Immortals Review
Superman and Whiplash go to war in Ancient Greece and it is spectacular.
November 10, 2011
by Stephen Lambrechts IGN.com
Let's address one thing straight away – Immortals isn't going to win any awards for its screenplay. Luckily, anyone familiar with Tarsem's previous films The Cell and The Fall will know that the former director of commercials is remarkable at getting emotions, themes and story across with his expert use of visuals. Beware of spoilers ahead.
Immortals is the story of Theseus (Henry Cavill), a peasant who may be humanity's only hope against the mad King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke), who has declared war on not only mankind, but on the gods he detests for not intervening when he and his people needed them most. Ancient law states that the gods cannot intervene with the affairs of humans, unless the Titans have been awakened to wreak havoc on Earth. Hyperion's plan is to acquire the powerful Epirus bow, the only weapon powerful enough to break the Titans free from their prison, so that he can force the gods into a confrontation.
After having his mother and entire village slaughtered by Hyperion, Theseus makes it his sole purpose in life to kill the evil king. Unbeknownst to Theseus, he has been receiving tutelage from Zeus (Luke Evans) for his entire life in the guise of an old man (played by John Hurt) should this dark situation ever arise. He is also aided on his quest by Phaedra (Freida Pinto), a beautiful Oracle who has foreseen Theseus' importance to the outcome of this event, and wants to make sure he stays on the right path, and Stavros (Stephen Dorff), a thief who joins Theseus' cause and proves to be a loyal ally.
While the trailers and marketing for Immortals might make it resemble another 300, it's clear within the film's opening moments that it isn't much like Zack Snyder's film at all. While Snyder's vision for 300 was based on recreating the look and feel of Frank Miller's gritty, high-contrast graphic novel, Tarsem's approach to the visuals in Immortals is steeped in the grandeur of Baroque high-art, with artists such as Caravaggio and Rembrandt as his inspiration. The results are truly outstanding.
Baroque art can convey the drama and chaos of a famous historical scene in a single image, and Tarsem manages to capture that exact essence here with his and his director of photography's masterful shot composition and incredible lighting techniques. Tarsem also uses slow-motion in many of his action scenes, which further gives us the impression of witnessing a moving painting, and also lets us soak in the immensity of what is taking place on screen.
Less successful is the film's use of post-converted 3D. While the effect works well on some occasions, there are a few scenes that are rendered too dark to be truly effective in 3D. While it never plumbs the depths of the Fright Night remake's terribly murky 3D presentation, the film would've looked even more impressive with a brighter and more vibrant presentation that allowed us to clearly see all of the incredible detail.
As Henry Cavill's first big role since being announced as the next Superman, the actor proves himself a true movie star in the making (something that fans of Cavill on the show The Tudors have probably known for a while). There is an earnestness and sincerity to his performance that makes him a likable screen presence, something that could have been lost had the film regressed into typical macho epic movie grandstanding. He's physical and fierce, without resorting to steroids and catchphrases.
Mickey Rourke plays King Hyperion as a man with a vengeance-filled heart. He is able to convey a sense of sadness and anger at the same time, something he has proven very effective at in the years following his role in Sin City. He has a sense of gravitas, which gives the build up leading to Theseus' battle with Hyperion extra weight, and also makes its outcome more emotionally satisfying. Freida Pinto does well with what she has, though her character seems to disappear for much of the third act, and it's always good to see Stephen Dorff on the big screen.
The gods -- played by the aforementioned Evans as Zeus, Isabel Lucas as Athena, Kellan Lutz as Poseidon, Daniel Sharman as Ares and Steve Byers as Heracles -- all get their moment to shine, despite spending the majority of the film looking down at Earth from Mount Olympus. They definitely don't disappoint though, nearly stealing the film with an explosive, slow-motion ass-kicking that results in dozens of slow-motion exploding heads and limbs. It's to Tarsem's credit that every time the film breaks out into hardcore action like this, it still manages to keep its beautiful artistry intact.
With Immortals, Tarsem has created a beautiful and sumptuous mythological epic with visual strengths that far outweigh the weaknesses of its fairly standard script. While that kind of approach might not jibe with everyone, those who are open to this kind of visual storytelling will feel like they've stepped into a living, breathing work of art.
via Charley Parlapanides. Thank you!
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