Beowulf

To start off with, the animation style of Beowulf is something I can't get used to. I didn't see Polar Express, but I've read that some viewers had trouble with it because the animation just can't get human eyes right. This problem continues in Beowulf. They can get back hair down to the finest detail, but the eyes in the characters are dead, and it all looks a video game.

That being said, I still had a fairly good time seeing Beowulf. It is adapted from the medieval Old English poem about derring-do in sixth-century Scandinavia. I'm sure it tickles many an English professor, who struggled to get their charges to read this musty old poem, that the film made over twenty-five milion at the box office this weekend. That is certainly a rehabiliation of a work that occasioned this line by Woody Allen in Annie Hall, when Alvy Singer advises Annie, who is looking to take an adult education course, "just don't take anything where they make you read Beowulf."

The film captures the wonders of a fantasy adventure while retaining a literary flavor. King Hrothgar has built a large hall for merrymaking and debauchery. The singing annoys a monstrous creature called Grendel, who arrives and great carnage results (I should think of this the next time a neighbor makes too much noise). Hrothgar calls for a hero to help his people, and Beowulf, a mighty warrior of the Geats, arrives with a group of men. Dispatching the Grendel isn't the least of his worries, though, as there is his mother to deal with.

The original story, which is basically three acts, is adhered to, but the screenplay by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary adds some layers that give the main characters some secrets. I had forgotten much of the original (I read it on a plane to London, of all places) so had to reacquaint myself of the plot summary after seeing the film, and I think the additional motivations work. Basing the film solely on the poem would have resulted in something far more leaden. This additional subtext also allows the voice-actors, particularly Anthony Hopkins as Hrothgar and Ray Winstone as Beowulf, a chance for shading.

It's kind of fun to guess the actors as they appear, as the animation process makes them look just like the actors giving them voice. Hopkins is instantly recognizable, as is John Malkovich as (what else?) an oily aide to the king. Of course, most memorably appearance in this film is Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother, who surfaces out of her watery lair looking just like...Angelina Jolie, but hotter, if that's possible.

The film did lose me in the last third. There's a long battle with an additional foe (no spoilers here) that kind of thumped me over the head with sound and fury. All in all, this film is mostly fun, I just wish I didn't find this animation style so creepy.