When I first heard that “Immortals” was coming out from
the folks who brought you "300" I was on board but this movie is not whatever you think it might be. This
movie is not about the immortals that are mentioned in "300" if that is what you might be thinking. This
movie has the look of "300" and is visually stunning but at the end of this movie, you may have a hard time understanding
exactly what you just saw. This movie will turn the average movie viewer into an instant "director" with a bunch
of notes on things that “should have been and/or could have been done differently” and that is the downfall of "Immortals," which has
all the ingredients to be a great flick. “Immortals” looks great, sounds good, has the right characters, right
costumes and great special FX but simply does not have the STORY to make it worthwhile. All films have to
have a great story. I love epic type movies like this - don't get me wrong and I understand what this movie is about but it
goes down a boring road to get there and that is what is annoying about it and at the end, the film falls very short
of epic and is easily forgettable. You will want to cheer but won't have too much to cheer about. The script was not what
it could have been…plain and simple and perhaps only a child or someone who watched the movie after a few good drinks
would disagree.
I don’t summarize movies in my reviews but I will note a few things. The character of King Hyperion (Mickey
Rourke) was a fun character to watch. Visually and vocally Mickey Rourke made this character feel evil and a worthy antagonist.
King Hyperion is in search of a special weapon called the Epirus Bow and is willing to tear everything and everyone up to
get it. The protagonist in this movie is Theseus (Henry Cavill) who looked the part and played the part but had the typical
“hero’s journey” in this movie and it was pretty easy to predict what was going to happen in regards to
his character.
This movie is easily predictable in
some areas but there are too many unnecessary scenes that make no sense at all mainly in regards to the gods’ role in
the film. Indeed it is the gods that in many ways throw this movie off course and leave the viewer not so much saying “what
happened” but “why did that happen?” My first thought was that the gods maybe should have been referenced
to and not seen because bringing them down from the heavens in a few scenes seems to create a movie inside a movie which
adds to the "WTF-ness?" of the film. There is a good guy vs a bad guy vs the gods vs the titans and the
Epirus Bow which plays a huge role in all of this mess just happens to fall into the right hands then the wrong hands
so easily....REALLY?
See This Movie IF...
See this movie IF your common sense and logic can be placed on hold for a few hours.
If you chose to see "Immortals" then do so with caution. If you are looking for a good ol’ time at
the movies and want to see some action with the fellas and some decent fight scenes this may do the trick. The beautiful
Freida Pinto who plays the role of Phaedra will leave the average red blooded male in awe throughout the whole movie and is
almost distracting and worth the price of admission alone. If you can keep it simple and not think about it too
much you can enjoy this film, not as much as you will want to but enough. Cool fight scenes, great visuals...hey
it's just a movie right?
“Immortals” may be a good choice
if you are “just looking for something to do” and your choices are limited. If the movie you really want to see
is too full or isn’t playing when you want it to, then this is a decent substitution. To not be disappointed simply
leave your brain at the box office. “Immortals” may make more sense if you have had a couple drinks in my opinion
or aren’t really trying to get deep. So get your happy hour on before seeing this! You will thank me later.
Skip This Movie IF...
Skip this movie IF you are expecting "300" or "Gladiator" or
anything like that. "Immortals" looks great, don’t get me wrong but this isn’t a movie that is going
to leave you cheering at the end. You want this movie to better than it really is and that is what is disappointing.
The target audience will show up to see "Immortals" but will leave feeling that they have seen this “type”
of movie done better a few times already. If you are curious about "Immortals" but feel skeptical then just
rent it or borrow it when it comes out.
The film looks
great in a theatre but that is about it if you are the analytical type. A different script and perhaps a different director
could have turned this film into a classic but it is far from that. It does not fail due to not having a high enough budget
or the wrong actors because everything is right except the story and all that was missing is someone looking at the script
and saying "WTF" is this about? Couple rewrites here and there and it could have been a better movie and would have
made more money plain and simple. I can not honestly recommend someone to pay to see this film in a theatre and the box office
totals agree with me on this.
This film could easily have grossed over a $100 million in the USA in
a short amount of time if people could honestly recommend it but it is hard to recommend this film. Either you saw it and
were cool with it or you weren't, but you weren't talking about it...blogging about it, telling your friends, etc. You probably
won't see it twice and I would bet most people who saw it in the theatre won't buy it when it comes out. It's just what
it is...in one word "Immortals" is ALMOST. Almost a great film, almost something worth talking about,
almost the action film of the year, almost a blockbuster...almost...and unfortunately we all know that almost
simply isn't good enough.
Movie Info
Release Date:
11/11/11
(Wide)
Rating:
R for sequences of strong bloody violence, and a scene of sexuality
If you really want to see this movie - wait until
it comes out on DVD. This films comes down to if you can turn your brain off or not. If you can you will enjoy it and
if you can't then forget it! What's annoying is that you shouldn't have to click your mental off switch to enjoy something
and a good script helps avoid situations like that. Bad
script = bad movie. Good guy vs bad guy vs gods vs titans oh my! Oh brother...