Immortals

To borrow a quote from the slacker generation, the first thought I had after seeing the trailer for Immortals was "meh". That simple feeling was based on the question "What's new here?". Swords and sandals, Gods, Titans, Women wearing very little etc. There's been enough of these films already over the past couple of years to satisfy one's needs in this area. However, as those films have all mainly been of average quality at best has director Tarsem Singh come up with something different for us to enjoy? Singh is no doubt a visionary director and he crafts some great scenes here from birds eye views of battles to in your face carnage utilising slow motion and, all coated with his usual palate of striking colours, his stylish hand can be seen in most places on the print. Ah, but I've forgotten something here haven't I? The plot. And, as with all Singh's output, this is where Immortals falls face first flat into the sand. The style cannot be faulted, but it can't gloss over a by the numbers storyline and some C list acting. The easiest synopsis I can give is that young Greek adult Theseus (Henry Cavill) has to fight against King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) who is turning Greece inside out in his attempts to find a weapon that can kill all. To to be fair to Singh this is clearly shot as a fantasy film as opposed to anything remotely serious historically, but a bit more thought could have been given to some scenes that provoke unintentional laughter such as the camp get up that most of the Gods sport and a toe curlingly awful (non)sex scene between Cavill and token totty Freida Pinto (who looks pretty lost throughout). One plus point this film does have over its recent similar brethren is it does deliver on the violence front, meaning there is some menace throughout the picture. It's a shame though that this sharp edge is counterbalanced by the feyness of the overall finished article. On the acting front Cavill does what is required but struggles to convince as any sort of leader. I guess whether you like this film or not depends on whether you think it's ludicrous or entertaining that a group of scantily clad women, armed only with knives the size of little fingers, can slaughter a group of heavily armed male beefcakes without barely breaking a sweat.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
A treat visually, some decent gore, but the rest of it's entertainment is unintentionally comic. Rating: 5/10.