So good, I saw it... twice??

Wednesday 5th December: Tonight, I saw Beowulf. For the second time.

It's not that often that I see a film twice at the cinema. It either has to be very, very good or it's part of a multi-bill (for example, when I went to see all six, at the time, Star Trek films in one day).

Beowulf is neither very, very good, nor part of a multi-bill. There are two reasons that I saw it twice. The first is that both Debbie and a friend that I haven't seen for some time wanted to see it and neither were available on the same day. The second is that when I saw it originally, after a hard day's Christmas shopping, followed by steak and eggs at the Flying Legends, I actually fell asleep. One minute we had just been introduced to our titular hero, the next (or so it seemed) Debbie had given me a quick nudge and Beowulf was already in Heorot, bragging to Hrothgar and his people about the time that he defeated nine sea monsters.

It turns out that I had missed a good ten minutes...

For anybody who doesn't know, Beowulf is based on the ancient Anglo-Saxon poem dated from around the 11th century. Real actors (Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Angelina Jolie, etc) were filmed using motion capture. The finished film resembles a computer-generated cartoon but the characters, for the most part, look uncannily like the actors. There are problems with the process - eyes tend to look lifeless, for example - and some sequences look a little like bad animation but, on the whole it works well. Some cinemas are showing it in 3D, using a new method which does away with the cardboard specs prevalent in the 80s. It's supposed to be very good. Unfortunately, York has only got it in 2D.

There are a few questions which seem to turn up in most reviews - why use motion capture to film Ray Winstone and then turn his on screen look to be more like Sean Bean? Why use known actors with incorrect accents? (In the film, Hrothgar, a Danish King, is obviously Welsh and Beowulf, a Scandinavian, is Cockney - "I've come to kill your MONSTA!!"). Unknown actors with Scandinavian accents would have worked just as well, if not had the box-office draw.

Overall the film is entertaining. The final battle in which Beowulf takes on a dragon is spectacular. The opening sequences, in which the demon Grendel attacks Hrothgar's mead hall and Beowulf defeats Grendel, manage to make the demon both terrifying and pitiful. However, ultimately, it's a little unsatisfying. The middle section drags a little and there were, for me, too many unexplained, ambiguous details - for example, Beowulf is originally portrayed as a bragging liar rather than the hero he turns out to be. Hrothgar himself may be portrayed as part-demon after he falls to his death, but no reason is given. Maybe I just need explanations rather than having to think for myself. Overall, I would give it 6/10