A weapon of unimaginable power. A virgin oracle who sees glimpses of what might be. A traitor of his own kind. Gods living in the heavens, Titans buried beneath. Immortals had everything in it’s story to be an epic movie. It was definitely epic, don’t get me wrong, but it felt like there was so much missing. The legendary arc was there, the acting, imagery and action were there too but, to me, it felt like a quest without the journey. A collection of related events without the connections between them. Scene after scene would take place and you just had to accept that it was happening…maybe they edited down the movie too much or maybe they wanted you to feel as if these separated events were just occurring on their own and you weren’t supposed to grasp their true meaning until the very end – either way, it didn’t work for me.
Having said that, Immortals was still pretty bad ass. It holds nothing back – it’s incredibly gruesome, bloody and gory. It definitely earns its R rating from the very first fight where Theseus throws a spear. If you don’t think it goes there, think again. There are some repulsive dark scenes that would make any parent a bad parent if they let their kids watch it. It will make you cringe and cover up your face until you know it’s safe again. The action scenes are impressive and exciting as they turn up the tempo tenfold with every sword swing and axe throw but the rest of the movie is paced kind of slow and allows the mind to wander and notice the not so cool parts of the story. I just wanted to get to the freaking awesome parts that get your heart pumping and adrenaline going – thankfully they were glorious enough to make up for the rest of the movie.
Theseus loves spearing people with...spears
I enjoyed every single scene that the Gods were involved with. If you follow Greek mythology, you’re going to have a fun time with this movie (and have a few complaints as well which is always the case with so many conflicting myths). The God’s fighting scenes were so cool and visually stunning: slo mo, fast paced….whatever the Gods did, they looked amazing doing it. Luke Evans led the way as Zeus but there were also appearances from his beautiful daughter Athena (Isabel Lucas), son Aries (Daniel Sharman), brother Poseidon (Kellan Lutz), demi-god Heracles (Steve Byers), Helios (Peter Stebbings) and my favorite, Apollo (Corey Sevier). I wish there were a lot more involvement from them but the story was about Theseus so they kept the movie down to Earth with the humans.
The Gods looking down on us
Every part was cast wonderfully. Henry Cavill did an amazing job carrying the film as Theseus and will definitely have his pick of starring roles from now on (read: Superman). Mickey Rourke was compelling as the ruthless villain, King Hyperion, that you just couldn’t figure out. His whispered voice was eerily soothing while being super evil. Together, they made a good contrast of good vs evil and built up their tension with each other until the last epic fight. I’ve fallen in love with Freida Pinto through Slumdog Millionaire, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and now Immortals as Phaedra. She is beautiful, seductive and has a body fit for the Gods. Her presence giving off a silent yet all knowing stance was well portrayed in her flowing red dress.
The Hero, the thief, the oracle and the monk
If you thought the bodies in 300 were chiseled, get ready for more bountiful muscles. From the extras who were only put in the movie to die to the Gods who are glowing golden in every scene, almost the entire cast is striking. On top of that, the costumes and outfits allowed for a lot of peeks of their entire bodies. The costumes got a bit ridiculous in terms of the headpieces of the Gods and curiously masked menaces but they reminded you of all the weird imagery from ancient Greek mythology with a modern twist. It was great seeing some fresh and innovative ideas. The Gods were pristine as the humans were grimy and some of the villains were disgusting.
The Gods ready for battle
There was a lot to laugh with Immortals as it was fun at times but there was also a lot to laugh at because the movie got pretty outrageous. The storyline was there but the story was not. Many of the characters weren’t developed enough so their actions had no bearing. You understood what each of their purpose was but didn’t have enough time to care about them. The direction, on the other hand, was top notch. Director Tarsem Singh was able to say so much without words. He made this a blockbuster art house film using just enough cinematic techniques to enhance the movie but not scare away people just looking for a brutal slaughter. Some of his crazy transitions were masterful…if only his storytelling was up to par. I’m so conflicted as there were so many elements to love in this film but they all didn’t culminate into something mystifying – some things you just can’t fix in post production.
Tags: Corey Sevier, Daniel Sharman, Freida Pinto, Henry Cavill, Immortals, Isabel Lucas, Kellan Lutz, Luke Evans, Mickey Rourke, Peter Stebbings, Steve Byers, Tarsem Singh
Matthew Fong created advancescreenings.com and is the lead contributor. He watches every type of movie and will try almost anything twice. You can follow him on twitter here: @matthewfong
