On Sunday, I went to the Scotiabank Theatre to see Beowulf in IMAX 3D. I wanted to see it in IMAX for the big screen (might as well pay an extra $5 if I’m going to pay $10 to see it anyways), and although I did read at some point that the movie was CG based, I didn’t make the connection that because it was done with computers, that it would be entirely in 3D. So not only was it a big screen, everything was eye popping. It was most dramatic at the beginning when you weren’t used to the 3D yet, particularly the grotesque, nightmare-worthiness of Grendel and various things flying out at you (branches, rocks, spears).

The film was created using motion-capture technology, and then the actors’ faces were integrated into the rendered environment. So basically, this was a film similar to how Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was done. It also shared the same flaws in that humans sometimes looked as though they were pulled from The Sims, and on occasion moved awkwardly. However, the action scenes (which comprised the trailer) were pretty “life-like” (or as life like as things that I’ve never seen could be).

The movie itself was pretty poor, sure it was an action movie and had its requisite 3 action sequences, but the fakeness of the character’s movements/looks wasn’t completely outweighed by the coolness of seeing everything in 3D. Plus the writing was horrible, at times I could tell that the writers were trying hard to be funny, but no one in the theatre made a peep. The story also seemed lame, although after reading the real history of Beowulf, I think the writers did do a good job of writing new material and making the story more cohesive. I thought it was a 3/5 because I saw it in 3D, but if I didn’t have the luxury, it would only be a 2/5 movie.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: moviereview