Recently released Immortals is a high-tech action film based on classical Greek mythology.
Written by brothers Charley and Vlas Parlapanides, and directed by Tarsem Singh, it is a bloodthirsty adventure aimed squarely at adolescent males. Would-be warrior Thesius (Henry Cavill) lives a quiet life by the sea. He is young and progressive, gently humouring his mother who still pays tribute to Zeus and the old gods at the local shrine. He is being schooled in the arts of battle by a wise and learned teacher (John Hurt), an old man with a mysterious countenance and a secret or two. That’s lucky because dark forces are approaching.
Warmonger King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) is on a quest to find the Epirus Bow, a weapon of such awesome power that none can stand in its path. He is as dark, corrupt and cruel as Thesius is pure and noble. When Thesius’ mother is murdered by Hyperion’s advancing army, Thesius is drawn into the war by his desire for revenge, all the while being watched closely by the very gods that he has rejected all his life.
Immortals is not a film for those who have an accurate interest in Greek mythology, in fact it plays very fast and loose with its source material. Rather, it is a teenage romp, not remotely serious, a special effects extravaganza that is reminiscent of the Matrix trilogy, but in a classical setting. It is an exceptionally gory film but that’s not too disconcerting, it has a kind of comic book look to it.
The multiple fight sequences are meticulously choreographed, and beheadings and skewerings occur at measured and regular intervals. It is when the gods get involved that the battles look most impressive, their capacity to move at different speed to mortals is treated very deftly, and despite their preference for smashing crania to smithereens, it actually looks pretty cool. The film requires no acting, the look is everything. All the same, Rourke in particular approaches his role with relish. Much of the design is a bit desperate, a cross between classicism and sci-fi.
The costumes are a case in point, particularly the horrific headwear but it’s clearly meant to be over the top. The plot is slack, but that is also mostly irrelevant, the whole exercise being a vehicle for whiz-bangery. The computer generated landscapes can be a bit vertiginous in 3D, it’s obvious no-one was afraid of heights back then, and the mother of all tsunamis proves to be quite satisfying. Check any notions of classical mythology at the door, and enjoy the ride.
Immortals is currently showing at cinemas around Australia.