4/5
Tarsem's Immortals took me by surprise. I was initially excited to see it, after enjoying Tarsem's previous film The Fall, but my desire waned after countless negative reviews piled up. I almost entirely gave up on it until I found it on Netflix the other day. I must have watched it at the last possible moment because the next day it was no longer available for streaming. And I'm glad I did.
The plot is straightforward and seems to be made entirely for people who want nothing more than an action movie: King Hyperion (Rourke) steals the Epirus Bow so that he can use it to release the Titans from their prison beneath Mount Tartarus. Theseus (Cavill), a peasant who witnesses his mother's death, is the only one courageous enough to fight back. Zeus (Evans) believes so much in the humans' ability to combat evil that he threatens all the other gods on Olympus with death if they attempt to come to the aid of the humans.
As I said: simple, uninspired. But something about it stirs up excitement and emotion, and I'm betting it's all that Greek mythology. Tarsem gives us a striking visual oasis, with eye-catching costumes, luscious landscapes, and seamless computer graphics. Add in some of the coolest fighting I've seen, and who cares about the story anymore? Tarsem defies the current trend in crappy modern action flicks of fast cuts and shaky camera movements. Instead he uses "bullet time" photography, and he uses it wonderfully, pausing on sweet moves before speeding up for some fast action. The editing is tight and keeps the film lean and tense.
As for the negatives, the acting is passable (although that is honestly better than what I was expecting) and the unnecessary voice-over doesn't detract too much from the film (but that's probably because there isn't much of it). For what it aims to be, it's pretty close to perfection. I highly recommend this movie for anyone who wants a cleanly-shot and strikingly beautiful mindless action film.
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1600195/