There has always been a coolness factor with Greek mythology. People, myself included, have always been fascinated with hearing the tales of the Greek gods. Many films have tried to cash in on this world of fantasy and violence. “Immortals” is the latest film to cash in on this type of mythology.
According to legend, there is a weapon, the Epirius Bow, that holds great power. So, of course, a vicious warlord King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) wants this weapon so he can rule the world. He wants this weapon to release “the Titans.”
Years ago, the gods fought each other, finally realizing they can in fact kill each other.
The winners became gods that ruled from the heavens. The losers, the Titans, became imprisoned inside Mt. Tartarus. With the Titans freed, Hyperion will rule the world.
Enter the hero Theseus (Henry Cavill). Theseus is seen as nothing more than a “peasant.”
He does possess some impressive combat skills, but since his mother is labeled undesireable, so is Theseus. Theseus is befriended and advised by a kind old man (John Hurt).
Theseus’ world is shattered after Hyperion and his forces attack his hometown. He is then forced to become a prisoner of Hyperion’s army. A psychic, referred to as an “Oracle,” Phaedra (Frieda Pinto) has a vision that Hyperion will find the bow and that Theseus will join Hyperion.
To prevent this from becoming true, they must espcape. Theseus and Phaedra manages to escape along with two other prisoners Stavros (Stephen Dorff) and Dareios (Alan Van Sprang)
Theseus must find a way to defeat Hyperion before all is lost. Although he is watched carefully by the gods, Zeus (Luke Evans), Poseidon (Kellan Lutz), Athena (Isabel Lucas), Apollo (Corey Sevier), and Heracles (Steve Byers) from Mt. Olympus. Zeus instructs them that they must not interfere unless the Titans are released.
“Immortals” does have some impressive aspects. There are some elaborate battle scenes. The backgrounds and the costumes are well done. However, the plot moves too slowly.
For every battle scene, there is about twenty minutes of dialogue. We the audience don’t want to have to wait for the next action scene. We want constant action.
Mickey Rourke is one hell of an actor. His talents seem wasted in this picture. He does the usual acts of villany, including killing Theseus’s mother in front of him.
He spends most of the film snarling one liners such as “Die with your gods!” I would’ve liked his character to do more than plot and snarl. Michey Rourke deserved better.
One actor that stood out was Luke Evans. He actually brought an interesting character to the film. As Zeus, he was able to convey someone who wanted to help mankind, but at the same time wanted to have faith that we can fight our own battles. During the fight scenes, he showed us why Zeus is one of the gods that people feared the most.
This was one of those movies I really wanted to see. It had its moments, but had disappointments such as lagging scenes, and corny dialogue, which caused the film to suffer. It did not cause it to suffer enough to be seen as a ‘bomb,’ but still suffered. Go see it, but don’t get your hopes up.