immortals

'Immortals' heroes Stavros, Theseus, Phaedra, and The Monk

That’s not to say that film is bogged down in merely attempting to look like a moving painting: Immortals also features some pretty exciting and impressively shot action. While the battles are simply not on the immense scale of films like 300 or Clash of the Titans (which featured enormous monsters and diverse fight scenarios), the combat sequences in Immortals are still impressive – especially since a pair of Theseus’ choreographed fight scenes appear to occur in one continuous take as Cavill ducks, spins, and slashes through a series of enemies. These combat sequences also make worthy use of the film’s 3D format – as spears punch through characters at odd angles and the added depth keeps bodies from overlapping in close quarter combat.

Early on, Singh conceived of a number of the film’s action sequences (as well as large-scale visuals) with 3D in mind – and the film definitely falls more on the side of the subtle-but-cool-looking 3D experience than an all-out in your face 3D extravaganza. Significant portions of the film don’t always take advantage of the added dimension, but two or three of the combat sequences (especially the finale) – along with some cool establishing shots (such as the introduction of the Titans) – make it worth the price of the format upgrade.
Immortals isn’t as over-the-top as some moviegoers might be anticipating, given its “From the Producers of 300” marketing. While it’s definitely another stylized, big-budget, swords and shields epic, the real strength of the film lies in Tarsem Singh’s imaginative vision – which is subsequently held together by an adequate story of gods, titans, and humanity. Film fans looking for deep and compelling character development or enormous CGI monsters may find the proceedings somewhat limited in scope (given Singh’s focus on a relatively grounded and thin human storyline); but for anyone interested in a mix of stunning visual compositions and brutal fight sequences, Immortals isn’t likely to disappoint.

If you’re still on the fence about Immortals, check out the trailer below:An entertaining if not entirely studious classical mythology yarn, featuring RP-accented beefcake Henry Cavill, who will shortly be seen as Superman. In a semi-coherent concoction that looks and feels as if it's been adapted from a comic book even though it hasn't, Cavill plays Theseus, a resistance fighter against an all-out assault on humanity by evil ogre Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) who is hoping to release a legion of imprisoned Titans from Mount Tartarus to do battle with the Olympian gods. It really makes very little sense at all, as is the way of these things, but it hardly matters. Director Tarsem Singh Dhandwar slathers things with eyecatching visuals – luscious CGI effects, vertiginous camera angles, a treacly amber glow – and keeps every frame watchable, however foolish and stilted the utterances emerging from