Movie Review: IMMORTALS

When I first heard that director Tarsem Singh was taking on the challenge of creating a Greek mythology film called Immortals, I knew it was going to be visually striking, but I wasn't sure what to expect from the story or action. The director is mostly known for making very strange far out films, and Immortals could have easily turned out to be like one of his other crazy art style films. I'm not saying I don't like Tarsem's films because I do! They just aren't meant for everyone. Immortals is the directors most commercial film project to date, and I wondered if he could pull off a film project like this that would appeal to a greater movie going audience. When I started seeing trailers for the movie I still wasn't sure if it was going to be good or not. In fact my excitement level for the film was pretty low until I went to Comic-Con and saw some awesome hardcore red-band film clips that gave me a taste of what was really In store for us. The trailers have gotten better sense then, but even now they don't give you the full exciting impact of what Immortals really is.

Immortals ended up exceeding my expectations and is one hell of an incredibly awesome badass movie. I freakin' loved this film! It's not the best movie of the year or anything, but hot damn, it was exciting and fun to watch! I grew up watching fantasy Greek mythology movies like Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Augernauts. I love those movies, and Immortals had that same kind of feel, minus the big ass Ray Harryhausen mythological monsters. The story had that classic old school epic feel to it though. I had no big problems with the story or script at all, it worked fine for what this movie was. 

The movie was brought to us from the producers of 300, which is a movie I thought was extremely entertaining. I can see how some people would compare the two films, because of the look and feel, but In my opinion Immortals is a superior movie. The story was told a little better, it had better visual effects, and much better choreographed innovative action sequences. This is a completely different movie than 300 so don't expect to see that, expect to see some a little better.

I was utterly blown away by the action fight sequences in this movie. I was in awe as these scenes played out on the big screen, they were fast paced and overflowing with adrenaline filled intensity. They were innovative and there was stuff included that was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The screen was also sprayed with the blood of the Titans and Gods. I'm not a big fan of CGI blood, but they did a good job with it in this movie, it didn't annoy me as much as it usually does. But it's still CGI blood. There's one battle sequence in particular between the Gods and the Titans that was ridiculously awesome, a short clip was released recently for it. Whenever the Gods fought there was this slow motion speed element added that enhanced the badassery.

I liked that the gods in the film were portrayed as young men and women, as opposed to the old bearded and white haired Gods that we've seen up on the big screen over the years. If I were an Immortalized God I would want to look like a good looking young ripped man as well! It makes sense to me that these Greek gods would be more youthful. 

Henry Cavill fit the role of Theseus perfectly, he was awesome, and as I watched the film it was easy for me to see how well he will fit the role of Superman in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel. Near the end of the film Theseus gives this speech to a group of soldiers preparing for battle that I loved. As far as inspirational battle movie speeches go, I think this one ranks pretty high on the list. I thought it was very cool, and exhilarating. Cavill did an awesome job delivering it to the men, and put a lot of power into it. One of the main things I liked about it was how the men reacted to the speech by banging their swords to their shields in unison.

Mickey Rourke played the main villain in the movie and I think he did a decent job. I wasn't really blown away by anything he did in the movie though, and he didn't really come off as a threatening character. I was never scared of him for the fact that I thought Rourke was being way to over dramatic in his acting. He was great in The Wrestler, but since then I have yet to see Rourke do anything to impress me, and that's because I think all the other directors just let him do his own thing, when Darren Aronosfky stood up to him and actually directed him. I think anyone could have done what he did in Immortals, I would have liked to see the role go to someone else, but we have to live with what we're given. I didn't hate the movie because of it,  I just thought he was the weakest link. As far as the rest of the cast goes everyone was fine. Stephen Dorff was fun to watch and Frida Pinto did a solid job as well, but nothing worth going into any details about.

I did see the movie in 3D, the 3D aspect didn't impact me. I don't really care for 3D films, and I think this movie would be just as exciting and fun without the added 3D element. 

Immortals was such a awesomely cool movie, and I'm excited to eventually see it again. I know there may be some of you that wont agree with me on this movie, there may be some people looking for something a little more. But I enjoyed it for what it was, and I'm going to recommend that you go see it, as I know it will entertain most of you. I think you'll have a great time at the movies with Immortals, it's a beautifully hardcore spectacular event, so enjoy the experience!

Here's the synopsis for the film giving you a run down of what it's about:

As a power-mad king razes ancient Greece in search of a legendary weapon, a heroic young villager rises up against him in a thrilling quest as timeless as it is powerful. The brutal and bloodthirsty King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) and his murderous Heraklion army are rampaging across Greece in search of the long lost Bow of Epirus. With the invincible Bow, the king will be able to overthrow the Gods of Olympus and become the undisputed master of his world. With ruthless efficiency, Hyperion and his legions destroy everything in their wake, and it seems nothing will stop the evil king's mission. As village after village is obliterated, a stonemason named Theseus (Henry Cavill) vows to avenge the death of his mother in one of Hyperion's raids. When Theseus meets theSybelline Oracle, Phaedra (Freida Pinto), her disturbing visions of the young man's future convince her that he is the key to stopping the destruction. With her help, Theseus assembles a small band of followers and embraces his destiny in a final desperate battle for the future of humanity.