Immortals

A bit of background before you think I’m crazy for being desperate for rushing out to see Immortals.

Years ago I saw the movie ‘The Cell’ and thought it was really interesting. True, the acting wasn’t the best, and J-Lo and Vince Vaughn of all people? But that aside, the ideas behind it and the imagery in its finishing were fascinating.

Several years passed and my brother sent me a message saying ‘If you liked Pan’s Labyrinth, then you’ll probably like The Fall.’ As it happened, Pan’s Labyrinth was my favourite at the time, so I thought I’d check out ‘The Fall’. I’m not sure how he heard about it, because very few people I speak to, if any, have heard of it (It was never released in Australia either to the cinema or on DVD). When I saw it, I knew I had found gold. The Fall became (and remains) my all-time-favourite-movie (if you force me to pick just one).

A short time later I saw on IMDB that Tarsem Singh was working on something new. Sorry, to clarify: he directed both The Cell and The Fall but up until then hadn’t directed any other films. So news of a new one, and one based on Greek Mythology no less, was extremely exciting.

So, I have been waiting almost 3 years to actually see this from when I first heard of it. Unfortunately my excitement started waning when I saw the preview. It appeared he’d gone blockbuster/action. Still, I wanted to see it.

So, this week was the time! It had arrived here was an opportunity…

It was as I feared. “The producers of 300” (apparently a drawcard) had decided they wanted to make the same movie over again, but borrow some of Tarsem’s visionary genius to paint on top of it. Over the top action sequences that not only tried to glorify the blood that was literally free flowing like exploded water balloons, but attempted to make it somehow artistically beautiful as well. Semi-naked buff bodies filling up rooms like a ball pit, and a script that was predictable and unfulfilling.

It was ridiculous. Did I enjoy it? Yes, but I was still disappointed.  It was magnificently ridiculous and beautiful. I hope that sometime in the future Tarsem can find it in himself to make genuinely brilliant film like The Fall again, but if his next venture is anything to go by, it looks like a exponential decline.

I feel I need to mention how uncomfortably loud the cinema was, and how pointless and annoying the 3D aspect was. For an industry that wants to encourage movie patronage, they seem to be going out of their way to turn people off the cinema experience. I for one was just reminded how much I prefer to watch movies at home where I can control the volume and am not forced to pay extra to wear a 2^nd pair of glasses while watching a movie. (yes, I mean forced. I searched for a non-3D session in VMax and found I would have to drive for an hour and a half to see the one session a day in which that option was available.)

In summary, it’s possibly worth watching for the Tarsem shell they’ve encased it in, but do not be fooled that you will be seeing anything new, and know exactly what you’re signing up to.