Last week, I and two friends went to watch Beowulf (2007) to see a recent example of digital cinema. Other friends, who saw the movie earlier said that it sucked. I thought the opposite.

I admit that this movie is not for those who like a real camera than one that can move freely in the rendered environment. Until you get used to it, the movie resembles a computer game, which most people would prefer flesh and blood actors (an image is an image, and both are projected images, should not really matter). However, I don’t really think this movie would work in 2.5D (real shooting plus CGI), as it would just be too artificial. This way, the movie is a lot more immersive in my opinion.

Anyway, I think this is a marvellous adaptation of a primary epic - an epic that is based on oral tradition. And the movie maintains these features of oral tradition, where storytelling is important. I really loved how they maintained the heroic ideal - the way Beowulf introduces and defines himself to others. Other than one or two things done for cheap laughs (bah), I think the movie was flawless.

This movie itself is another telling of the story of Beowulf (and Beowulf the epic). How awesome.