Beowulf: A Review

I’m just not sure if English teachers are excited or exasperated these days. In the course of seven months, we have seen two works of classic literature brought to life for the Internet generation. They are certainly borrowing from the same page. Like 300, Beowulf opts to interpret (or reinterpret?) this classic heroes journey into a visceral, hard-driving, emotive affair that is meant to bring you top-notch moviegoing “experience” more than it is seeking to invite reflection on the hero’s choices along the way.

Using that as our standard, it is worth saying that Beowulf works. The first film I have ever seen to demonstrate an actual future for 3-D technology in film, it succeeds at captivating your attention. While other attempts in the last year at 3-D have either seemed to be mostly unnecessary, adding little to an already solid work (The Nightmare Before Christmas) or gimmicky, throwing in a few “BOO!” effects to an otherwise mediocre story (Monster House), Beowulf finally demonstrates why so many filmmakers, among them James Cameron and George Lucas, have been touting 3-D as the future for blockbuster cinema. Here, the 3-D experience coupled with the high-level animation invites you into a world that is just enough like our world to be familiar, but different enough to keep us watching. When the gimmick effects come, and yes they do throw a few things at you in this one, they seem to just fit better to the grand-scale of the epic. Whether this is the “future of the filmmaking” is beyond me, but this film convinces me that we will be seeing more of this, and with good promise.

Oh, and there is a story here too. Kind of. Beowulf takes us to the early days of a courageous and brave young hero, who already is creating legends with his victories. He comes to the aid of a kingdom who is being attacked by a local monster, one with a story far more insidious than our hero know. The love-child of the king’s “deal with the devil,” this monster must be beaten, but even as he is, Beowulf is invited to make the same compromises that this king has made. He has pursued victories in the vain pursuit of glory and honor, and here in this battle, is finally given the offer that will secure his darkest dreams.

As one of the great stories of classic literature, this is obviously an epic story worthy of epic treatment. Here is where the film encounters its more severe limitations. The nature of the animation and the 3-D experience invite us to consider the “epic” nature of this film, but the story necessarily cuts short the hero’s character arc. Some of the most interesting parts of his story, namely seeing him slowly work through the consequences for the sins of his past, is completely absent, as the tale abruptly skips over huge portions of this hero’s life. This is understandable given the cost realities of digital animation. But in choosing to do this kind of story, the film is quickly standing on the shoulders of Lord of the Rings (or merely “the Trilogy” for fantasy buffs with to little appreciation for Star Wars), a film that understood better than about any other just what “epic” really means. While it stands on those shoulders, it fails to live up the promise of contemporary fantasy epic. We’re told to expect “epic” because of the novel technology, but the story opts instead for a sound-bit approach.

Despite this criticism, Beowulf, like 300, has an interesting place in our contemporary film diet. If you want to see the big dollars thrown at special effects that are intensely engaging and fascinating, both films succeed in the payoff. You can get a great experience, you may just have to search elsewhere to find the meaning in the journey. That the moral instincts of the film are largely sound, seeing a hero bear the consequences for bad choices, just makes us look forward to the time when costs would allow them to give more time to the story.

Take it for what it is, but be careful not to make more of it than you ought.