Movie Review – Immortals 2011 will show today, 11.11.11

Cumi’s say: One of my favourite books in my youth was Jason and the Argonauts, and Jason and the Golden Fleece. The sense of adventure and the Greek mythology always intrigued me. Lately there’s been an interest by Hollywood to feature more and more of the Greek mythology genre. It’s certainly a welcome.

Ciki’s say: I really wanted to watch this show because director Tarsem Singh and producers Gianni Nunnari (300), Mark Canton (300), and Ryan Kavanaugh (The Fighter) were about to unleash an epic tale of treachery, vengeance and destiny in Immortals.

The plot: As a power-mad king razes ancient Greece and threatens to destroy mankind, a heroic young villager rises up against him in a thrilling quest as timeless as it is powerful. The brutal and bloodthirsty King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) and his murderous army are rampaging across Greece, demolishing everything in their wake with ruthless efficiency. Village after village falls to Hyperion’s legions and each victory takes him one step closer to his goal: unleashing the power of the sleeping Titans to vanquish both the Gods of Olympus and all of humankind.

It seems nothing will stop the evil king’s mission to become the undisputed master of the world, until a stonemason named Theseus (Henry Cavill) vows to avenge the death of his mother in one of Hyperion’s raids. When Theseus meets the Sibylline Oracle, Phaedra (Freida Pinto), her disturbing visions of the young man’s future convince her that he is the key to stopping the destruction. With her help, Theseus assembles a small band of followers and embraces his destiny in a final desperate battle for the future of humanity.

Background: When producers Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton first met with Charley and Vlas Parlapanides, the Greek-American brothers who wrote the script that would become Immortals, they knew immediately they had found a compelling and original story. Their only reservation was that they had just wrapped the groundbreaking period action blockbuster 300. Obviously, 300 had been a landmark movie and was unprecedented for the industry. It showed that one could make a historical movie in a very modern way with themes that are connected to contemporary feelings and emotions and morality. The producers decided that Immortals should be the second part of their partnership in making a group of historical, mythological movies.

 

What we liked about the movie:

Well Theseus and his big, rippling hunky bod of course. Fabulous sword play, extremely artistic and dramatized fight scenes, and the incredibly hot Luke Evans as King Zeus to name a few more.

Not an uncommon tale the the Greek Mythology genre, we see Theseus, a youth born into poverty who rises to hold the fate of civilization in his hands rises to meet his destiny. Theseus the handsome young lad who has been dealt a terrible hand in life, born a bastard, sees his mother slain and is then picked by destiny and the Gods to a defend against the annihilation of humankind as they know it. Can it get anymore cliched than this? Then, in the tale, everyone is forgotten until one man, Hyperion, finds a dead Titan. He decides that he will free the Titans and conquer the world. You can pictured Hyperion as the Charlie Manson of ancient Greece. He starts a murderous cult and convinces people to believe in his plan. Not only is mankind in jeopardy, but the gods are as well. Still nothing wildly different or unique about this story line.

Ciki’s Say: So we have on the one hand, handsome men, with great physiques working some amazing moves, and terrific sword choreography. On the other, we have a common mythological storyline, a couple of lame oracles who don’t really serve a purpose in the movie except to have vision of the perilous future then copulate with the hero Theseus, and a blood thirsty villain who goes around busting(literally – like with a blunt hammer) people’s balls to rid the world of humanity, all except his kind. Hmmm.. yes, so why were we so enthralled by the movie? Well because the producers actually pulled it off .. and with great class. Immortals is dark and edgy. It has amazing visuals, great fight techniques, and great fight scenes. The entire movie is shot in a highly stylised fashion and the word, “Renaissance art” comes to mind when describing the cinematography mood and visuals. Also, the characters were convincing in their acting – unlike the horrendous acting we saw earlier this year in Conan the Barbarian, these guys really looked and acted the part in this movie. The vulnerability of Theseus, the nasty dark side of Hyperion, the dilemma of the Gods to intervene.. all worked together to electrifying effect, culminating in the ultimate fight-scene and grand finale that had us on the edge of our seats.

A great show. Go watch it.

Cumi’s say: In my opinion, this isn’t Tarsem Singh’s best. While having enjoyed The Cube and my favourite, The Fall, this Greek mythology based movie isn’t his best work. The actions scenes are amazing though. On the Oracles, I’ve never liked watching Freida Pinto’s performance. As captivating as she can be, I’ve always found her acting lacklustre. Her role could have been given to another better actress. Still though besides it flaws, this movie is still enjoyable. Greek mythology is always fun to watch.

The Immortals will be screening in all GSC cinemas starting TODAY, the 11.11.11

Happy 11.11.11 Folks!!

 

 

 

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