The Movie Nut
"Beowulf"
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis

Starring: Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, John Malkovich, Brendan Gleeson, Angelina Jolie

Rating: PG-13 (for animated bloodshed, scary and disturbing images, slight sexuality)

Running time: 115 minutes

Best suited for: the "300" crowd

Least suited for: the "300" averse

I suspect many folks eager to see Robert Zemeckis'

"Beowulf" are looking forward to the heralded CGI "motion capture" technique, an animation process previously utilized by Zemeckis in "The Polar Express."

Motion capture isn't quite perfected yet- human faces still appear somewhat plasticized- although I expect the technique will gain momentum in children's films and in fantasy. There are simply so many amazing effects a director can pull off- and "Beowulf" admittedly has its share) for the technique not to become a fullblown Hollywood staple.

For those of us fortunate enough not to have plodded through the epic English verse (a 3,180-line poem written anonymously in Old English a millennium ago) in a classroom, this cinematic equivalent is really a far more exciting approach to hero worship.

Beowulf (Ray Winstone), a hero of Geatland (Sweden), and a band of soldiers sail to Denmark to kill the monster Grendel and secure the reward offered by King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins). The king's mead hall has repeatedly been attacked by the formidable demon, who apparently cannot tolerate the merriment of humans. (In modern times, this would be roughly akin to an irritated neighbor calling the police on the noisy pub next door, although the cops would likely stop short of chewing the heads off the drunken patrons. Grendel's not nearly as tolerant and thus, the analogy ends here.)

Loath to write a spoiler, let's just say that Swede and monster clash, and later Beowulf and the mother of the monster clash (because in Denmark, demons are a family-oriented bunch).

Much has been made, in print and in trailers, of Angelina Jolie's interpretation of Grendel's mother (who actually has no other name)- although a family resemblance is definitely lacking. Beowulf faces her down as well, alone in a darkened cave, and the moral of Zemeckis' film is this: Beware of gold and hot, babe-like demons. Heroes have their vulnerabilities.

For those scholarly types familiar with the original "Beowulf," the film and the original script part company somewhere in the middle- although both versions see Beowulf far into middle age, and most of us are already aware that Beowulf tackles a fire-breathing dragon.

In a nutshell, "Beowulf" offers a mediocre story with some outstanding special effects. It's not that "Beowulf's" heroics are droll, just that we've pretty much covered this ground before. (Frankly, "300" did it better.) Yet the animated effects are awesome here. Not just awesome as in nicely rendered, but magnificent in the way Zemeckis weaves the process into the tale itself.

There's one scene, for instance, where the "camera" drifts from some serious mead hall action to a few scurrying rats in the rafters. One unfortunate creature is snatched by a marauding bird of prey and carried far into the hills- and through the clutching talons we view the snow-swept mead hall shrinking farther and farther in the distance, lost behind a frozen wood, until we suddenly find ourselves at the doorway of Grendel's lair, hearing the deafening echoes of the merriment below- all simulating a single long, tracking shot.

That's powerful filmmaking, imagery that even a 5-year-old can understand. (Hence we realize that the hideous Grendel is not simply an ogre, but rather an ugly fellow with sensitive ears.) There's a compassionate tinge to the character- who speaks only in Old English, by the way, voiced by Crispin Glover- and I'm probably not alone in sensing some empathetic resemblance to "The Lord of the Ring's" tragic Gollum.

Another interesting note (at least to me, and thus, you're coming along): I've often wondered if CGI technology may be making actors nervous. I mean, if an animated character can look like you, walk like you, but jump 100 feet higher and not initiate salary disputes, isn't the writing on the wall?

Yet both Ray Winstone and John Malkovich have remarked that the CGI process captures the energy of theater. Actors perform on an empty, greenscreenbacked stage, attached to a plethora of LED markers- their movements tracked and fed into computers. Hence their actions, or reactions, are very much their only means of communication.

And what is an actor if not a nervous bundle of communication? So even in "Beowulf's" calmer moments, you may notice a crackle of energy in the growl of a threat or the snarl of whispered revenge.

And for an actor- or for an audience- those things often count.