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| Reviewed by: Chris Burton 13 Feb 2008 Beowulf
| |  And now, for the oldest story ever told in the most creepy way possible! ? ! Looking just as he would shortly after their own deaths, the actors' lifeless eyes and blank stares steal the show.
The movie was promoted as a great technological feat, and it is. They used motion capture technology, and transferred the actors performances onto cgi. However, its a bit creepy looking. The visuals of the movie are incredible, though- the film itself rarely matches that wow factor. Except when you get to see Angelina Jolie's megumbos.
Now, it's been awhile since I've read Beowulf (one of the few assignments I actually completed in high school), but this really doesn't follow the story too strictly. Let me rephrase. This is nothing like the original, from what I can recall. It takes us to the Danish kingdom of King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins), where the king and his court have gathered to inaugurate a new mead hall. The old hall was destroyed by the monster Grendel, whose wretched life consists of being the ugliest creature on earth.
Ray Winstone is Beowulf, who comes to the court boasting about himself and his prowess. The King offers his queen Wealthow (Robin Wright Penn) as a prize if Beowulf can slay Grendel. Crispin Glover is Grendel. Really. Then a bunch of other stuff happens. I wasn't really paying attention. I got distracted by a squirrel. ADD.
Anticipation is high. Beowulf has to be one of the best looking high-def discs ever, if not the very best. I mean, the entire movie is digital, for Christ's sake. It is made for this medium. But while it looks absolutely excellent on this disc, its status as reference material is difficult to quantify. The movie is so artificial in its design (intentionally so, of course) that truly breathtaking detail is not going to be evident. The abundance of cgi is mostly soft in its appearance, as cgi always is. Cartoons don't tend to have much detail. But these quibbles are not so important. The question that matters is whether or not this disc preserved the visual integrity of the film while at the same time improving upon it in often subtle but still significant ways. And it definitely did. The colors are beautiful, even though the movie is intentionally drab, and its always overcast. There's quite a bit of "grain" but its computer generated and artificial, and that's kind of odd. But it gives the film an added sense of "realism" or as close as you can get and its visually interesting. Blacks are absolutely astounding in every scene. Compression is not a significant issue either, even though you may be expecting it with such an effects laden film.
Audio, no quips. Unbelievably outstanding. This is one of the most immersive and active mixes I have ever heard. We get Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround, and it rollicks you out of the seat. Dynamic range is perfect. Bass is incredibly strong, sometimes maybe too strong- especially when the armies are advancing. the bombastic music track sounds great, and the dialogue is crisp and clear- even though the Spartans feel it necessary to yell every single line. |
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Copyright (c) 2007 Rock Star Media Works, Inc. All rights reserved.
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