"...and my life climaxes at interesting periods."
I saw Beowulf over the weekend, and it occurred to me that it might make a decent post on this blog. Why? Well, because I think it had some interesting storytelling elements that made it worth discussing. Most bloggers will probably talking about Angelina Jolie as a naked demon with high heels (even Roger Ebert), and that's fine, but I'd like to explore the storytelling a little bit (and, yes, it has to do with Angelina, but not so much with her lack of clothing...sorry).
Oh, and there are spoilers here, so don't read if you are concerned with knowing story elements (I'll try to keep the spoilers minimal, though).
Point #1: The Setup
The way the movie starts is great. We're in the King's hall, there's a party going on, and everybody is happy. But it's eerie. We have the feeling something is going to go wrong. The cinematography here is really good, too. And then...well, then everything goes south. It's a great setup, though, and it's filled with suspense.
Point #2: The First and Second Acts
I actually thought the first and second acts were very well done. We meet the characters, we understand the dilemma, and we even get insights into the fatal flaw of our hero, Beowulf (he can't control himself around beautiful women that want him, especially if they're mythical). That's done through good storytelling and a very strong flashback sequence. Very cool.
Point #3: The Turning Point
And all of that takes us to the key turning point of the movie. And here's where the storytelling takes a slight dip in its effectiveness (in my opinion). It's about a two hour movie, and it takes about an hour and a half to get through the first portion of the movie.
So, we've seen this massive climax (battling his first monster, meeting naked Jolie, etc.), we're well past the mid-point of the movie (really closer to where plot point 2 should be), and then...there's only a half an hour to finish everything out.
The finish is very short, involves another massive battle (which is actually done very well and looks really cool), and then...it's over. We don't see a lot of Beowulf from the time of his "mistake" (you'll know what this is if you've read the book or seen the movie) to the time of his "redemption" (if you can call it that).
"...and I have a problem with clothing."
The summary, then? Well, I think it would have made more sense as a three-hour movie. Let's see more of Beowulf after his mistake and understand how it's really effecting his life. We get hints at it, but not enough. The climax for the second battle is just sort of...normal. It's a great battle, very intense, but we don't have enough emotional investment in it to care beyond, "Wow, that's cool."
The movie, overall, is good. Maybe a 6, 6.5 out of 10. The special effects are good. The action is good. There's a lot of skin (both on behalf of Jolie and our hero, who seems to hate any kind of chafing against his sensitive skin). But, it's just an "okay" film.
Switch the storyline up a bit, make it tighter, give us a sense of gravity regarding Beowulf's "mistake," and then you've got quite a story. Oh, and probably keep the main character's clothes on more. Just cause you made really cool CGI muscles doesn't mean we have to see them every second. I'm not a hater, I would just prefer not to snicker every time something is supposed to be serious...
Any other thoughts?
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4 comments:
Hey man. I just saw this tonight so I thought I'll chime in. To all you readers, there will be SPOILERS in this comment too.
First of all, I like you question Beowulf's redemption. I couldn't agree more. About half way through the movie it dawned on me that it wasn't going to end well, and that was confirmed when the demon came out and took his friend at the end. Yay, he killed the dragon, but the root of the problem is still there and Beowulf was really nothing more than just another victim. I've never read the book so I don't know if it's any different, but this wasn't at all what I was looking for in a story about a hero.
I also agree about the nudity. So creepy!!! Couldn't he at least have worn the loin cloth during the fight???? That was really lame and kinda made me not be able to take the rest of the movie seriously. And all the "conveniently placed objects" in that scene? I felt like I was watching Austin Powers.
When I saw the trailers for this movie months ago, I remember thinking to myself "Why'd they bother to make that?". Well, I gave it a shot and I hate to say it, but I left the movie still asking the same question. Sure there were some cool fights and some funny moments, but I can't say I'm a fan. Should've gone to see American Gangster or The Mist.
Definitely. I agree, although I didn't dislike the movie as much as you did.
From the writer's viewpoint I'm left going, "Wait, I don't get why the first part of the movie is more important..."
From the viewer's standpoint, I'm going, "I didn't have to see Gimli's butt."
It's definitely not going to win any awards outside of a special effects nod. I did really enjoy some of the cinematography, though, like when the camera panned away from the hall. That was done well.
In the end, it all comes back to the story for me, and that just wasn't quite there.
Thanks for the comment, Daryl.
Very good post. I agree with everything you said. Next time maybe you could comment more on the literary significance of the angelina joline high heels.
I like calling the fake, computer generated Angelina, "Angelina Joline." Then it's technically sort of an alter-ego. She could even make a brand name out of it. Not bad.
I think in the original Beowulf, the high heels represented the Yeoman's struggle against low back pain brought about by the extensive toil and trouble from working in the fields.
I could, however, be wrong...
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