Greek mythology has never been portrayed accurately by Hollywood. Producers Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton last delved into the Greek mythos when they worked with Zach Snyder on "300." This time they teamed up with director Tarsem Singh. The knock on Singh is that his films generally feature more action and style than substance and acting. "Immortals" definitely fits that description.
"Immortals" centers on a little known peasant named Theseus, who is destined by the gods to lead mankind against the evil Hyperion. To do this, he must find the Epirus Bow before Hyperion, that way he will prevent a second war between the titans and the Gods and the destruction of humanity.
If that synopsis seems a tad bit short it is because that is the extent of the plot. It is a very simple premise that does not demand much of its audience. The purpose of a film like this is to set up a number of stylized action scenes with flashy visuals. In that regard, the film is very successful. It is not meant to be historically accurate or teach a lesson; this movie just wants to entertain in the simplest way possible. In that regard it is only halfway successful.
Most films that aim for the "wow" effect through action and violence are not acting-friendly films. While that holds some water here, the cast assembled here does a good job with what little they are given. Mickey Rourke is utterly menacing as King Hyperion, but again he is given nothing to work with. He pumps as much life as he can into this story and comes away with the most engaging character on screen. Rourke steals every scene that he's in that appears to have been meant for Henry Cavill (who plays Theseus) to shine.
That is not to say Cavill is bad in this film. It is just that the dialogue is poorly written. At one point, he has to deliver the standard motivational speech to a group of scared troops. The speech is actually kind of riveting thanks to a great delivery by Cavill. In the hands of a lesser actor some of these lines would have been cringe-worthy. John Hurt is also able to breathe life into the lifeless script. That is not to say that the entire cast knocked it out of the park. Most of the performances are as wooden as expected. Luke Evans is particularly stiff as Zeus, the king of the gods.
As for the action scenes, there are a good number of fight scenes in the movie. They all feature that same slow-motion fighting style seen in Snyder's "300." In fact, a few shots look like frame-by-frame copy-cats of some of that movie's fighting scenes. Some of the cooler fight sequences come whenever the gods decide to visit Earth and intervene. The filmmakers chose to use a very slick, blurred effect whenever a god is fighting.
Given Nunnari and Canton's history, the fact that the fighting is similar should be no surprise. However, they went the extra mile to even have the visuals look strikingly similar. It was shot much in the same manner as "300." They used green screen backdrops on real sets built for the film. For the most part, the effect works really well. The scope the film is huge with a number of wide-angled, sweeping shots over epic battle scenes. Some of the bigger digital set pieces in the film blend in really well with the practical sets.
As mentioned above, the story is nothing special. It is a very loose interpretation of the Greek story of Theseus and the Minotaur. The filmmakers just decided to take artistic license and make their mythology out of it. Some minor religious questions are brought up throughout the film, but do not expect to get into any deep discussions about the nature of them after seeing this. The ending also leaves some wiggle room for a sequel. That will depend on how this current installment does at the box office.
Overall, if you are a fan of "300" or straight-up action films, then this is your slice of pie. It is not deep or thoughtful, but it does feature a few noteworthy performances. Anyone expecting a thorough by-the-book adaptation of Greek mythology will leave disappointed. However, if you want to rest your mind for a while, then this is a great matinee movie for your viewing.
My Rating: 2.5/5
