Cheap Therapy

Beowulf was very cool.

Possible spoilers below.

On the animation side, I’m guessing we’re about 2 movies away from being unable to tell live action from animated. Most of that will probably be because the badly animated scenes will have reached a quality such that you won’t notice they’re not real and they won’t snap you out of the reality. Regardless of how good the well animated scenes are, I think the film’s only as good as its lowest common denominator animation.The models were great, the dragon was fabulous (I’m sure there’s some Godzilla or Mothra somewhere in its heritage

I’m hoping the DVD release at least won’t feature the somewhat farcical genital hiding necessary when Beowulf goes into combat naked. Also, the film suffered a bit from being released in some places in 3D, thus necessitating lots of ‘things poking at the screen’ to show you how good the 3D is, arrows, flagpoles, that sort of thing (perhaps it’s fortunate they didn’t show Beowulf’ genitals It may also just be that I’m oversensitive to such things having previously worked with 3D stereoscopy.

The story has survived through time, and the script by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary brings it to (larger than) life for the film, while at the same time highlighting the human failings of the characters and adding the onset of Christianity as the up and coming religion. Grendel is hideous and there is much mead, women and song amongst the ongoing carnage, along with the embellishments of an oral folklore tradition when the heroes were more heroic, the monsters more monstrous and those who survived the carnage got to drink, sing and wench (or be a wench?) once more after burying their dead.

Stardust is the movie you go to see to realise how crap all the other movies you go to see are. Neil Gaiman can script a story that will make you think you were meant to hear it during your childhood, surely it must have been retold many times, but that somehow you missed out on it each and every one.

Fortunately if you missed the graphic novel or the book you can now go and see it at the cinema. See it if you’re a fan of The Princess Bride (released 20 years ago!) or Ever After. See it for de Niro’s scenes, for the other scenes that will make you cry, or cry with laughter, or make you think your heart is going to stop with excitement. Witches and Princes, romance and magic abounds, strange and fabulous characters drawn into conflict by their own individual quests.

Stardust is rated PG for “Mild violence, fantasy themes, may frighten young children”.

Neil is the guy who loves to chat with his fans and spends hours of time (during which I’m sure he could be doing something much more interesting) sitting down and signing books for them. I guess that’s kind of like worshipping him as a god, for really, we are not worthy of the talent and effort he expends for us.