Immortals: Review By Julian Roman

It's all killer and no filler in Director Tarsem Singh's 300-esque action extravaganza, Immortals. Well known for his lavish production design and theatricality, Tarsem's signature style is evident. It's not quite as epic in 3D as the advertising claims, but is certainly worth your action dollar to see. If only the story and plot were given as much attention. It's paltry at best, with poor dialogue and little exposition. That's a shame because they have a great lead actor to work with. Henry Cavill is on the verge of stardom here. His Adonis looks and tremendous screen presence lend weight to what could have been another heavy-fisted, no-acting required character like Conan.

Cavill stars as Greek peasant Theseus. Happy with his meager life and loyal only to his mother, he's been unknowingly trained by Zeus (John Hurt, Luke Evans) for a greater purpose. The evil King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke), and his sadistic army - the Heraklion, seek a mythical bow; long hidden by the Olympus gods. This weapon is powerful enough to destroy the cage imprisoning the vanquished Titans. The bow can only be found using the seer powers of the virgin oracle, Phaedra (Freida Pinto). She escapes Hyperion's clutches and is brought by fate to Theseus. Together they will lead the Greek army against Hyperion's tyranny.

Immortals is a perfect vehicle for Tarsem's visual focus. The details of each character, particularly Hyperion and the Gods are quite intricate. The characters have these distinct headpieces and body ornaments that are more akin to what you would see in mythic Indian tales. This adds a bit of creativity and variety to the battle scenes, which are well staged. Tarsem uses slow motion, visual effects, and thunderous sound effects to make them look like a ballet of carnage. It's different than what I was expecting from the trailers, so that's a nice surprise.

Every actor and actress is in peak physical condition. There are more six packs on display here than in the 7-11 around the corner. Cavill is an absolute beast. Tarsem has him shirtless and kicking ass from frame one. You have to credit Cavill though for pulling off spectacularly silly lines while impaling people. A lesser actor would have looked like a clown. I can see why he won the role of Superman. They were looking for a more rugged, physical actor to play the part and they definitely have their Man of Steel in Henry Cavill.

I would list Immortals as better than Clash of the Titans, but not as good as 300. Action fans will be entertained. Even audiences not into the violence will appreciate the look of the film and the eye candy; there's certainly enough skin for both sexes. It's just another lackluster script and plot that makes Immortals okay, when it could have been much more.