Susan Granger’s review of “Beowulf” (Paramount Pictures)
Robert Zemeckis’ animated adaptation of the Old English epic is revisionist mythology. It’s the first full-length, ‘motion-capture’ pop art for adults, utilizing an improved version of “The Polar Express” and “Monster House” technology.
As the story begins, the ribald merrymaking in the dining hall of Danish King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) and Queen Wealthow (Robin Wright Penn) ceases when demonic Grendel (Crispin Glover) goes on a rampage. So the mighty Viking warrior Beowulf (Ray Winstone) comes to battle not only Grendel but also, eventually, his fierce, reptilian mother (Angelina Jolie).
While the original poem preserved the uneasy tension between paganism and Christianity, fantasy novelist Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary eschew spirituality for barbaric violence and a sordid ending that should appeal to fans of “300.”
‘Performance capture’ works by putting actors in skintight Lycra suits with sensors across their faces and bodies. Working on a special stage, their ‘live action’ becomes digital animation as they become digital replicas. This opens up new vistas: an actor’s performance, for example, can be fabricated in any physicality. Chunky Ray Winstone never had to ‘pump iron’ to play the hunky hero and Angelina Jolie wasn’t really naked and gilded as Grendel’s seductive mother.
According to Andy Serkis who used this for Gollum in “Lord of the Rings”: “Performance capture will eventually be an unquestioned and integral part of the filmmaking skill.” Top directors Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson plan use this process, while James Cameron is already incorporating it into his upcoming “Avatar.”
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Beowulf” is a spectacular if soulless 7. Actors no longer have to fear being replaced by computers; technology has become an integral collaborator. And, in the future, talent, not looks, could determine who achieves cinematic stardom.
