Rickert, Beowulf Scene

The 2007 film Beowulf is classified as a film that is entirely Computer Generated Imagery (CGI). Though some people may celebrate the advent of this groundbreaking technology, I personally believe that it fails. Entirely computer generated imagery fails because it makes the film become less realistic. One scene is particular that needs some improvements is the fighting scene with Grendel and Beowulf in the dining hall.This scene needs further editing and enhancing in several ways. The director uses strobe light affect that is supposed to add to the franticness of the scene. Though the strobe light adds to the confusion of the fight, many audience members may be annoyed and visually overwhelmed such as I was with the lighting. Another characteristic of the scene that needs improving is the characters that play humans. The animated characters are hard to believe because they lack believable human qualities such as the fact that they fly through the air or land on a chandelier. The humans’ being able to achieve such feats makes me doubt the movie as a whole. The purposeful slow down of the certain shots in this scene also makes the film feel like an action movie instead of an old folk tale. Beowulf is believed to be the oldest written story that exist today, therefore the over animation of the film detracts from the primordial nature of the tale. Also, the liquid that seeps out of Grendel’s head when the stabs him with a sword, seems very poorly animated and I instantly almost laughed because it seemed extremely out of place. The failure of the director to pay attention to these little details can cost him the trust of his audience. The director, in my opinion got carried away with the CGI and did not focus on the validity and overall purpose of the story Beowulf. Although the advent of CGI is impressive in many ways, directors’ should be wary of creating fully CGI films. The 2007 of Beowulf would have been a lot more successful and respect in my opinion if the director had incorporated CGI and actual humans.