blogspot.com/2007/11/camera-takes-over-beowulf.html).

Like all his reviews, it's long, thought out, and very well-written.

[KK2.0]

I'm catching up with the films i've lost last year and finally caught a 3D screening of Beowulf, but what surprised me the most was the fact that story and characters engaged me as much as the visual trickery in display.

The gore and sexual innuendos were laughable but i must give kudos for Zemeckis for actually having the balls to try them, hope the sucess of this movie liberates more filmmakers to risk more adult animation. I'm still dreaming with the day non-asian animation of this kind truly becomes mainstream.

[number8]

You know I was just re-reading Sandman yesterday (the Seasons of Mist book) and a lot of Thor's sexual innuendo reminds me of this film. Gaiman's really good at writing in olden speeches.

"...So I said to her, 'I am Thor!' And she said, 'You're Thor? I'm tho thor I can barely thith!'"

:lol:

[Dead & Messed Up]

Just watched this, and I mostly enjoyed it. The humor goes a long way towards excusing the somewhat indulgent camerawork. Had I watched this in 3D on Imax, I'm sure it would've affected my reaction to the film.

Regardless, I thought the writers found a nice way to twist the legend back on itself, and, although some of the ribaldry was pretty blunt and silly, there were also some unexpected grace notes. The final moments of the picture were surprisingly restrained and thoughtful.

[Dukefrukem]

I tried to find your review 8 but I can't for the life of me figure out why you rated this so high.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I tried to find your review 8 but I can't for the life of me figure out why you rated this so high.

Because it's a clever, entertaining movie-film.

[Dukefrukem]

Entertaining is debatable. What's so clever about it?

Sometimes it feels like I'm watching one big God of War cut-scene.

[Mysterious Dude]

I forgot this movie existed.

[number8]

http://www.justpressplay.net/reviews/564-beowulf.html

Oof at that last line, but what the hell, I stand by it.

[Dukefrukem]

http://www.justpressplay.net/reviews/564-beowulf.html

Oof at that last line, but what the hell, I stand by it.

:lol: nice.