Review - Immortals (2011)

“The Gods Need a Hero.”

Director: Tarsem Singh

Stars: Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke, John Hurt, Luke Evans

Writers: Charley Parlapanides, Vlas Parlapanides

The director known as Tarsem was the mind behind The Cell, a movie that I don’t mind at all, but has plenty of detractors. Yet even those who didn’t like the movie said that it was visually interesting. So with that in mind I was really interested in seeing what this man would make of the Greek gods. Well the results are a movie that I’m somewhat torn on. Let’s get down to brass tacks people.

Like the Cell this movie is a visual feast, and for some people it could be worth the price of admission alone. It’s nice to see an action movie with such an experimental eye, and honestly I wish there was more action movies that tried to break free from the standard movie look. However there was one thing that did bug me when it came to the look of the film. Several times throughout I had to remind myself that it was in 3D. Not once did I think that the 3D enhanced the movie, in fact most the time I thought it was all in 2D. Still it’s a minor gripe as it was never distracting, just lacking, and more a problem with marketing than the film itself. The movie is also a lot more adult than you would expect as well, with the gore being pushed to the max. Along with the beautiful visuals, the gore does have a good punch to it all.

Most of the actors do a fine enough job, with John Hurt and Mickey Rourke being very dependable. Mickey Rourke in particular as Hyperion is an interesting villain, there are attempts to flesh him out and have some human characteristics, and yet he’s a completely loathsome. Henry Cavill as our hero Theseus was a little boring in my opinion. There was just nothing about him that really stood out to me. I wish I could speak more about the performance but honestly there is nothing to talk about, which gets me worried as he’s the next Superman and well say what you want but Superman has a personality. Stephen Dorff on the other hand as Stavros does an excellent job as the sidekick, and brings some much needed personality to the group of heroes. The gods themselves all act very regal but aren’t given much to do, other than look good for the visuals. Luke Evan’s as Zeus does bring the thunder, and lightning, and does bring a certain presence to the godly role.

The story itself strives to be an epic tale, and the end is rather exciting with the action really ramping up. However it does take a while to actually get there and the story is a very sparse thing. There are little idea’s planted all over the place, and I would think that in the hands of Tarsem the movie would of made more of an attempt to get in depth with the questions raised. But maybe I’m expecting too much from a movie that is supposed to be action packed and a fun ride. Still why bring these themes up if you aren’t going to do anything with them? What they do is just pad out the beginning to make the movie drag, when you want to get to the glorious action.

People who like the mythological like adventures should give this movie a look. The action is really good, and the experimental nature of the visuals does create a uniqueness not found in a lot of action films. But this still doesn’t stop the fact that the beginning of the movie is slow, and the main hero isn’t anything memorable. If you can find a 2D version of this movie I would go and see it. I’m sure most people will find this a beautiful Greek tale.