Astounding. I can’t get over how amazing it was. I’m stunned, just stunned.
What am I talking about? No, it is not some new experiment I’ve done in my lair downstairs to somehow test out whether there are extra dimensions. It is something else. Something that manages to switch on and exploit an extra dimension with such daring and abandon that one sees things much closer to the way Nature intended. The results are rather spectacular!
Ok, I’m talking about the 3D version of the new Robert Zemeckis film, “Beowulf”, a film realization of the well-known epic poem. I went just to see what the visuals were like (and actually expected a bit of a mess for the telling of the tale itself), and the visuals were stunning – beyond stunning (my enthusiasm might be in part due to seeing it in the excellent Arclight Hollywood) – but the rest of the film-making was pleasantly well above expectations. I think that they did a good job of bringing it to film, with the motion capture overlaid on animation making it have both a reality and a mythological feel at the same time. Purists about the story will be bohered a bit by the adaptation and heavy rewriting, but taken as a stand-alone piece of work, it is very good indeed. Visually, this film has to be some sort of new landmark, following hot on the heels of the marvellous work done earlier this year for “300”, the striking bringing to life of the Frank Miller graphic novel. I can’t get over how well they used the extra dimension – and it really is there. I was not convinced the 3D-ness would be so impressive, but you end up being truly inside the scenes, almost a participant instead of just distant observer. If it were not for 300, I’d say that this will take all the technical awards for visual work in the coming months… now I’ll just say that it will probably take most of them.
I don’t care if this seems like a commercial for the movie or not. It’s just so notable as a visual treat that I thought I’d insist that you find the 3D version in a cinema near you and go and see it. Local folks: – Go to the Arclight. Just go.
-cvj
I have yet to see this film, but my sister-in-law has and her verdict was that it was Conan the Barbarian meets Barbie Fairytopia!
Woah. This is amazing! I am so glad I saw it – I was not *that* excited, despite your post, because I had just seen “The Polar Express” by the same team, which is awful. But…. this turned out to be a good thing in a way, because it highlighted how extraordinarily far the technology has come in a short time. Plus (and not least) I found the story riveting (OK it slipped slightly at the end) and the 3d effects really really cool.
Yes, because of what you wrote here, I made sure that I saw the 3D version. That was cool.
Hi Amara,
Been a while since I’ve heard from you. Sorry to hear about the terrible difficulties with the move. I hope they all get resolved soon.
So did you see the movie in 3D? That’s what really blew me away. I’m not sure it would have been close to as impressive without that. The extraordinary 3D-ness matched the melodramatic nature of the script rather well. It might seem a bit comical without it…. but I could be wrong.
Best,
-cvj
Hey Clifford… I saw this movie last night San Antonio, Texas, in a large cinema complex called Regal Cinemas, which was across the street from the hotel I was staying in. I decided the movie was one of my rewards for experiencing the major thefts and ongoing problem-solving which have characterized my international-move-from-hell. Or maybe I should call it Murphys-law-run-amok. Even though I arrived in Boulder 10 days ago, I know Denver Airport more than I know Boulder, but I’m back in Boulder now and can finally learn about my new environment. I’m in one piece and have my health, and at the end, that is what I have to be most thankful for and wanted to celebrate. I thought this movie was outstanding, in the mythical, large-scale sense, in addition to the technical feats. I recommend it highly.
300 – nice CGI, shame about the rest. I must get to see Beowulf; my old Dad did his thesis on Layamon’s Brut, and was always putting forth with Grendel and the rest when I was a child. No mention of Mrs Pitt, though, as I recall. And old Seamus Heaney can’t be that wrong.
Beowulf? It is a remake of “the 13th warrior”, isn’t it?
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