Fox Home Entertainment
Release date: March 6th, 2012
IMMORTALS, by Tarsem Singh, follows Theseus (Henry Cavill), a warrior chosen by the Gods and shunned by his village, as he must prevent the mad King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) from using the Epirus Bow to release the Titans from Tartarus and reigniting the war between them and the Olympians. Theseus is aided by the oracle Phaedra (Freida Pinto) and thieving Stavros (Stephen Dorff), while the Olympians struggle with their inability and desire to help their mortal hero.
The hyper-stylized film is visually stunning and the set design is equally impressive, setting a unique and attractive tone throughout. The film is an interesting re-envisioning of ancient Greek mythology, pitting Theseus against a man wearing a bull-shaped helmet, instead of the Minotaur of Cretan tales, while in a labyrinthine building. The characters have the potential to be truly engaging, but they are not fleshed out enough to connect with emotionally and there is less action than one would expect to compensate, making the pacing and story lag in parts throughout the 110 minute runtime. The Olympian Gods also show unrealized promise, as only a small number of the pantheon is present in the scenes and little justice is done to characterize them or play on their mythological dispositions.
The well-chosen cast will leave viewers wishing the film had presented them with a more complex or action-oriented script to work with. While the film is relatively likeable, it just misses the mark in its attempt to dish out the catchy lines of the 300 or the lasting impact of the Greek mythology from which it draws.
Kristen Micek