Immortals (starring Henry Cavill)
Long ago a war raged between the gods. The victors claimed the heavens, the losers became known as Titans and were imprisoned deep in the mountains. Now, the bloodthirsty King Hyperion seeks the legendary Epirus Bow so that he may free the Titans from their prison and enslave mankind. Ever watchful, Zeus sets his eye upon Theseus, the one mortal capable of leading mankind against Hyperion.
A few years back, 300 renewed and revitalized our thirst for epic, blood thirsty battles of conquest, lust, power, riches and glory. And then CLASH OF THE TITANS got a remake and we added gods and mythical monsters to the equation. IMMORTALS is smooth mixture of both worlds overflowing with scantily clad, muscular heroes and awesomely beautiful gods who love to stir up trouble. The result? A two hour feast for the eyes if raging war ignites your heart, but not to worry if you happen to be the significant other of one such person as there’s no shortage of eye candy either in any sense of the term.
Visually this flick surpasses 300 as most of that film takes place on the battlefield. Not here. The landscapes are magnificent, from Theseus’ home in the mountains, to the pit, Zeus’s temple and the resting place of the Titans. The rich details and thought that went into them is jaw dropping and immensely impressive, but these things are simply the icing on the cake. The storyline isn’t as spellbindingly original as I’d hoped but fits well within the right parameters for what’s expected. The concept and legend surrounding the Epirus Bow was enough to impress me. Sure, I felt Theseus found it a little too easily but then again, he did have help. The oracles were also well done and added just enough intrigue, not to mention the fact they sure did know how to fight.
Henry Cavill may not be the biggest actor on set, but the spotlight was certainly on him as anticipation grows for THE MAN OF STEEL. Cavill was brilliant as a brooding, flawed hero. The fighting scenes were fewer than I’d anticipated but the choreography was there. There were all kinds of cool slow motion shots (especially when the gods were fighting) but no shaky up close angles or flash fighting. I got to enjoy every inch of each battle scene and I loved every second of it. A lot of the god battles were shown in the trailers but that’s to be expected and didn’t hurt the film. The final battle between Theseus and Hyperion delivered big numbers and made me realize how underused Mickey Rourke’s fighting skills are in most films. The guy can pull off an incredible fight sequence, and should be called to do so more often. Rourke’s Hyperion is everything you want in a villain, ruthless, bloodthirsty, smart and tough (I loved his helmet too). He did have a scene where they photo shopped him 300 style, but I just grinned. It was noticeable but forgivable.
IMMORTALS didn’t hold back when it comes to bloodshed and violence, which is exactly what I want to see in films like this. That said, It didn’t go overboard with gore or even nudity, there was one sex scene but it was brief and modestly done. The dialogue was well written and never overacted, the gods weren’t around as much as I wanted them to be, but it’s understandable considering how the story plays out. There are lots of familiar faces here in cameo appearances like Kellan Lutz if you’re a TWILIGHT fan, Joseph Morgan if you watch THE VAMPIRE DIARIES and let’s not forget Stephen Dorff who plays a perfect wing man to Theseus. Luke Evans played a great Zeus, though that’s the youngest I’ve ever seen him portrayed. Also, ironically enough, Evans played the God Apollo in the remake of CLASH OF THE TITANS. From start to finish this flick was the goods, and I especially love that the ending implies a round two. I certainly hope to see this group again, it was a well rounded cast and a fun action packed adventure. As for Cavill, I think he’s got what it takes to be leading man materiel, making me even more pumped to see him play Superman.
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