'Immortals' is an action fantasy film from 2011 directed by Tarsem Singh and starring Henry Cavill. Funnily I had forgotten that Tarsem directed this, and at some point while watching it I was thinking that it really looked and felt like a Tarsem movie, and low and behold I was right on the money. Tarsem only has five films under his belt as a director, but he has a very specific visual style that once you see is hard to miss. His first film, 'The Cell', is a favorite of mine. 'Immortals' stars Henry Cavill really before anyone knew who he was. He has screen credits going back to 2001, but this is really one of the first films where he was front and center in all his swole glory, and this was one of the roles that probably directly led to him getting cast as Superman in 'Man of Steel'. Stephen Dorff, Mickey Rourke, John Hurt, Luke Evans and Freida Pinto also star alongside Cavill.
This is a mishmash of various Greek legends and myths cobbled together into a story that does its own thing and doesn't stay beholden to any of the lore it comes from. Hyperion, played by Rourke, is an evil warlord spreading across the land conquering searching for a relic known as the Epirus Bow which he wants to use to release the Titans to make war on the gods who he feels have wronged him and all humanity. Theseus, played by Cavill, is trained by an old man but is secretly, and unbeknownst to him, the spawn of Zeus and is destined to battle Hyperion. At first Theseus runs from the marauding army, fighting as he can, until he discovers who he is and attains the proper aid to seek out additional resources and confront Hyperion. Mix in some actual Gods showing up and entering the fray as well and this truly is a violent, stylized action extravaganza.
Tarsem's visual flair cannot be denied as he shoots some excellent sequences although it is very hard not to see echoes of '300', which I believe is a superior film. The mythological fantasy backdrop is also reminiscent of 'Clash of the Titans' to add to the muddled cacophony that is the plot of this film. The story is both basic and at the same time convoluted mainly due to the shotgun style of mythology going on here. It's like throwing a bunch of stuff at a wall, and just seeing what sticks. The characters are, for the most part, bland and forgettable. While I enjoyed Cavill, I cannot decide if Rourke's despot is good or if he just leaned in too much tipping the performance into a sort of camp. This is a decently enjoyable film and can be entertaining for the visuals and action. It just suffers from comparisons to better films that have better characterizations and more cohesive plots.
Eric's Grade: C-
This is a mishmash of various Greek legends and myths cobbled together into a story that does its own thing and doesn't stay beholden to any of the lore it comes from. Hyperion, played by Rourke, is an evil warlord spreading across the land conquering searching for a relic known as the Epirus Bow which he wants to use to release the Titans to make war on the gods who he feels have wronged him and all humanity. Theseus, played by Cavill, is trained by an old man but is secretly, and unbeknownst to him, the spawn of Zeus and is destined to battle Hyperion. At first Theseus runs from the marauding army, fighting as he can, until he discovers who he is and attains the proper aid to seek out additional resources and confront Hyperion. Mix in some actual Gods showing up and entering the fray as well and this truly is a violent, stylized action extravaganza.
Tarsem's visual flair cannot be denied as he shoots some excellent sequences although it is very hard not to see echoes of '300', which I believe is a superior film. The mythological fantasy backdrop is also reminiscent of 'Clash of the Titans' to add to the muddled cacophony that is the plot of this film. The story is both basic and at the same time convoluted mainly due to the shotgun style of mythology going on here. It's like throwing a bunch of stuff at a wall, and just seeing what sticks. The characters are, for the most part, bland and forgettable. While I enjoyed Cavill, I cannot decide if Rourke's despot is good or if he just leaned in too much tipping the performance into a sort of camp. This is a decently enjoyable film and can be entertaining for the visuals and action. It just suffers from comparisons to better films that have better characterizations and more cohesive plots.
Eric's Grade: C-