Tarsem Singh, known for his visual work in films like “The Cell” and “The Fall,” directs his first film shot in 3–D with “Immortals,” a fantasy movie involving Greek mythology characters.
Although “Immortals” is obviously a fictional account, the story is set in a believable ancient Greece era in a time before Christ, a time where different tribes were fighting over land.
The film revolves around its hero, Theseus (Henry Cavill), a mortal man who tries to carry out Zeus’ (Luke Evans) mission for him to defeat the evil army of King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke), who is seeking a deadly weapon known as the Epirus Bow.
With the bow, he plans to unleash the Titans from their cage at Mount Tartarus and wipe out the gods, who are led by Zeus.
Not only does Theseus attempt stop Hyperion’s evil plan because of the prophecy, but he also wants to avenge his mother’s death and kill Hyperion, who slit his mother’s throat in front of him during a village raid.
After escaping slavery under Hyperion’s army, Theseus receives help from a virgin oracle princess by the name of Phaedra (Frieda Pinto), who can see visions of Theseus’ future.
From a visual perspective, this is a well-done film and one that makes good use of its 3–D effects.
Many comparisons have been made to “300,” which was also famous for its visual appeal.
Thankfully, though, “Immortals” doesn’t feature nearly the amount of half-naked men that the corny “300” featured.
Rather than focusing too many shots on the chiseled male physique like “300” was overly obsessed with, Singh delivers a more artistic feel with both the action and the scenery than “300.”
While some scenes featured over-the-top gore, Singh isn’t too obsessed with the constant blood-gushing like what you would see in a movie such as “300.”
What is perhaps most impressive about this film is the job that Singh has done with the CG present in the battles and the environment.
However, the same thing cannot be said with this script, which is too slow-paced and filled with countless plot holes. The long-awaited battle between Hyperion’s army and the Athenian army, with whom Theseus sides, doesn’t take place until the very end of the film.
While there is certainly a decent share of intense action scenes, they are too few and far between to keep the viewer interested. This would be fine if the story didn’t feature a mundane script, but it does. Singh fails to captivate the audience through the entire film.
Some of the acting performances, particularly by Stephen Dorff in “Immortals” are cheesy, but Rourke certainly makes his mark in this film with a powerhouse performance. In fact, if it wasn’t for Singh’s visual appeal, Rourke would be one of the few bright spots in this film.
“Immortals” isn’t a bad film by any means. It isn’t good either. However, it manages to entertain when it can and is a step-up from the comparable “300.”
