Film reviews
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It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.
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The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.
The Dictator
A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.
The Woman In Black
Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.
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Immortals 3D (Film)
Rating: MA
Running Time: 110
Country: USA
Director: Tarsem Singh
Cast: Henry Cevill, Stephen Dorff, Isabel Lucas, Mickey Rourke
Distributor: Universal
Release Date: November 24, 2011
Film Worth: $11.00
FILMINK rates movies out of $20 - the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worthThe spectacular visuals – and they’re here in abundance! – can’t disguise the clunky screenplay or forgettable performances.
A sword and sandals 3D blockbuster - especially one made by a director famed for his visual flair - should at least be an enjoyable popcorn piece. But Tarsem Singh's Immortals doesn't deliver the wonderful escapism these multiplex films can offer. It looks good - amazing at times - and does create its own ancient world of myths and mortals and Greek gods. But this titanic tale is about style, not storytelling.
It centres on Theseus (newly minted Superman, The Tudors' Henry Cavill) and his battle with King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke). It involves revenge, romance, a virgin oracle, a mystical weapon, the wrath of the gods, plus a truckload of Titans trapped inside a mountain. The elements for a good story are certainly there but the director wants to show off. He's made this for himself, not an audience.
The filmmaker's previous films, The Cell and The Fall, were intriguing but not really satisfying. The Fall, particularly, saw him dubbed as a "visual stylist" and here he's let that go to his head. Well choreographed fight scenes and handsome visuals can't disguise clunky, clichéd dialogue. While it's considerably better and more atmospheric than 2010's Clash Of The Titans, it's still an F-grade screenplay, wrapped in spectacular effects.
Immortals is big on decapitation - the fight scene with umpteen severed heads, exploding in slow-motion 3D splatter, is so over the top it'd be funny if it wasn't so gross. It's this scene that stays with you - not, with one exception, the performances. As the badass King Hyperion, a growling Rourke commands his scenes, towering over the other actors. Cavill is good but not especially accessible, John Hurt is his wonderful self, Isabel Lucas holds her own as the goddess Athena, but the usually impressive Stephen Dorff looks like he's in the wrong movie...
From the dramatic coastal setting to the realm of the gods, Immortals has plenty of 3D eye-candy but there's also something oddly claustrophobic and uninviting about this world.
