Immortals - Movie Review

Immortals looks to attract the same audience that flocked to theaters for 300 which was a highly stylized take on the Trojan soldiers of Sparta and their famous stand at Thermopylae against the Persian army. This time around, the same treatment is given to ancient Greece and the mythological Greek Gods by director Tarsem Sing who is best known for the visually stunning movie, The Cell.

With a cast featuring Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke, Stephen Dorff, Freida Pinto, and John Hurt, but lacking in a true blockbuster name for the marquee, Immortals looks to wow the audience with amazing special effects, action sequences that will have you glued to the screen, and an epic story worthy of the Greek Gods.

Immortals tells the story of Theseus (Cavill), a mortal man who has been under the watchful eye of Zeus (Luke Evans), King of the Greek Gods. Zeus, using the guise of an unnamed elder man (Hurt), has been secretly preparing and training him from childhood to become a leader of his people. Born in to a lower class and not a believer in the Gods who watch over him, Theseus is an unlikely candidate to lead an army in defense of the evil King Hyperion.

Declaring war on humanity, Hyperion (Rourke) is on a campaign to find the Epirus Bow, a legendary weapon of the Gods. This weapon, along with his legion of followers, will provide him the power to unleash the Titans who have been held captive by the Gods since the dawn of time. Leading through fear and overwhelming aggression, he will stop at nothing to complete his quest.

Theseus, with the help of his companion Stavros (Dorff) and the mysterious oracle Phaedra (Pinto), looks to not only save his people from annihilation, but to also avenge the murder of his mother who was killed by Hyperion himself. With all of the pieces set in motion, can the Gods avoid breaking their rule of not openly interfering in the affairs of men, or will they choose to assist their chosen hero in achieving the destiny they themselves have chosen for him?

If you are wondering about seeing this movie in 3D, I would say it is not mandatory but definitely worthwhile. The big action scenes and other large scale set pieces look absolutely amazing with 3D added, but smaller, more intimate moments are less affected. There is more of a focus on adding depth to the images rather than having stuff jump out of the screen at you which means the technology isn't just being used as a throw in gimmick. This is a post conversion 3D effort so don't expect an Avater level of quality, but it is still leaps and bounds ahead of poor 3D post conversions like the headache inducing Clash of the Titans.

For the most part, the story is entertaining and the acting is adequate for the material with standout performances from Mickey Rourke and an under used Stephen Dorff. The battle sequences in this film are the true highlights and are filled with jaw dropping moments and epic scale imagery. The combat is very similar to the frenetic style used in 300 and I was most impressed with the fight choreography during the battles between the Gods and the Titans.

Do not wait for Immortals to come out on video as it is more than worthy of being seen on a large movie theater screen with a big bucket of popcorn. I saw it at the Cinerama in Seattle and would highly recommend this as your venue of choice.