FF:QLD Beowulf viewing

I loved the 3D. There were only a couple of points where it was used as a gimmick, which puts it streets ahead of the other handful of 3D films I've seen in my time. For the rest of the film it just adds to the atmosphere, and as I said to someone else, the shot where Beowulf jumps off the bridge and onto the dragon's back was worth the price of admission. My eyes felt a bit weird for the first 10 minutes or so, but after that I got quite used to it and found it very enjoyable. You could tell by the feel that you were watching something not quite natural, but it didn't bother me in the slightest. Certainly no eye pain or anything. The effect still needs a little work here and there, but it was great. I'm definitely keen to see more movies with extra dimensions here and there.

The movie, I could have taken or left, to be perfectly honest. A bunch of cool, testosterone-drenched Manly Man moments. Dude cutting his own arm off so he can reach in and rip out a dragon's heart is pretty frakin' hardcore, as is killing one sea monster, jumping over to kill another one, then getting swallowed by yet another one only to come bursting out of its eye shouting "THIS IS SPART-" um, I mean, "BEOWULF!" But beyond that there just didn't seem to be much point to it. It wasn't bad by any means, but think I'd have felt like I'd wasted 17 bucks if it hadn't been for the 3D. (Three dimensions for the price of two! That's one whole dimension completely free of charge! *Note: film's storyline remains two-dimensional throughout.)

I'm not quite clear on why it was done as a CG movie. I get that they were going for a stylised kind of feel, but I think it would have worked better as something like 300, filmed with actors in front of greenscreen. The animation didn't impress me overly. The CG in and of itself was good, with nicely done character models and all that, but the actual animation I didn't find very good. It's the big problem with motion capture: you have highly realistic motion on CG models that look like waxwork statues, not quite human. And then when you have to switch from mo-cap to actual hand animation for whatever reason, you can see the difference. Again, like the movie itself, not bad by any means, just nothing to write home about when viewed without silly glasses.

All in all, a fun romp, if little more. I will say this: I liked the ambiguous ending. Not the kind of thing you usually get in a film such as this, and quite effective. Basically, my review is summed up as "See it, but only in 3D, since that was definitely the best thing about the experience."


Oh, and the new digital projector at Chermside? Mwah, gorgeous. When they clicked over from the film projector to digital, you could instantly tell the difference.

 

Oh yes, the 3D definitely looked cool - I won't contest that. I sat there "whoa"ing my way through the intro which was just text on a textured background. Still painful though I'll probably agree that there wasn't really anything special about the story, but I don't think I can judge it properly until I see it in 2D.

 

*sigh*
Would have liked to see it. Might go see it with my sister later on in the week... Is it actually out in cinemas yet, or was Chermside an advanced viewing?

 

Yeah it's out everywhere Lozza. BBN's right though, see it in 3D.

The story, well it's a heroic myth about Beowulf. Not an action plotline. Based on a very old story about..well Beowulf. I didn't really expect Die Hard 4.0, nor the intricate storyline of Lord of the Rings. So I wasn't overly disspointed with the characters or plot. It's a story I should have read over and over by now instead of the quick skim I did back at uni as part of my medieval lit studies.

Anyway, I also loved the 3D and my eyes adjusted quite quickly. I have gotten sick or such sore eyes like Morgs seems to have in the past, but didn't have any problems this time. And yeah, even the opening intro with text in front of backgrounds was pretty.

I didn't mind the animation or the character rendering. In comparison to Final Fantasy, the first movie I'd seen really of this type and the facial detail and body crafting was pretty cool. Yeah the bodies were very nice

I really enjoyed it as an experience and didn't feel like I was at Dreamworld being bombarded with over the top "just because it's 3D" effects.

Thought occurred to me as Mr Wulf was falling onto dragons backs, of how cool Lord of the Rings would've looked in 3D. The ultimate movie.

And we all looked SO cool in the glasses. MD was right..we shoulda been shaking a tail-feather. Glad to see it in fine company. Sorry to dash off early.

4/5 but moreso because of the experience. DAresay in 2D it's probably be more 2.5-3/5