'Beowulf' story marred by overextended technology

Media Credit: Courtesy of PARAMOUNT PICTURES DIGITAL EPIC - Ray Winstone portrays the eponymous hero in Robert Zemeckis' adaptation of the legendary story "Beowulf." Using digitally rendered graphics, the film fails to establish a connection with the audience.

Heroes are easy to come by in film, but it is where they originate that is more elusive. Exploring that archetype, director Robert Zemeckis combines modern technology with a millennia-old tale to bring an unreal but exciting feel to "Beowulf."

Long before it was a movie, the tale of "Beowulf" was an epic poem tracing its origins to approximately the sixth century. In the film of "Beowulf," King Hrothgar, played by Anthony Hopkins, is under attack in his mead hall called Herot. Herot is under siege by the monstrous Grendel, an inhuman giant played by Crispin Glover. When the call goes out for heroes, in strolls Beowulf, played by Ray Winstone.

The plot focuses on Beowulf's rise to the ultimate and original hero as he does battle with Grendel and later, his seductive demon of a mother, played by Angelina Jolie.

Fans of the original poem will be happy to know that while the movie takes liberties with the story, it largely stays true to the basic concepts and plotline. It is a story of valor and courage, exploring the line between man and monster and the process by which man becomes myth. New to the plot is a very 21st-century feel that employs several mirthful scenes and numerous sexual overtones, particularly in the form of Jolie's character.

What really sets "Beowulf" apart from its inspiration, and even from its film contemporaries, is its presentation. Told in the glory of 3-D including the cumbersome goggles, the movie employs an advanced form of motion-capture technology to produce the computer-generated likenesses of the actors. Hopkins, Jolie, Winstone and others are readily visible in their characters, albeit many liberties were taken. King Hrothgar is far more portly than the real-life Hopkins, and the normally short and plump Winstone is a 6-foot-6-inch warrior with a chiseled frame most men would kill for. The technology employed to create this effect used sensors so sensitive that the subtlest of muscle movements and even the shifting of the eyes could be brought to the screen. The expressions we see on the faces of the characters are nearly perfect digital recreations of the actors' actual movements.

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