Immortals is a Hollywood swashbuckler with Greek costumes. It is a film rife with sword splay and CGI graphic violence that would make any video game creator envious. The film is based ever-so-loosely on Greek mythology, centering on the Greek legend of Theseus (Henry Cavill).
As near as I can tell, the only similarity between this film and the legend of Theseus is a particular battle between the gifted swordsman and a Minotaur. Beyond that, it would be an understatement to say that writers Charley and Vlas Parlapanides took liberties with Greek Mythology. I won't even go into the liberties. Other than borrowing names from Greek Mythology, there was no resemblance between this story line and the story of Theseus. So take it at its face, this film is a Hollywood action film designed to highlight great special effects.
Rather than being the son of Poseidon, Theseus is merely a mortal man whose mother was raped by an unknown attacker. He was the product of that unholy union, making him a bastard relegated to the status of peasant. But the young boy was nurtured by Zeus (Luke Evans) himself, who mentored the youngster in the form of an elderly serf. The boy was groomed for a future battle that Zeus knew would require a leader.
This battle was led by peasant-come-King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke), who is laying waste to Athens in search of the ancient equivalent of WMD. A bow (Epirus Bow) with powerful arrows that he can use to unleash the Titans. The film throws in a thief, a love interest in the form of a virgin seer who our lead manages to deflower, and minions of extras who are severed to pieces in barbaric ways. With King Hyperion on his rampage toward the well-guarded Mount Tartarus. It is here that our hero, villain and the gods engage in an epic battle for the future of mankind.
Aside from taking incredible liberties with mythology, which I was okay with, this film also had a rather formulaic Hollywood plot. We have an arch-villain, a peasant who rises to lead the masses aided by a motley band of groupies and an impossible task. The young leader must rally the troops, with a Patton-like speech to stand against a formidable foe that already possesses the Epirus Bow. Indeed, we get the speech, but it is nothing like Patton. It was a laughable, staged presentation that impelled me to follow Theseus as much as I could be convinced to follow Richard Simmons into battle. Yet the story weaves together some interesting elements and decent characters in an attempt to showcase incredible special effects. Overall, the story was average. The special effects were awesome.
If you like your carnage served with a heavy dose of slow motion, then you will love Immortals. It seems that Director Tarsem Singh wanted to treat viewers to every sinewy strand of muscle unwinding from freshly slaughtered corpses as forged steel, chains, or any variety of steel weaponry severs through them like butter. The gore might be overwhelming for many viewers and seemed to be one of the focal points of the film. I am not a fan of slasher films and don't like excessive gore, but in this film, with superbly choreographed fight scenes (which were equally difficult to believe), the action was intense and gripping. The extreme violence and a mild nude scene easily earned this film an R rating from the MPAA.
The performances helped make this average film exceed its script. Rourke is somewhat typecast, but showcased some of his Wrestler moves in a decent fight scene near the end of the film. I like Rourke as a villain and don't care if he is typecast in that type of role. He does it well. I actually like Cavill, too. His performance added a degree of credibility to an otherwise incredible film. I was actually surprised that I enjoyed Luke Evans as Zeus. It was an odd casting choice that worked for me.
I enjoyed Immortals enough to recommend it, understanding that it was mindless fun. Loosely based on characters from Greek mythology, this film was more about the adventure and intense fight scenes than anything else. Strong performances and mildly interesting characters helped move a plot that was formulaic and predictable. The ending was a bit soft considering the pacing of the action scenes, but overall, a decent swashbuckler (Greek-style). Don't pay for it, wait until it is streaming for free. 6/10.
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