Beowulf (DVD)

Ok, before I begin, did any of you go to see Beowulf in the cinema? Now I'm not talking about the computer animated, entertaining motion picture here, I'm talking about the fully 3D, action packed movie, available in a few cinemas accross the country.

Well, I did. Before we discuss the HD DVD version, we should mention that this 3D version was visually stunning and very impressive. In my opinion it was well worth going to see in the cinema.

Now the DVD. Although it's not possible to replicate this new, impressive form of 3D entertainment on a regular TV, the visuals are still impressive. Can you remember how impressed you were when Toy Story first came out? Maybe the Final Fantasy film? Or even the first Shrek film? All looked beautiful, and some couldn't believe they were actually computer animated in their entirity. That's how this film makes you feel. If you've bought yourself a nice new HDTV and want something to demonstrate it's new power, and how much better it is than standard definition, look no further.

The characters all look very similar to their voice actors, so you can almost believe they are actually acting the part in real life, and of course, the voice acting is superb. You would expect no less from today's hollywood superstars, but sometimes it happens. This movie however, does not fail in this area at all and delivers fantastic voice acting, portraying emotions and meanings in the smae way that they would in live action films.

However, the one place where this film is slightly let down, is in it's storyline and screenplay. As a famous, epic poem, Beowulf delivers a literary masterpiece which has kept it's appeal throughout the ages. But this has been lost somewhere in translation. Although entertaining, this movie is nowhere near as memorable as the literary original.

The other problem you find with this movie is that much of it has obviously been designed in order to demonstrate the impressive new 3D technology. Occasionally a scene where a character is shown riding a horse through a field of snow would be dragged out a little too long so that the 3D engine could flick a little extra snow at the expectant audience, or a panoramic view of the surrounding scenery would take a little too long so that they can do an extra flyby past a steeple or a mountain in order for it to jump out at the audience for a second time. Now in the cinema, this was very entertaining and visually impressive. Unfortunately of course, without spending tens of thousands on you own polarised 3D cinema screen, these effects are lost. This means that sometimes the film seems a little bit slow and frustrating.

Overall though, this does not detract too much from an otherwise entertaining movie, perfect for a friday night in with a big bowl of popcorn and your family or friends with you. If you are looking for an entertaining film that will demonstrate the power of your new TV that you just spent far too much on and need a good reason to justify it, here it is. With the Xbox 360 HD DVD adapter going for a measly £40 or so (the same price as a new game) or around $60, this is a must have. However, if you're looking for a film that will either move you so much that you'll be thinking about it for the month following, or a film you'll want to watch a hundred times with every friend you have or every family member you see, this is not it.


Summary
Visuals - 10/10
Story - 7/10
Sounds - 9/10
Entertainment - 7/10

Overall - 8/1