IMMORTALS
A brave young stonemason assembles a fierce band of warriors to prevent an evil king from acquiring the artifact that will permit him to rule the world in this epic mythological fantasy from visionary filmmaker Tarsem Singh. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Director: Tarsem Singh
Cast: Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke, Freida Pinto, Stephen Dorff, Kellan Lutz
Release Date: Nov 11, 2011
Rated R for sequences of strong bloody violence and a scene of sexuality
Runtime: 1 hr. 50 min.
Genres: Action/Adventure,Fantasy, Mythology
Review:
Those looking for that singular Greek Mythology film will probably have to keep looking. Immortals is a visually impressive film that never bores the eyes but never matches its visual intensity with narrative punch. Loosely based from Greek Myths, i.e. they’ve used the time period and some names; the story is an overly complex and occasionally incoherent jumble that doesn’t ever really find any sort of rhythm. Tarsem Singh visual flair is enough to make the film watchable and enjoyable for the better part of its runtime. Singh paints incredible cinematic images that your eyes and mind are occupied for the better part of the run time. Unfortunately with the threadbare script, the dead zones are noticeable and drawn out. The cast isn’t much help as they aren’t asked to do much but show off impressively toned and oiled bodies only occasionally whispering some dialogue. Mickey Rourke chews scenery like he’s angry at it, while Henry Cavill and Freida Pinto are incredibly stiff. The secondary and tertiary, sadly the Gods included, have maybe one or two lines to dialogue to define them. It’s not unexpected and Singh’s films share a lot in common with Julie Taymor and both are far more enjoyable as impressive visual feast for the eyes if not the brain.
C+
Hmmm that is the impression I got just from the trailers. Another stylish feast for the eyes and nothing for the brain. I have felt myself under whelmed just by the tailers alone which is never a good start to a film!!
ReplyDeleteOn the positive side, the director does bring some truly impressive visuals to the proceedings, much lik his previous films.
ReplyDeleteWhile the previews make it look like 300 is it a bit beefier.
Sadly, Tarsem seems totally disinterested in tangible storytelling though.
A beefier 300 is a perfect way to sum it up.
ReplyDeleteThe film definitely needed better editing to sort out the pacing problem but the treatment of the Gods ruined it for me.
I'd prefer that they weren't there at all rather than being be watered down.
Immortals looked good but just fell short.......I liked Troy better....... ;-)
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ReplyDeleteTarsem just isn't much a of a storyteller, he doesn't seem to care too much about it.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you about the Gods, they were totally underused and developed, I was really let down by that as well.
After we were talking about Troy, I've started thinking I should revisit it with fresh eyes.
ouch. yeah this looks like one of those eye candy movies that you could probably watch on muter.
ReplyDeleteExactly Candice, you might actually get more enjoyment out of it that way!
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you ever watch Troy again and I will give it a watch too!
ReplyDeleteI'll be sure to do that when I revisit it.
ReplyDelete