Strangely lifeless, Robert Zemeckis' motion-capture follow up to his terrific "Polar Express" is a step backward from the charms of that holiday classic. 2007's BEOWULF only comes to life when Angelina Jolie slips onto the screen.
Tackling the centuries old story of the warrior Beowulf (Ray Winstone)and his battle against the creature Grendel (Crispin Glover) and the monster's seductive mother (Jolie) , Zemeckis loads the stop motion animation with great actors.
In addition to those above, we also have Anthony Hopkins as King Hrothgar and John Malkovich as his trusted aide Unferth. Robin Wright is Hrothdar's Oueen.
Alas, the story creaks forward, bursting into action for some brilliant special effects sequences, but then falling back into cruise mode for more 500 AD exposition, mead drinking and angst.
Zemeckis is one of my favorite filmmakers. Even his less successful films at the box office like 2015's "The Walk" have been some of my favorites for those years.
But for all its $150 million in special effects, a screenplay by Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction) and Neil Gaiman (American Gods) and terrific sound design, BEOWULF feels like its a thousand years old.
Slow, too violent and littered with nudity for kids and too boring and simplistic for adults, it ultimately fails to connect.
Ray Winstone and Angelina Jolie are both terrific. He's a hell of a warrior and she is an amazingly seductive villain, but the film around them never connects on any emotional level that would serve their efforts.
BEOWULF is dead on arrival. The story spans many decades and I felt every year of it.....I'll give it a D.
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