Love or loathe the story of
Beowulf, this incredibly beautiful version of the classic tale is going to knock your socks off. Screenwriters Neil Gaiman and
Roger Avary and director
Robert Zemeckis took quite a few liberties with the ancient story in order to make it accessible onscreen, but the basics are all there. Lush, gory, and action-packed, this
Beowulf might not make reading the story in English Lit class obsolete, but as sort of a companion piece, it does make the classic tale infinitely more palatable.
Unfortunately the San Diego press wasn’t offered the opportunity to view the film in the IMAX format, but I can say the 3-D digital version screened for the media in my area (and on which I’m basing my review) was beyond gorgeous. 3-D’s never been one of my personal favorite formats, but Robert Zemeckis’ spectacular achievements have turned me into a real believer in the beauty of performance capture and 3-D.