Immortals

Immortals is a 2011 3D fantasy film directed by Tarsem Singh and starring Henry Cavill, Freida Pinto, and Mickey Rourke.^[4] The film also stars Luke Evans, Steve Byers, Kellan Lutz, Joseph Morgan, Stephen Dorff, Daniel Sharman, Alan Van Sprang, Isabel Lucas, Corey Sevier, and John Hurt. The film was previously named Dawn of War and War of the gods before being officially named Immortals, and is very loosely based on the Greek myths of Theseus and the Minotaur and the Titanomachy.

It was released in 2D and in 3-D (using the Real D 3D and Digital 3D formats) on November 11, 2011 by Universal Pictures and Relativity Media.

Plot

Before the dawn of man or beast, immortals wage war against each other. The victors name themselves gods while the vanquished are named Titans and imprisoned beneath Mount Tartarus. The Epirus Bow, a weapon of immense power, is lost on Earth during the war. In 1228 B.C., the mortal Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) searches for the Bow, intending to use it to release the Titans to spite the gods for failing to save his family. Hyperion captures the virgin oracle Phaedra (Freida Pinto), believing that she can find the Bow's resting place.

In a small village nearby, the inhabitants prepare to flee to Tartarus to avoid Hyperion's army. One inhabitant, Theseus (Henry Cavill), is a skilled warrior trained by his mentor, the old man (John Hurt). Theseus and his mother Aethra (Anne Day-Jones), considered undesirables because Theseus was born from Aethra being raped, are forced to stay behind by villagers and Athenian soldiers including Lysander (Joseph Morgan). Theseus ably battles multiple opponents until the Athenian officer Helios (Peter Stebbings) intervenes and discharges Lysander for his actions. Lysander travels to Hyperion, offering his service and the village's location. Hyperion accepts, but maims and castrates Lysander for being a traitor. Hyperion's forces attack Theseus' village, murdering the villagers and Aethra, and taking Theseus captive.

The old man, revealed to be Zeus (Luke Evans), meets with his fellow gods Athena (Isabel Lucas), Poseidon (Kellan Lutz), Ares (Daniel Sharman), Apollo (Corey Sevier), and Heracles (Steve Byers), and warns them not to interfere in mortal affairs as gods, believing that, until the Titans are released, they must have faith in mankind to defeat Hyperion. Theseus is enslaved alongside the thief Stavros (Stephen Dorff). Phaedra, who is held captive nearby, witnesses a vision of Theseus. Phaedra organizes a riot, using the chaos to escape with Theseus, Stavros, and the other slaves. Theseus decides to pursue Hyperion and attempts to capture a boat, but he and his allies are overwhelmed by Hyperion's forces. Poseidon purposefully falls from Olympus into the ocean, causing a tidal wave that wipes out Hyperion's men. Phaedra sees another vision of Theseus standing near a shrouded body. She determines that Theseus must return home to bury Aethra.

While laying Aethra to rest, Theseus discovers the Epirus Bow embedded in nearby rock. He frees the Bow, but is attacked by Hyperion's henchman the Beast (Robert Maillet). Theseus kills the Beast, and uses the Bow to save his allies from being executed, before collapsing from poisoned scratches inflicted by the Beast. Phaedra tends to Theseus and later falls in love with him, stripping her of the visions she deemed a curse. The group returns to Phaedra's temple while Hyperion and his forces are away at Tartarus. At the temple, Stavros and Theseus are lured into an ambush, and Theseus loses the bow. Outnumbered by Hyperion's men, Ares directly intervenes to save Theseus, and Athena provides the men with horses to reach Tartarus. Zeus arrives and angrily executes Ares for disobeying his command. Zeus tells Theseus that they will receive no more aid from the gods, and he must justify the faith Zeus has in him alone. The lost bow is brought to Hyperion.

Theseus, Stavros, and Phaedra, travel to Tartarus. Theseus tries in vain to warn the Tartarus King Cassander (Stephen McHattie) of Hyperion's plans, but Cassander dismisses his talk of gods as myth, intending to negotiate peace with Hyperion. The following day Hyperion uses the Bow to destroy Tartarus' seemingly indestructible gate killing Helios. Theseus leads the Athenian army to war against the Hyperion forces, killing Lysander. Hyperion ignores the battle and travels through to Mount Tartarus, killing Cassander. Hyperion uses the Bow to breach the mountain and free the Titans before Stavros and Theseus can stop him. The force of the release knocks the mortals down. Stavros takes the Bow and kills a Titan, but he is massacred by the other Titans. Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Heracles and Apollo arrive and battle the Titans while Theseus fights Hyperion. The gods prove more powerful than the Titans, but they are overwhelmed by the sheer number of Titans, with all but Zeus and Poseidon being killed. Theseus kills Hyperion, and Zeus collapses the mountain before ascending to Olympus with Athena's body. The collapsing mountain wipes out Hyperion's men. The mortally wounded Theseus is transported to Olympus for his sacrifice and given a place among the gods.

Several years later, Theseus' story has become legend and Phaedra has given birth to Acamas (Gage Munroe), Theseus' son. Acamas is met by the old man who informs the child that in the future he too will one day fight against evil. Acamas sees a vision of the sky filled with gods and Titans fighting.

Cast

• Henry Cavill as Theseus, a mortal chosen by Zeus to fight evil.
• Stephen Dorff as Stavros, a cunning slave and master thief who joins Theseus on his quest.^[6]
• Luke Evans as Zeus, King of the gods.
• Isabel Lucas as Athena, goddess of Wisdom.^[7]
• Kellan Lutz as Poseidon, god of the Sea.^[8]
• Freida Pinto as Phaedra, an Oracle priestess who joins Theseus on his quest.^[9]
• Mickey Rourke as King Hyperion.
• John Hurt as Old Man, a disguise used by Zeus to interact with mortals.^[10]
• Joseph Morgan as Lysander, a traitorous Athenian soldier who joins King Hyperion.
• Peter Stebbings as Helios, an Athenian general.
• Daniel Sharman as Ares, god of War.
• Anne Day-Jones as Aethra, mother of Theseus.
• Greg Bryk as Nycomedes, a monk in service to Phaedra.
• Corey Sevier as Apollo, god of Light.
• Steve Byers as Heracles, the god who forged the Epirus Bow. ^[11][12]
• Robert Maillet as the Beast, Hyperion's powerful henchman who wears a metal bull mask.
• Romano Orzari as Icarus, an Athenian soldier.
• Alan Van Sprang as Dareios, a slave who joins Theseus on his quest.
• Stephen McHattie as Cassander, the King of Mount Tartarus
• Mark Margolis as The New Priest, a monk.
• Robert Naylor as Young Theseus.
• Gage Munroe as Acamas, son of Theseus and Phaedra.

  Production

  This film incorporates classical Greek myths filmed using 3D technology, necessitating extensive post production.^{[original research?]} Director Tarsem Singh said that he was planning an action film using Renaissance painting styles. He then went on to say that the film is "Basically, Caravaggio meets Fight Club. It's a really hardcore action film done in Renaissance painting style. I want to see how that goes; it's turned into something really cool. I'm going for a very contemporary look on top of that so I'm kind of going with, you know, Renaissance time with electricity. So it's a bit like Baz Luhrman doing Romeo + Juliet in Mexico; it's just taking a particular Greek tale and half (make it contemporary) and telling it."^[13] The film had a production budget of $80 million ($75 million after tax rebates)^[14] to $120 million^[15] and cost "at least" $35 million to market.^[16]
  

  Soundtrack

  The score for the film was composed by Trevor Morris and has been released on 8 November 2011.
  

  Track listing
  No.	Title	Length
  1.	"Immortal and Divine"	1:30
  2.	"War in the Heavens"	2:32
  3.	"Hyperion's Siren"	3:47
  4.	"Witness Hell"	1:56
  5.	"To Mount Olympus"	2:54
  6.	"Enter the Oracles"	2:30
  7.	"Theseus and Phaedra"	1:37
  8.	"Poseidon's Leap"	1:24
  9.	"This Is Your Calling"	1:31
  10.	"Theseus Fights the Minotaur"	2:13
  11.	"Theseus Fires the Bow"	2:16
  12.	"My Own Heart"	3:03
  13.	"Zeus' Punishment"	2:27
  14.	"Ride to the Gates"	1:00
  15.	"In War Fathers Bury Their Sons"	1:05
  16.	"The gods Chose Well"	1:18
  17.	"Fight So Your Name Survives"	3:07
  18.	"Battle in the Tunnels"	2:44
  19.	"Immortal Combat"	3:34
  20.	"Do Not Forsake Mankind"	4:33
  21.	"Apotheosis"	1:44
  22.	"Sky Fight/End Credits"	2:22

  Release

  Critical reception

  Immortals received mixed to negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 67 of 108 critics gave the film a negative review, with an average score of 5 out of 10. Based on 22 reviews, the film holds an approval rating of 27% from Top Critics. The critical consensus is that, "the melding of real sets, CG work, and Tarsem's signature style produces fireworks, though the same can't be said for Immortals' slack, boring storytelling."^[17] Metacritic assigns the film a weighted average score of 46 (out of 100) based on 23 reviews from mainstream critics, considered to be "mixed or average reviews."^[18] The polls by the market research form CinemaScore reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was a "B" on an A+ to F scale and a "B+" from the under-25 crowd.^[19] It received an honorable mention from one MTV staff member. ^[20] as well as Guy Lodge's #20 of his top twenty list on HitFlix, where he described the movie as a "big, silly blockbuster" and as a "homoerotic ... swords-and-sandals-and-fetishwear spectacular," as well as noting how inaccurate its mythology is. ^[21] Furthermore it was on Toro Magazine's Top Ten list, with the reviewer clarifying how he was one of the only viewers who appreciated the film, and most viewers had problems with "its confusing plot, thin characters, [and] its treatment of myth and history." ^[22] as well as Glasgow To The Movies' Top Ten Films of 2011, which clarified that it "is the weakest of director Tarsem Singh’s directorial efforts to date," and specifically noting that it is a rip-off of 300 which doesn't even end up in the "same league" as the film it tries to copy, finally concluding "Tarsem will never match his debut masterpiece, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun watching him try." ^[23] It also was nominated for several Saturn Awards, including Best Fantasy Film.^{[citation needed]}
  

  Box office

  In North America, it was released on November 11, 2011. Despite the launch of anticipated video games including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Skyrim, Immortals had a $1.4 million midnight showings and then grossed a total of $14.8 million on its opening day, topping the daily box office.^[24] It then finished the weekend of November 11-13, 2011 at #1 with $32.2 million, ranking as Relativity Media's biggest opening weekend to date, against newcomers J. Edgar and Jack and Jill.^[25] 3D showings accounted for a substantial 66% of the weekend gross. Among similar titles, though, its total weekend gross was much less than 300's $70.9 million and Clash of the Titans's $61.2 million. The film's audience was 60 percent male, 75 percent under the age of 35.^[19]
  Outside North America, it earned $38 million overseas from 35 countries on its opening weekend. Its highest-grossing territories were Russia ($8.2 million), China ($5.7 million) and South Korea ($4.5 million).^[26] The film has earned $83,504,017 in the United States and Canada and $143,400,000 in other countries, for a worldwide total of 226,904,017.^[27]
  

  Accolades

  Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
  2011	Rober Awards	Best Fantasy Film	Immortals	Won	[28]
  2012	Saturn Awards	Best Fantasy Film	Immortals	Pending	[29]
  		Best Production Design	Tom Foden	Pending
  		Best Make Up	Annick Chartier, Adrien Morot, and Nikoletta Skarlatos	Pending

  Home Media

  Immortals was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D on March 5, 2012 in the United Kingdom and on March 6, 2012 in the United States and Canada. ^[30]
  

  Other Media

  Archaia Press released a graphic novel tie-in. Called Immortals: Gods and Heroes, the hardcover book featured new stories that expanded on the universe established in the film.

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