"Immortals"
Flair, style, panache, call it
what you will. These are a few words used to describe the very
distinctive imagery that director Tarsem Singh uses in all of his films.
Now to be fair up until the last six months, the music video now turned film
director only had two films under his belt in the past twelve years . The
Cell and The Fall boasted some pretty impressive photography which,
at least for a visual medium, is why film can still be considered an art
form. Eye candy aside, Tarsem's two previous films suffered from a lack
of emotionally engaging storytelling. His latest, Immortals,
succumbs to this same fate as well.
Actor Henry Cavill will soon be
seen wearing that strapping red and blue spandex as he prepares to take on the role
of Superman in the upcoming Man of Steel. However in this film he
grabs his sword and sandals as Theseus who is preparing to do battle against
the tyrannous King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) who has declared war on all of
humanity. That's right folks, if you couldn't tell by the names of our
hero and villain, Immortals is a film that takes place in ancient
Greece. A time ruled by larger than life gods who reside on the heavenly
Mount Olympus. Hyperion is furious over the death of his wife and
child. He of course blames the gods for his misfortunes and would like to
see their reign come to an end. The only way to do this though is to
release the long imprisoned titans who are caged in the bowels of Mount Tataros.
Zeus (Luke Evans) makes it very clear to the other gods that they themselves
must not interfere with the matters that most concern the mortals. Looks
like you're on your own Theseus.
The motives for the characters
are clear and to the point. But there's nothing more to them or the plot
for that matter. Everything is simplified which leaves the screenplay
lacking any sort of complexity or depth. This is after all a story of
revenge. But give us some sort of character development. I get it;
Theseus can swing a sword, throw a spear, and shoot an arrow. Same can be
said about Hyperion. This guy is brutal in every sense of the word.
His cruel, remorseless, barbaric behavior is ever present in each scene.
Rourke does a fine job convincing us that Hyperion is a bad guy. Cavill
also establishes that he is our hero. These actors don't have anywhere
else to go with the material that is given to them. Their characters come
off typical archetypes and nothing more.
The plot does a poor job of
moving us along from one well done (and incredibly bloody) fight sequence to
the next. The dialogue feels forced and mandatory only so that we can get
to lay witness these beautifully designed set pieces that will soon be drenched
in massive amounts of carnage. The violence is stylistically done but
this film does earn its R rating. The human body gets sliced and diced
every which way with generous quantities of computer generated blood pouring
out. Lovers of 300 should have no problem stomaching the intensity
of this picture.
Expertly staged, gorgeously
designed, and fueled by a testosterone filled IV drip Immortals gives
our senses a real rush that only Tarsem can bring the silver screen.
Unfortunately the film fails at just about everything else leaving us wanting
more. Immortals delivers on its action but as for story and
characters, forget it. I would like to think that Tarsem is still growing
as a filmmaker and eventually he will find the right script that is best suited
for his visuals. In the meantime I'll just have to sit, watch, and endure
costume designer Eiko Ishioka's exquisite costumes as they move across the
screen. Or admire Tom Foden’s
meticulously constructed sets as they take us back to a time and place that we can only
dream about. It’s clear that Tarsem knows
what a film should look like but needs to become a better storyteller.
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