[mrstampe]

Many of us remember Beowulf from high school or college English class. As we worked through the difficulties of understanding middle English writing, a fascinating tale emerged -- one unique to all others. I skipped the 1999 Christopher Lambert version, because I didn't think that cast could pull it off, and the reviews seemed to agree. With a great cast of characters and release in a new 3D format, I was excited for this 2007 interpretation.

Story: Beowulf was a eighth-century epic poem that told the tale of a scandanavian mercenary -- whose wages were fame, glory and the thrill of battle -- who responded to calls from the Danes to slay their terrible monster, Grendel. It portrayed virtue, greed, valor, lust, pride, strengths and weaknesses in all characters to varying degrees. Each man's internal struggle with these forces determined his ultimate fate. The 2007 Beowulf holds reasonably true to the spirit of the epic, though in a surrealistic animated format. For wide-spread commercial appeal, the language was modernized, big stars hired, and a huge budget raised for presentation in 35mm, IMAX and in the new RealD 3-D.

Cast: Hrothgar played by Anthony Hopkins was definitely the most magnetic of the characters, as is often the case in any of his films. He steals interest away from Ray Winstone's Beowulf, though still ably done. Angelina Jolie is well cast as Grendel's mother, though she should probably not do accents. While John Malkovich's voice and his animation-recreated appearance are immediately familiar, he plays a transparent character -- not so much JM's fault as the original author's intent to illustrate his character's weaknesses.

RealD 3-D: 3D has come a long way since the last one I saw: Jaws III (1983). The effects are truely worth seeing, regardless of the rest of the movie. Spear points and character really do leap off the screen. I found that I had to unfocus my eyes a bit to take it all in, and a couple of the scenes just made me dizzy (eg. camera pan across the king's crown). Granted, the first few scenes and some scattered throughout seemed like audition pieces for RealD as they were so prolonged (eg. slow camera retreat from Hrothgar's hall, through the trees, to Grendel's lair).


Overall: Beowulf was a relatively true-to-story telling of a classic, likely entertaining even in the 35mm traditional projection format. I saw it in 3D, and for that reason alone, I recommend you see it too. I'm sure IMAX would be stunning as well. Probably not for the younger kids due to nudity and adult themes in some scenes. It was a true stand-out in this season of holiday movies.