Movie Review: Immortals

Along the lines of “300,” “Immortals” set the bar for the swords-and-sandals epic genre.  “Immortals” was also the highlight of the Comic-Con feature film panels.

Henry Cavill (“Superman: Man of Steel”) is Theseus, a humble stonemason, mortal man sought out by the King of Gods, Zeus (Luke Evans, “The Three Musketeers“) to lead an army of men and put a stop to King Hyperion’s (Mickey Rourke, “Iron Man 2“) murderous rampage and save humanity.

King Hyperion’s bloodthirst for ultimate power results in an at-all-cost quest for the Bow of Epirus, a long lost weapon that could overthrow the Gods and crown him as the master of the universe.  The magical bow would set the Titans, imprisoned deep in the mountains for centuries, free and wage war against the Gods (Athena, Isabel Lucas; Poseidon, Kellan Lutz; Ares, Daniel Sharman; Apollo, Corey Sevier; Heracles, Steve Byers).

Zeus, in his human form of an old man (John Hurt), has been mentoring Theseus and believes that he’s mankind’s best hope.  He has faith that humans can and should save themselves without God’s interference.  Any God or Goddess who directly interferes would be punishable by death.  After his mother is killed before his eyes by King Hyperion’s soldiers, Theseus vows to avenge her death.  Fate leads him to the virgin oracle, Phaedra (Freida Pinto, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes“).  The priestess has visions of Theseus rising up for a higher purpose and leading the Hellenics army.

“Immortals” is lavishly and gorgeously produced.  It may not be faithful to the Greek mythology, but it’s a heavenly feast for the eyes.  Towering granite cliffs, mountain walls, shimmering seas, barren desert lands, edge-of-cliff villages, marbles palatial grounds, stone temples and giant statues.  Bronze, toned bodies clad in flowing robes, warrior armors and clashing swords.  Luminous Gods draped in gleaming gold and adorned with ornate headpieces.  Such mesmerizing, living paintings.

Even with the highly stylized battles and surreal blood sputtering, “Immortals” is a very violent fantasy.  Guts and gore galore with never-ending butchering, skewering, stabbing, slashing, beheading.  It does showcase Cavill’s capability in an extremely physical role.  His fierce fights with Rourke are incredible.  Since the filmmakers of ‘Superman‘ was looking to create a more physical Man of Steel, it looks like they’ve found their star.

Overall, “Immortals” is a lesser version of “300.”  Gods, soldiers, warriors, heroes, horses simply march from one place to another and battle one another.  With lackluster storytelling and character development, “Immortals” is truly a visual victory, but nothing more.

Copyright (c) 2011. Nathalia Aryani.

Nathalia Aryani is a business manager, foreign language translator, lifestyle/travel writer and film columnist. She can be reached at [email protected]. Nathalia owns a movies blog, The MovieMaven (http://themoviemaven.posterous.com).  Twitter: http://twitter.com/the_moviemaven