Call me late, but I just watched the 2011 film Immortals – don’t ask me how. At first, when it was in theaters, I decided against seeing it because I had read the generally negative reviews of the film and refused to pay the $22 for a ticket. I should’ve trusted my gut. The film is visually stunning. I mean, it’s beautiful. The film, loosely based on the mythological hero Theseus (Henry Cavill), has a rather weak storyline and almost completely strays from the classical mythology canon. However, there are some things that director Tarsem Singh does quite well.
I want to start with the action scenes, which are some of the most exhilarating of any Greco-Roman era-styled film I’ve ever seen. One of my all time favorite movies, Gladiator, is better on so many more levels, but the CG work and the imagination of Singh are far and beyond anything I’ve seen before. But that’s another type of film almost entirely. Let’s focus on similar flicks. I put it below 2010′s Clash of the Titans in terms of story development, but nudge Immortals up a bit on the ladder in terms of action, maybe alongside the equally gory 300 (cut from the same cloth). 
However, this one doesn’t display the cheesy, superlative, unrealistic nature of Greek mythology, as Frank Miller does with his Spartans and Persians in 300. Singh makes his characters – all of them – highly attractive and believable individuals. With the action scenes, I was seriously on the edge of my seat. In no other film do you see the gods involved in hardcore fighting. It’s like watching what the live action Dragonball Z film should have been and what we all wished it would have been, but sadly wasn’t. This film is the truth in terms of action flicks. The action scenes, coupled with amazing graphics make for an awesome viewing experience that leaves its audience drooling for more.
The other thing I really liked about this film is the characterization. Well, let me clarify. All of the characters pretty much sucked and I would’ve canned this film had it not been saved by one – Zeus (the irony). The infamous King of the Gods is depicted in a way I’ve never seen on film before. When we think of Zeus, we think of a dirty old man with a deep voice and long white beard. He looks something like this guy: 
Singh completely flips this popular (Judeo-Christian) view of Zeus into something a lot more realistic – that is, true to the historical accounts. In Immortals, we see a very youthful, buff Zeus with short black hair and no presence of a beard. He looks like a warrior, yet still regal. He directly defies the archaic and gendered stereotype (going back to the art of ancient times) that the length of ones beard denotes the size of ones penis, which is conveyed as power to rule.
This depiction coveys the idea that Zeus did not necessarily resemble Santa Claus or anything painted by Michelangelo. Singh’s vision of Zeus also includes a more accurate and sympathetic personality for the ruler of gods. This may be a result of his youthful appearance as we see not the typical decisive, paternal figure that we are used to thanks to such films as Clash of the Titans (old and remake). We don’t see the grandfather prototype that inspired the appearance and personalities of the Christian God, the Norse Odin, and maybe even Albus Dumbledore (ok, that would be a stretch). Instead, we see an introspective, indecisive, incestuously romantic, young adult. This makes his immortality seem much more accessible to us lowly humans. We see him as a young (although we know he’s a few thousand years old), just ruler who makes brash but equitable decisions and holds firm to his words. 
We don’t see a Zeus who does everything in his power to help humanity, but instead has faith that humans will help themselves, as he more eloquently states in a scene from the film. We see him shed blood and tears and sweat, just like human beings. We see an extremely vulnerable side of the all-powerful thunder wielding god. One of the first scenes that caught my attention was the scene in which we first see Zeus in his “immortal form” as he appears to Athena, hidden in a rocky enclave. In those brief moments, we are made to feel the tender intimacy of Zeus and Athena. Looking into Zeus’ eyes, we see the gaze of a lover fixed on the stunningly attractive goddess before him. (Yes, all of the gods in this film are highly attractive, as they should be. If only they were as intelligent as they were sexy.) For a split second, we expect a romantic kissing scene or some other sexual encounter. However, we are jolted back to reality when she reveals herself as his daughter. Zeus seems to continue his subtle romantic advances until they are called away.
This is the real Zeus that we read about – the incestuous nymphomanic who doesn’t quit fit into the body of Liam Neeson or Laurence Olivier. The much younger Luke Evans perfectly portrays Zeus (and the other gods) as the physically irresistible deity identified by Homer, Hesiod, and Herodotus. In Evans, we get the egotistical monarch Zeus, who decrees that no god may assist the humans and threatens to kill any god who disobeys. We get the lover Zeus, who entrances his daughter Athena whilst hidden behind the rocks. We get the warrior Zeus, who we magnificently see as the last god standing in the battle against the released Titans. We get Zeus the protector, as we see him disguised as an old man watching over young Theseus and his family. And we get both the paternal and fraternal Zeus, who cries for his dead son Ares and reasons with his brother Poseidon. All of that rolled is up into one frighteningly complex character. This Zeus is something to behold, and yes he even bleeds.
So, for a movie with a flat storyline, the graphics, action, and the characterization of Zeus make for an impressive show and movie experience. See it for yourself – on video.
Oh, and if the superhuman fight scenes and chiseled abs aren’t enough eye candy for you, Freida Pinto will make this the most mouth-watering experience of your life (post-Halle Berry in Swordfish).
