Zemeckis brings heroic "Beowulf" to life

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - What have they done to "Beowulf," everyone's least favorite Old English epic about a hero's battles with a monster, the monster's mother and an annoying dragon that turns up 50 years later?

Director Robert Zemeckis not only deploys 21st century movie technology at its finest to turn the heroic poem into a vibrant, nerve-tingling piece of pop culture, but his film actually makes sense of "Beowulf." In Zemeckis' hands, it's an intriguing look at a hero as a flawed human being.

Remember in "Annie Hall" when Woody Allen advised Diane Keaton, "Just don't take any class where you have to read 'Beowulf'"? As multitudes stand in long lines to see this movie, many may indeed be reading "Beowulf," if only to relish what Zemeckis and company. have accomplished. In any event, those lines should last through year's end.

There are two sets of heroes here. One is the writing team of author/graphic novelist Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary (the nearly forgotten other writer of "Pulp Fiction"). They have genuinely solved the structural problem of the poem, written around 700 A.D. The link between the early battles of a young hero and his fatal confrontation with the dragon as an aging king is his temptation by the monster's mother who dangles wealth, power and sexual favors before his bedazzled eyes. Makes sense -- Beowulf's sins come back to haunt him.

The other heroes are Zemeckis' "performance capture" and 3-D animation teams who digitally enhance the bare-bones live action into a beguiling otherworld brimming with vitality. This new technique, which Zemeckis broke ground with in the visually impressive though dramatically weak "The Polar Express," comes to full fruition in "Beowulf," where myth becomes vigorous flesh.

"Beowulf" tells of a young warrior, Beowulf (Ray Winstone), who emerges out of a raging storm in a Viking ship to rescue a Danish kingdom ruled by old King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) and his beauteous queen Wealthow (Robin Wright Penn). The monster Grendel (Crispin Glover), angered by the noise of singing and drinking in Hrothgar's great hall, has butchered many warriors.

Grendel is a thing of horrific beauty. He looks like a mummy with a contagious disease. He's a slobbering, puss-filled, bloody, drooling, hideously deformed giant with a lop-sided face and rotting teeth that can barely chew a man's head.

Knowing no weapon will defeat this monster, Beowulf sheds his clothes and waits for the next attack. In an epic battle, Beowulf rips off Grendel's arm. The now whimpering bully limps home to his mother's lair to die.

Grendel's mother (Angelina Jolie) takes revenge by attacking the hall following a night of celebration. She strings up the corpses of all of Beowulf's men save for his trusted lieutenant, Wiglaf (Brendan Gleeson).

Presented a sword by Unferth (John Malkovich), who initially doubted Beowulf's resolve, Beowulf enters the mother's grotto with its eerie lake. But rather than battle Beowulf, the mother sets out to seduce him, as she did Hrothgar years before.

Zemeckis is not afraid to indulge in moments of camp. Jolie's golden and nude temptress with a devil's tail strides toward her adversary in high heels! Grendel's whimpering about the Big Bad Man who tore off his arm reveals a pathetic mama's boy. The hero's constant assertion "I am Beowulf!" and Wiglaf's equally frequent refrain "You are Beowulf!" cry out for a "Saturday Night Live" skit.

But here lies Zemeckis' keen pop sensibility. He means to avoid Woody Allen's "Beowulf" by tapping into both the "Lord of the Rings" crowd and "Knocked Up" enthusiasts. The gruesome violence and male and female near nudity -- about as bold as a PG-13 rating will allow -- mixed together with ribald humor make "Beowulf" a waggish bit of postmodern fun. It may raise the eyebrows of English Lit professors but will quicken the pulse of everyone else.

"Beowulf" will roll out in the largest 3-D release of any film to date, including Imax 3D. While 2-D prints will certainly play well, Zemeckis has brilliantly designed the movie for 3-D, creating a strong depth of field and action in the fore, middle and back grounds in his more complex shots. Figures do blur slightly with heavy action or quick camera pans, but audiences will experience total immersion into the world of "Beowulf" best in 3-D.

Cast:

Beowulf: Ray Winstone

King Hrothgar: Anthony Hopkins

Queen Wealthow: Robin Wright Penn

Wiglaf: Brendan Gleeson

Grendel: Crispin Glover

Grendel's Mother: Angelina Jolie

Director: Robert Zemeckis; Screenwriters: Neil Gaiman, Roger Avary; Producers: Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis, Jack Rapke; Executive producers: Martin Shafer, Roger Avary, Neil Gaiman; Director of photography: Robert Presley; Production designer: Doug Chiang; Music: Alan Silvestri; Costume designer: Gabriella Pescucci; Editor: Jeremiah O'Driscoll.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter