Beowulf on a Sunday

Saw Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf this afternoon at Cyberport. Throughout the whole film I had the impression that the lead actor was Gerard Butler, whom I totally admired in Phantom of the Opera, where he played a most dashing Phantom to Emily Rossum's bug-eyed waif-singer. I only found out when the credits rolled in that it was played by Ray Winstone.

The Butler vehicle was the 2005 feature Beowulf and Grendel directed by Sturla Gunnarsson - gotta hunt that down in the video stores. Here's the preview:



Zemeckis' movie was made using what they call motion capture, in order to effect a seamless merge of the CGI effects (necessary for the monster-troll sequences I suppose) and natural actors used in the film. The reviews have been mixed (TIME came out with a glowing review). But overall, I was personally powerfully moved by the mythology of it all. Beowulf is an adventurer, a hero with a flawed core. Aren't many of us the same? We are the heroes in our own lives, and we are all flawed. Yes, I mean you, and I'm looking at the mirror too. :-)

A thought-provoking afternoon and not just on account of Beowulf alone.