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Beowulf

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TheEgoist

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Edit for clarity: I'm talking about this trailer for Beowulf, the Red Band - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=K2s5O-c4U0k

No, it looks like arse. As a friend of mine so eloquently put it: "III AAAHHHMMMM BEEEEOOOOOOOWUUUUUUUUULFFFF" is the most amount of coherence you're likely to get out of this film.

Bearing in mind, we're just judging this off the trailer, but the graphics for one thing are all wrong. In my opinion, one can either do two things with animation:

a) Choose a style and go with it. It doesn't matter if it isn't photogenic, just as long as the style flows from the nature of the film (form follows function, as it were)

:D Make it painstakingly realistic (like, say, Final Fantasy).

Or, one can do a mixture of these. as Pixar do, with individual hairs on creatures perfectly spread along its body. What they've done with this film, is they've gone to the extent of making it look real, but not making it painstakingly so. The result is that, basically, it looks shoddy. They haven't opted for style over glamour, they've just made very ugly and rather flat (i.e. uninspiring; not in the dimensional sense, y'see) animation.

It all looks way too Hollywood too. Beowulf is a wonderful tale, of slow pacing and horror creeping in - it was basically an Early English 'Alien'. The terror isn't in constant terrorising by a monstrous being, as they've done here, or in tons of heroics (and I don't shun constant terrorising or tons of heroics specifically - it's just that it's not the point of this story, and it doesn't make sense done like this); it's about isolation and being worn down to a single point, until one has no choice but to go and face the fight (or just curl up and die).

Beowulf is a slow, round-the-fire story, of a King who conquered a beast, relying on his inner-strength and wit -- all drenched in detail and pacing; it's not the flashy, hop-skipping-jumping story they've turned it into here.

I shall not be wasting my time on this film.

Edited by Tenure
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No, it looks like arse. As a friend of mine so eloquently put it: "III AAAHHHMMMM BEEEEOOOOOOOWUUUUUUUUULFFFF" is the most amount of coherence you're likely to get out of this film.

Sound familiar? "THHHHIIIIISSSS ISSSSSS SPAAAAAAARRRRTAAAAAAAA."

The entire time I was watching that movie I kept waiting for Shrek to come on screen, you just can't take animated movies seriously. If your going to make a thrilling/action packed movie then it should ALWAYS be done in live action, the movie would of gone up a huge step in my book if it was live action but even then it still wouldn't be very good. It was very disappointing.

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Don't diss 300. 300 managed to be exaggerated without being ridiculous (even if it is fun to make jokes after watching it). The fact is, that the story of Beowulf is not meant to be like that, but as always, Hollywood managed to totally miss the point and make it into some big, stupid action film.

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The fact is, that the story of Beowulf is not meant to be like that, but as always, Hollywood managed to totally miss the point and make it into some big, stupid action film.

As good as time as any to acquaint you with D'kian's First Law Of Moviemaking: Nothing is so simple that Hollywood can't screw it up, even beyond all recognition.

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I'm with Tenure on this one. I can't speak as much to the damage done by using animation throughout the film, but as for the story (or, rather, the story as suggested in the preview) it seems a far cry from the original work.

I really can't picture Beowulf doing the whole "I AM BEOWULF!!" thing. I think, were the script true to his character, he would simply dive into the cave or plunge the blade into his opponent or head back for another round at the mead hall. He's a doer, not a sayer. That's the beauty of his heroism--he's confident, even arrogant at times, but it's not flashed about as if he is looking for reassurance. Rather, it's all underlined by the subtle understanding that he can kick ass when he needs to, simple as that.

Also, there is just no way Grendel's mom is meant to be a hottie. She is the most nefarious force Beowulf reckons with, and her appearance should mirror that. She is death, horror, evil personified--things that could never attract or tempt Beowulf. Making her character in the film a sexual one implies a weakness on his part, that he can be seduced by the enemy, that he has not fully integrated the idea that what is anti-life is disgusting and vile.

So, I'm hanging on to my eight bucks.

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It looks pretty amazing.

I saw the movie. The animation technique is remarkable. How soon will it be before we cannot distinguish between real actors and high grade CGI presentations? As to Grendle's mom, what can I say. Lucky, luck Brad Pitt.

A combination live and CGI presentation can also rock. For example -300-.

I have a feeling that purely live (no CGI) action movies will become a thing of the past.

Bob Kolker

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I disagree with Tenure. I haven't read the book, however, so maybe I just don't know better Beowulf. I like the story, it is a story about a hero, and it succeeds in showing that integrity is the source of heroism: hero falls seduced by evil, but finally manages to reclaim his heroic nature.

"Pride is a curse" is a disturbing sign, though, especially after hearing Beowulf saying that "Chirstian god killed heroes".

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This was a terrible movie. I liked the Beowulf story and was highly anticipating this film. Beowulf was a classic hero tale and the oldest Anglo-saxon myth on record, it was probably told the way and the times you were supposed tell tales of heroes.

The movie started out fine, going along this same general theme, with a couple of humorous over the top antics (Beowulf bursting from the eye of a sea serpent and screeming his name, hey, if you just slayed a sea serpent that swalloed you whole, I think just a triumphant cry would be justified) The movie starts to go downhill though, morally speaking.

**spoilers**

1st of all, Grendel was not an evil monster that liked killing people, he was essentially an overgrown idiot who was caused physical pain by the men of the hall singing, so thats why he attacked them. More of that rediculous attitude that people don't do cruel things except when forced to by extenuating circumstances. Just as in the original tale, Beowulf seperates grendel from his arm, Grendel retreats to his mothers lair and dies. She comes in the night and kills the rest of his men, and he sets out to kill her the next day. This is where the story departs from the Beowulf legend. Insteaded of killing Grendels mother, Beowulf is SEDUCED by her, she wants a child to replace Grendel. wtf? In exchange she grants him rule of the kingdom he has helped save from Grendel.

So then the story progresses to evolve through a few decades or so, Beowulf drinks too much, takes a mistress (even though he still loves the queen) and no longer gets to fight in battles.

Later, the story adds the last tale of Beowulf, where he fights a dragon. The dragon though, is Beowulfs son, Beowulf reluctantly goes to fight the dragon, telling his queen EXPLICITLY "Don't think of me as a hero, think of me as a flawed man"

So lets get this straight, he slayed numerous giant murderous beasts, saved hundreds of lives, but because he drank to much and took on a mistress (an arrangement apparently approved of by the queen) he is now so flawed that it eradicates all his great deeds.

This movie took the two tales of Beowulf and connected them by making him a 'flawed' man.

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