One of the films that made a splash at the 2011 WonderCon just a few weeks back was Immortals, a Greek epic adventure that was helmed by Tarsem Singh (The Cell) and stars the new incarnation of Superman (Henry Cavill) as a Greek warrior destined for greatness.
Fans that tuned in to E! News the other night got a glimpse at footage from the stylish period action flick, and a low-quality bootlegged version of that clip made its way online earlier yesterday. Today, however, we have the actual theatrical trailer to show you.
Here is the official synopsis for Immortals:
The brutal and bloodthirsty King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) and his murderous Heraklion army are rampaging across Greece in search of the long lost Bow of Epirus. With the invincible Bow, the king will be able to overthrow the Gods of Olympus and become the undisputed master of his world. With ruthless efficiency, Hyperion and his legions destroy everything in their wake, and it seems nothing will stop the evil king’s mission.
As village after village is obliterated, a stonemason named Theseus (Henry Cavill) vows to avenge the death of his mother in one of Hyperion’s raids. When Theseus meets the Sybelline Oracle, Phaedra (Freida Pinto), her disturbing visions of the young man’s future convince her that he is the key to stopping the destruction. With her help, Theseus assembles a small band of followers and embraces his destiny in a final desperate battle for the future of humanity.
Between that plot description and the footage on display in this trailer, Immortals looks (and sounds) like the love child of 300 and Clash of the Titans – as filtered through the mind of Tarsem Singh. But is that a good or bad thing?
Find out by watching the trailer for Immortals (via iTunes Movie Trailers) below:
There are definite shades of 300 (in particular) present in this footage from Immortals – with respect to the metallic tint of the cinematography, slo-mo battle sequences, and scenes of Cavill’s Theseus as he (seemingly) channels Gerard Butler’s King Leonidas and gives a rousing speech to his troops. The trailer makes no attempt to disguise this, even promoting Immortals as being “from the producers of ‘300’.”
Overall, though, I like this material from Immortals, even with its overt similarities to director Zack Snyder’s period action flick. The armor and costumes very much have their own unique flavor, Singh appears to have devised some arresting and creative visuals (in both 2D and 3D), and the prospect of Rourke as the sort of thuggish villain that wouldn’t be out of place in Conan the Barbarian looks quite promising as well. Plus, I have to give Cavill credit, he seems to have a stronger screen presence as Theseus than Sam Worthington had as Perseus in Titans.
Neither of Singh’s previous feature-length directorial efforts – The Cell and The Fall – were huge hits at the box office, but that streak should change with Immortals. In my experience, his films do have a tendency to be style over substance; however, wouldn’t that be all the more appropriate for an epic in the vein of 300?
Immortals arrives in theaters this fall on November 11th.
