A Poor Epic Tale
By Kayla Coleman
Robert Ebert argues that the intent
of Beowulf directed by Robert Zemeckis was satirical and to poke fun at the
barbaric culture of the Geats. This is probably true, but I disagree with the
execution of the film, it was not produced in an effective, comedic manner. In
fact, I pitied the creators of the film whenever the goofy scenes with the
watered down, stereotypical characters bumbled into the mead hall. Whenever I
laughed at the film, it wasn’t a “hardy har har” chuckle, that left my mouth
whenever Beowulf defeated one of his foes, but rather a “this is beyond cheesy
and corny, and I can’t take it anymore, and the directors should be ashamed of
themselves” laugh. Dargis, writer for the New York Times, states in his review
that the film makers try to top the readers imagination by distracting their
eyes with “big” big noises, sets, moves…even big breasts”. This is very much
true, but they not only distracted, but ruined the wonderfully written epic
that I have come to love. The animation did not make up for the lack of depth
and subtstance to the film. In fact, it contributed to why I hated the film.
Beowulf, a great tale of good versus evil was diminished to a mockery of the
epic.
Kayla, although I immediately understand what is to ensue when I read your title, perhaps you could make it a little more specific/enticing.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could begin your essay with some of your own conclusions instead of beginning with Ebert's views. Your critiques are very sharp, especially when specifying the kind of 'chuckle' the movie produced. Also remember that 'hate' is a very strong word. You have a good start on the body paragraph here, but maybe adding another two paragraphs would add more detail and flair that you have already established.
I thought this was a good way to start your review. I feel like you should make your point in a stronger way, but other than that it was great. I also like your title. With a couple more paragraphs and a little more detail this will be a great review, but I thought in general it was excellent.
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