Ages ago, the immortals were at war
with each other. The victors were known as Gods and the defeated were titans locked away in Mount Tartaros.
Mankind came into being and the great war was forgotten. King Hyperion (Rourke) wants to capture the oracle
Phaedra (Pinto) and use her to find the legendary Epirus Bow to free the titans. Theseus (Cavill) is secretly chosen
by Zeus (Luke Evans) to lead the people against Hyperion's faceless murdering hordes. He is fueled by revenge
when Hyperion kills his mother in front of him.
IMMORTALS is the film that the CLASH
OF THE TITANS remake should have been. Tarsem directs a visually beautiful film. His visual style is unique
as you see in THE CELL and THE FALL. The visuals pop right at you as you marvel at the visual
overload in the sets, costumes, and directing at work in this film. IMMORTALS is a fun sword and sandals
epic.
Mickey Rourke hams it up every chance
he gets when he is on screen as Hyperion who wants to make sure his macho seed is out there and not the seeds of other men.
He is a cruel king who wants revenge against the Gods and the worlds for letting illness claim his
wife and kid. Luke Evans continues his trend of easily being mistaken for Orlando Bloom. Then I remember Orlando
bloom isn't as a great actor like Luke Evans (even though I did like Orlando in
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN). Luke Evans commands
with his presence as Zeus as he warns his fellow gods not to interfere in the affairs of man unless the titans are freed.
He says disobeying it will mean death for any god. Theseus is an angry guy who wants revenge and his mother
wants to find a girl to give her grand kids. I think Cavill will make a better Superman than the last guy to play
him (I point fingers at Brandon Routh who was good in SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD).
IMMORTALS is a simple sword and spears
epic with mythology, gods, villains, and good guys. It isn't complex. It is a visual action film to enjoy even
though I do think the 3D is wasted on this film (I wonder if this one is another 3D up-conversion). I am happy
Tarsem has come out with another visual feast for the eyes (and next summer's SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN may another visual
feast too). If you liked 300 and were disappointed by that CLASH OF THE TITANS remake, watch IMMORTALS even
if it is just for the visuals.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
IT'S NO MYTH- a very brief featurette on
scholars and the cast (and crew from the film talking about the Greek myths and gods.
CARAVAGGIO MEET'S FIGHT CLUB: TARSEM'S
VISION- The four part making-of covers working on the film with Tarsem
(and why the actors wanted to work with him), the visual effects (and how Tarsem used a form of pre-viz to help shoot scenes
in the movie in regards to the backgrounds which were partly green screen in many scenes), the stunts, and creating the musical
score.
The alternate opening isn't as good as
the opening in the film, but it does show a little about the childhood of Theseus. The
two alternate endings are good to watch, but the ending in the theatrical is still the best.
The eight deleted scenes show various scenes cut from the movie for pacing reasons.
Also included on the Blu-ray disc are the
theatrical trailer and the IMMORTALS: GODS & HEROES graphic novel.
The DVD version of the movie and the ability
to download a digital copy are included in the set too.
FINAL ANALYSIS: IMMORTALS is a visual delight with great action scenes. Too bad the film is so dark looking on a plasma
TV where it looks a little lighter on LCD screens. I thought the picture was brighter in theaters even if it was
in 3D. The extras aren't bad, but teh alternate opening and endings are some of the best on the Blu-ray.
Plus kudos for the theatrical trailer being included.
this review is (c)3-9-2012 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com
