Last night my girlfriend and I went to see the new all-CGI (computer generated image) Beowulf.  The theater by me is showing the 3D version, so we decided to give it a shot.  In order to view the movie in so-called "3D" you have to wear a pair of glasses that look like something Buddy Holly would wear (black, horned-rim with thick frames).  The newest version of 3D is accomplished by having the left and right lenses at different polarization angles as opposed to the old-style red & green lens version of 3D.  The 3D effects were abound throughout the movie and at times seemed to be a bit forced just to look cool.  It was actually kind of hard on the eyes after awhile because your eyes keep wanting to focus in at different levels throughout the entire movie.  It was novel to see say that I've seen a new 3D movie and it is much better than the red/green version of 3D, but I would have to say that I prefer the classic 2D variety better.

As for the movie itself it was mediocre at best.  My girlfriend pointed out what was off about the movie and it was the acting of Ray Winston in the role of Beowulf.  Whether it was his voice acting or the script itself, you just never  seem to connect with Beowulf enough to really care about what happens.  The voice acting of Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, John Malkovich and Angelina Jolie definitely overshadow Mr. Winstones.  Then again, he arguably had the most difficult part.

Now for the CGI.  The LOTR most definitely set the bar high in this department.  Beowulf comes close to what the LOTR accomplished, but not quite.  Sure, the fact that the entire movie is CGI is pretty impressive.   They tried real hard to make some things look real-life (faces, expressions, scenery) and did a great job.  However, the motion of the characters was sorely lacking in that it seems very stiff in a lot of scenes.  If you compare it to the motion of Gollum in the LOTR, it doesn't quite stack up.

Two things really bothered me about the movie.  First is the unwarranted T & A scenes and lude & degrading conversations in regards to women.  Sure, this may have been the way Vikings acting, but it really wasn't necessary to tell this story.  Also, because of these scenes, it is something that parents will have to take into account before letting their kids see it.  The second thing is the ending.  Like with a lot of great stories the beginning and middle are great, but the writers just can't seem to come up with a decent ending.  They tack on a scene at the end that is almost like they wanted to leave it open in case of a sequel, which would be silly in the case of Beowulf.  The movie should have ended with Beowulf's funeral ship set ablaze and floating off into the sunset.  Yeah, it would have been cliche, but it would have given the audience a definitive ending.