Immortals User Reviews

Immortals is a film that when I first heard about it I was hoping would be good. I like mythological tales and the ancient gods but then I saw a picture of Apollo and my hopes for the film vanished. I do not think any of the marketing has helped to show the film for what it is and upon finally seeing it I can say that my worries were for nothing. The film is highly stylised but it adds to the overall felling and tone of the film.

The story follow Theseus, a warrior determined to protect his home and mother from the wrath of King Hyperion. The king is waging war on the gods who he feels have wronged him and he blames for the death of his family, to wage his war he searches for the Erebus Bow and aims to unleash the Titans from their prison in Mount Tartarus. While raiding a village he kills Theseus's mother and sets him on the path to stop him and become the champion of the Gods, and it becomes a race to who will find the bow first.

Probably the biggest feather in the films proverbial cap is the direction of Tarsem Singh. He has an extremely visual style and while I have not seen any of his previous work, the trailers for them show he knows his craft and this is in full effect here. The film looks fantastic from beginning to end and while the plot may take itself a bit too seriously the visuals never let the viewer down. Every shot is extremely well composed from action sequences to the more dramatic moments, and it is a testament to his skill as a director that he manages to do this. You could compare the visuals and style to Zack Snyders work in 300, and all of his films since, but I think here Singh's work is far superior. He makes use of the effects to complement the film rather than as a gimmick and the film is better for it.

Then there are some great performances on show from the lead and the supporting cast. Henry Cavill, an actor I have liked in the Tudors, is great in the lead here and I was surprised by who big a bloke he is. He gives a solid lead performance and carries off the action well, while also handling the quieter and more reflective moments as well. He is likable, which is always good in a hero character, and comes off well in his interactions with the other members of the cast such as the always great John Hurt.

While on the subject of the supporting cast they are mostly fine but some really stand out, like John Hurt who gives the film a touch of class just by being there. Stephen Dorf is quite likable as well and also reasonably amusing with his jokes and serves to be a nice comic relief, and Freida Pinto is fine as the love interest and crux of the first half of the plot. I would like to say she is better but in truth she does not have much to do in the first half of the film. Where things start to stand out is with the depiction of the Gods. Isabel Lucas was good as Athena and had some great moments with the brilliant Luke Evans playing Zeus. In fact after Cavill Evans was my favorite performance in the film, and it was another case of by making the Gods look like Gods I spent most of the film feeling over weight and unfit! He was great as Zeus and really brought some charisma and feeling to the film.

The final positive factor I wish to mention here is that the action was great. It has been a while since a solid action film has come out directed at an older audience and it was refreshing to see a brutal and vicious film. The action is well shot and not once does it feel the need to go into shaky cam or zoom too close to the action, and it was refreshing to easily know what is going on in a fight scene. The best moments come in the form of the action, especially when the Gods get involved. I always wanted to see Gods reeking havoc and vengeance on themselves and humans and now I have and it was great to watch.

Where the film is let down come in the form Micky Rourke. Now I am not going to say he gave a bad performance but he did tend to mumble most of his lines and I must admit I missed a couple of them simply because I could not understand what he was saying. It became very annoying very quickly and really detracted from and otherwise solid performance, and since he is the villain of the film it is even more noticable. This was not the only issue, the other main one was that the story felt it was building to a reveal of Theseus's parentage, and it is alluded to, but it never comes and ends up feeling incomplete because of it. The only other issues I had with the film were that it took itself a bit too seriously at times and some of the pacing was mixed. By this I mean some scenes felt far too long and the action far too short as compensation.

In conclusion Immortals is a throughly entertaining and enjoyable film, that will be compared to 300 simply due to its looks. It is easy to recommend to anyone looking for some great visuals and great action.