Immortals (2011) Review

By Paco McCullough

Tarsem Singh is one of the most visually interesting directors in Hollywood today. His obvious care and detail to every minut of every shot may only be surpassed by David Fincher. While both of his previous films (The Cell, The Fall) were incredibly beautiful, story was never focused to the level it should have been. Unfortunately, this shortcoming continues in Immortals, perhaps the worst of Tarsem's films.

The plot of Immortals is quite simple. Theseus (Henry Cavill, next year's Superman) needs to recover a magic bow bestowed by the gods before the evil king Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) can release the Titans, a group of evil immortal beings that will wreak havoc upon the world. Zeus and the other gods of Mt. Olympus are not allowed to interfere in human affairs, and will only be able to help should the Titans be released.

Exactly why the gods can't help is never clearly explained, especially given that they all really seem to want to. This leads to several moments of Deus Ex Machina, where the heroes are saved at the last moment by divine intervention. There are several other significant flaws with the script. The pacing is atrocious, with "character development" for a bunch of cardboard cutouts that are impossible to care about.

The acting suits the absurdity of the material quite well. All involved seem to recognize that they're in a silly action flick. Mickey Rourke seems to enjoy himself the most, chewing the scenery in a way that only he can. Cavill also does a pretty good job with the material given to him.

As this is a Tarsem Singh film, none of that really matters. What matters are the visuals, and Tarsem doesn't disappoint. Though the film is over-reliant on CGI, he still manages to capture some breathtaking imagery. Singh even elevates what would be a rote battle scene to remarkable levels of visual splendor. Art and costume design are also quite incredible, particularly relating to one of the most interesting interpretations of a minotaur I have ever seen.

While I can't recommend Immortals, I can say that those of you looking for a cheesy action movie could certainly do far worse. The beautiful visuals help make this film something more than just another 300 ripoff. Just don't expect much more.

2.5 out of 5