Tarsem Singh’s Immortals has been unable to shake comparisons to previous ancient world epics like 300 and Clash of the Titans (not to mention, the God of War video games), based on the theatrical previews unveiled so far.
The Immortals footage shown during the Immortals Comic-Con Panel went over well with those in attendance; our own Ben Kendrick described it as “gruesome, epic, massive” material that benefitted from the 3D format. Judging by the third trailer for the film, he’s right on the money.
Immortals stars Henry Cavill (and his abs) as Theseus, a man chosen by the gods to do battle with the wicked King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke), a power-hungry warlord who seeks the Bow of Epirus – a weapon that would allow him to conquer all the lands of Greece.
Singh and his Immortals production team have said the film is darker and more graphic than the green-band trailers have suggested up until now. The latest theatrical preview doesn’t offer an unfiltered look at the action, but it does a good job of communicating the extravagant scale and design of the whole thing.
Check out the third Immortals trailer (via MSN) below:
Cavill as Theseus seems to lack the impressive presence and guttural voice of Gerard Butler in 300, but he comes off as a fairly engaging (and, admittedly, less mockable) warrior in the latest Immortals trailer. That not only bodes well for his ability to match wits with an intimidating screen presence like Rourke, but also suggests that Cavill could make for a memorable Superman when he appears in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel reboot next year.
This new trailer also does the best job yet of visually distinguishing Immortals from every other Greek epic that’s hit the big screen in recent memory, hinting at some pretty cool 3D sequences and a gold-brown color palette that actually looks unique (as do the funky costumes). Plot-wise, it seems like your standard hero’s journey myth, but perhaps one that’s both coherent and old-fashioned, in a good way.
Also – props for including a John Hurt voiceover. It’s kind of hard to top that. 😉
More moviegoers will get a taste of Singh’s knack for eye-catching visuals when they see Immortals this fall. If the film goes over well enough, it should only heighten interest in his own semi-traditional take on the Snow White fairy tale, which arrives just over four months later. That’s good news for both the filmmaker and fans of his previous lesser-known, but creatively realized, directorial efforts like The Cell and The Fall.
Immortals arrives in 2D and 3D theaters on November 11th, 2011.
