Underrated Fantasy Movies: Immortals

In terms of the visuals that went into the making of this movie, Immortals is a stunning display of special effects and costumes that are essential to the overall feel of the feature and while they don’t necessarily correspond at all times with what might think of the ancient Greek deities, they do add a great idea of flair to the overall look of the movie that’s kind of impressive. It would be great to say that the story is seamless and flows effortlessly from one moment to the next, but even watching it minute after minute makes it clear that the story is one that takes part in great chunks that, thankfully, do manage to come together, but are still more or less easier to watch on their own. The important moments in the movie are essentially those that have to do with the magical bow that Theseus, played by Henry Cavill, is after. Apart from that, the rest feels like a giant game between the gods, a game that becomes deadly when a couple of them defy Zeus’s orders to not help the mortals. 

If this had been made nearly a decade before then Mickey Rourke’s performance as King Hyperion might have been a little more impressive since age and plastic surgery have not done the man any favors since he’s ended up aging far less gracefully than ever. His acting isn’t horrible, but it almost feels that his character is literally weighed down by his physical stature and the fact that his career has been raked over the coals throughout the years, and it’s been rough to see him appear in one manner after another as someone that has to eke out each minor role before taking on something in a direct to video movie that’s not horrible but is hard to notice all the same. In other words, it might have been nice if the movie would have found someone just as grizzled but a little more impressive to play Hyperion, but Rourke did a decent job. 

The reason this movie feels underrated is that there are several great action scenes throughout the feature that definitely redeem the story and give it a lot of meaning when it might otherwise appear that the movie wasn’t worth the effort. It didn’t exactly establish Cavill as a big action hero, but it did strengthen his position and gave him another movie to fall back on when it comes to his place in the movies. To date, Cavill has played a bystander, a hero, and a villain, and he’s been great in each part given the fact that he’s convincing enough in his acting that he can become whatever character he needs to be at that moment. Seeing him as anyone but a skilled fighter or a brawler these days is kind of tough since he’s made kind of a reputation of being a tough guy with his roles as a hero and as a villain, but thanks to other appearances such as he gave in Enola Holmes and a few other features, there’s no doubting that Cavill has what it takes to be a legend one day. Some might want to argue that he’s already there, but the truth is that he still has a ways to go, but he’s definitely on the right track since he’s taken on a few very key roles in his time. 

Immortals almost felt like a way for Cavill to prove himself yet again since as Theseus he portrays someone that was, in truth, trained by a god in disguise since Zeus, who is played by Luke Evans in his true form, and John Hurt in his mortal form saw to his tutelage and spent hours training him to create a warrior that didn’t get a chance to shine until he was older. The fact that Theseus is given a hero’s journey as he’s taken from being a poor and shunned individual to being a slave, to being a respected warrior, and eventually to being one of the many that fight on behalf of the gods, is an epic journey that many have glorified over the years and is up for debate when it comes to how glorious it really is. 

But on the whole, this movie is fun since it has enough action and enough exposition to satisfy a lot of people. The costumes are a bit funky at times, but when dealing with one director or another it’s to be expected that various designs are going to be appealing to some and a bit off to others. Overall, this movie is worth watching simply because it’s one of those that a person can’t help but feel has a deep and meaningful purpose behind it, but is still meant mostly for entertainment and a great deal of inspiration.