Beowulf

Beowulf – 5 out of 5 – Outstanding retelling of a classic poem that I hated reading back in high school. The film has an all-star cast including Anthony Hopkins, Robin Penn-Wright, John Malkovich, Crispin Glover as the demon Grendel, Angelina Jolie as Grendel’s mother, and Ray Winstone as the fearless warrior Beowulf. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, it was done in beautiful CGI; we happened to catch it at a theater with a digital projector, and it was shown in 3D. Spectacular!

Viewing films in 3D have certainly improved. I was always impressed with 3D presentations done in theme parks like Disney and Universal. However, I found myself with a headache because of straining my eyes to visualize the 3D effects. Those attractions lasted 5 to 10 minutes; I wasn’t so sure about a film lasting nearly 2 hours. I had nothing to worry with Beowulf. In fact, the 3D presentation was done so well that I had forgotten I was wearing special glasses. Lots of action and great storytelling made this the best film I had seen this year.

UPDATE: 11/30/07 – I forgot about Ratatouille. So I digress and say Beowulf is one of the best films I have seen this year.