Beowulf

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There are some who feel I was remiss in not including Robert Zemeckis' animated Beowulf on HR's short list of highfalutin' fall-winter must-sees. I never considered including it for a single instant. Why should I? Why should anyone? Due respect to the 10th Century English poem it's based upon, but this is basically Eragon territory, especially when filtered through the greedy-ass, Lord of the Rings-aping combine. And that, to me, to anyone over the age of 13 or 14, means "instantly dismissable."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 8, 2007 at 8:49 AM

comment #1

le corbeau says ...

I feel the same way about Becket. At least they feed you when you go to Medieval Times!

Posted by le corbeau at June 8, 2007 9:11 AM

comment #2

Ian Sinclair says ...

Having read the screenplay, Jeff, of all the dismissive and ill-informed posts you have ever made in the several years I have been reading you, this is the one most likeliest to bite you in the ass. The material is adult, intelligent and primal. ERAGON was written by a fifteen year-old kid. For goodness' sake do some homework occasionally.

Posted by Ian Sinclair at June 8, 2007 9:26 AM

comment #3

LYTrules says ...

Not exactly Eragon. It's going to be R-rated.

I do think you probably won't like it, but it's hardly going to be a Star Wars rip-off written by a teenager.

Posted by LYTrules at June 8, 2007 9:29 AM

comment #4

Larry says ...

Zemeckis takes on interesting projects. Always worth checking out.

Posted by Larry at June 8, 2007 9:52 AM

comment #5

Ian Sinclair says ...

FYI: Beowulf is apparently going to be in competition at the Venice Film festival.

Posted by Ian Sinclair at June 8, 2007 10:07 AM

comment #6

T. S. Idiot says ...

"Zemeckis takes on interesting projects. Always worth checking out."

Death Becomes Her? Forrest Gump? Contact? What Lies Beneath? Cast Away? The Polar Express? Try cold, impersonal projects. The man is Spielberg's stillborn twin.

Posted by T. S. Idiot at June 8, 2007 10:11 AM

comment #7

christian says ...

looks lke jeff had a bad experience being forced to read "beowulf" in school...

Posted by christian at June 8, 2007 10:15 AM

comment #8

Rich S. says ...

I see Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary wrote the screenplay. This thing has a pretty decent pedigree.

Posted by Rich S. at June 8, 2007 10:19 AM

comment #9

Campbell says ...

Not to mention, the cast and the way it's been shot- it's painterly by motion-capture. Zemeckis is the workingman's James Cameron, just about as cold but much more productive and consistently pushing the technical boundaries of making movies.

Posted by Campbell at June 8, 2007 10:33 AM

comment #10

jeffmcm says ...

Forrest Gump was a huge hit and won Best Picture; Contact, What Lies Beneath, and Cast Away were all big hits, and to my mind, excellent movies each. I didn't like The Polar Express but Beowulf is one of my most-anticipated movies of the year.

Posted by jeffmcm at June 8, 2007 11:13 AM

comment #11

MovieBob says ...

"Why should I? Why should anyone? Due respect to the 10th Century English poem it's based upon, but this is basically Eragon territory, especially when filtered through the greedy-ass, Lord of the Rings-aping combine. And that, to me, to anyone over the age of 13 or 14, means "instantly dismissable."

Not long from now, clips like this will be behind glass in a museum, right next to the T-Rex. And people will wander through, look at both and wonder the same thing: "Did either of them know that 'their' world wasn't 'they'res' anymore?"

Posted by MovieBob at June 8, 2007 11:31 AM

comment #12

Ian Sinclair says ...

"The Bond movies are over and Craig is too short to play Bond" "Return of the King is not going to win Best Picture" "Beowulf is instantly dismissable." Why, the man is the nabob of Nostradamus's! The kaiser of Kreskins! Are we SURE that Jeff is not related to the guy who turned downed the Beatles because they "wouldn't last?"

Posted by Ian Sinclair at June 8, 2007 11:56 AM

comment #13

Rich S. says ...

Plus, the guy wrote and directed Used Cars and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. As far as I'm concerned, those two pretty much earn you a lifetime pass.

Posted by Rich S. at June 8, 2007 12:01 PM

comment #14

Rob says ...

I would call Death Becomes Her the most provocative and memorable movie Zemeckis has made, if that tells you anything.

(Although I do love the first Back to the Future.)

Posted by Rob at June 8, 2007 12:20 PM

comment #15

BurmaShave says ...

In 1967, Jimmy Page told a young Jeff Wells about this new band he was putting together with Robert Plant and John Paul Jones. Jeff is reported to have said "Oh yeah, that'll go over like a lead Zeppelin!" And the rest is history.

Posted by BurmaShave at June 8, 2007 1:25 PM

comment #16

Edward says ...

I have reservations about this. While "Used Cars," "Roger Rabbit" and "Back to the Future I" were all very good, Zemeckis' output lately has been spotty to mediocre. Let's hope he's rediscoverd his soul for this project.

Posted by Edward at June 8, 2007 2:14 PM

comment #17

Mcflyboy says ...

I am looking forward to Beowulf more than a majority of the films on Jeff's sacred list.

To compare a film with a cast like this and a director like Zemeckis to dreck like Eragon makes me very suspicious of why I should trust Jeff's opinion on any films. Beowulf may not be good, but it sure as hell deserves better than that. Zemeckis' resume has been listed above but may I reiterate...Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump, if only more filmmakers were so "cold and impersonal."

I anxiously await sitting down in an Imax theater in November, putting on my 3-D glasses and seeing what Zemeckis has done with the technology.

Posted by Mcflyboy at June 8, 2007 3:12 PM

comment #18