There's a sequence near the end of Beowulf, helmed by Future's director Robert Zemeckis, where I felt that same awe-struck sense of 'woah.'
Just like Future had a lasting impact on my 12-year-old cinematic sensibility, so too, will be Beowulf's affect on the young (and young at heart) moviegoers of today, especially the adolescents and gamers of the world.
A lot of adults will have fun at Beowulf, too, because this is a Saturday matinee that has been designed with them in mind. Zemeckis, and screenwriters Neil Gaman and Roger Avary, take the story and its themes seriously. This is not Beowulf for small children (it's a strong PG-13 rating). There's plenty of violence, adult content and an unrelenting pace that never lets up.
Watch the Trailer.
It’s great in 2D, but Beowulf needs to be experienced in IMAX 3D or Digital 3D. This is big, epic, grand scale filmmaking, with visuals and movement and excitement and action that needs to be writ on the largest screens possible.
Audiences will have their favorite characters, but for me, there's no topping Brendan Gleeson as Wiglaf, the honorable second lieutenant to the ultimate warrior that is Beowulf.
Ray Winstone embodies the macho sturm und drang of the title hero, and Angelina Jolie is the sexiest digital monster you'll ever see. Anthony Hopkins has fun as pudgy old King Hrothgar, and Robin Wright Penn does her admirable best as a queen who endures the fallacies of two kings.
The animation, especially for Penn, is a bit soft in that "reminds me of a video game" sort of way. And of course, the movie has its moments of silliness and hokey dialogue. But the scale of the visuals here, and especially the use of 3D, is unlike anything yet seen in movies.
If you've been looking for a combination of 300-styled action with Raiders of the Lost Ark thrills, Excalibur heroes and Lord of the Rings lineage…then this is your ticket.
