Good Will Hrunting

The future of cinema was begat some time ago, with the filming and release of Stephen Spielberg's seminal Summer Blockbuster, Jurrasic Park.  Being the first of its kind, with fully realized computer generated effects, the movie was enthralling for the cinema audience and has had lasting effects among the entire industry to this day.  It could be argued that Pixar is the original pioneer, but this application of generated effects interacting with environment and actors was revolutionary.  You could say the film is the precursor to such modern fare as the Star Wars prequels and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Directors have managed to push things even further with the onset of these trilogies by exploring picture quality, generated backgrounds, and have managed to even squeeze pathos from motion capture generated characters.  It's no surprise then, that these movies are becoming more and more popular and now we have a new entry to the field in Beowulf.

This film is not Robert Zemeckis' first foray into the animated field.  The most high profile being "The Polar Express" starring a lithe representation of Tom Hanks as a conductor.  Personally, the onscreen look is a bit too hyper-real for me, but I have to say that what they've accomplished with Beowulf has made me somewhat of a believer. 

Completely computer animated, Beowulf is based on the epic poem, of course, but stars a heavy blend of powerful actors amid a grand guignol of monstrous adventure.  Ray Winestone is the titular hero, dispatched to dispose of Crispin Glover's well-animated and pathetically distraught monster, Grendel.  Seeking revenge, Angelina Jolie plays the character only known as Grendel's Mother.  Anthony Hopkins and Robin Wright-Penn round out the cast in fine fashion as royal stalwarts in the Danish tradition, with John Malkovich and Brendan Gleeson in supporting roles.  Each of these actors relish there lines and deliver them with both gravitas and brio, depending on the role.  Most effective, however, are the horrific action sequences.  The first appearance of Grendel assaults the view in a chokehold of limbs and blood-curdling screams and never releases its grip from then on.  I can only imagine what the experience was like in 3-D, but it must have been incredible seeing as the two-dimensional experience was enthralling.

My biggest complaint has to be the gratuitousness of it all.  From the mead-hall hedonism and overall gore to the enhancement of Ms. Jolie's terrifying seductress, the film oozes testosterone.  It could be a bigger complaint, but coming from an age in which such masculinity was rampant, it's not unfound.  This movie pulses with the beat of a taskmaster's drum from the opening scene to the somewhat blurry closing credits and here I am saying that we have not seen even the cusp of what technology can offer to the cinematic experience. 

Hail Beowulf!

Overall Score: 4 out of 5 stars.