You may or may not have seen the trailers to Tarsem Singh's Immortals floating about the internet.

If you have, you may understand the excitement that's been building up. Releasing on the tremendous date of 11.11.11, it's like 300, but with more than one colour at a time. Maybe a bit of Clash of the Titans thrown in there too. But even more epic.

Starring the hairy-chested new Superman Henry Cavill and The Comeback King (recently dethroning Robert Downey Jr) Mickey Rourke, as well as John Hurt, Isabel Lucas, Kellan Lutz and Stephen Dorff, it's a retelling of the adventures of Theseus, the mythical founder king of Athens, and known unfriend to Minotaurs. As the son of Poseidon, he has the the right heritage, but does he have what it takes to defend his Kingdom from mad King Hyperion? Only time and epic battle will tell.

The movie isn't a straight up and down retelling of traditional Greek myths, but blends several Theseus stories with new strands.





Here's the rough guide to the plot:

"Eons after the Gods won their mythic struggle against the Titans, a new evil threatens the land. Mad with power, King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) has declared war against humanity. Amassing a bloodthirsty army of soldiers disfigured by his own hand, Hyperion has scorched Greece in search of the legendary Epirus Bow, a weapon of unimaginable power forged in the heavens by Ares. Only he who possesses this bow can unleash the Titans, who have been imprisoned deep within the walls of Mount Tartaros since the dawn of time and thirst for revenge. In the king's hands, the bow would rain destruction upon mankind and annihilate the Gods. But ancient law dictates the Gods must not intervene in man's conflict. They remain powerless to stop Hyperion...until a peasant named Theseus (Henry Cavill) comes forth as their only hope. Secretly chosen by Zeus, Theseus must save his people from Hyperion and his hordes…"

Sounds epic, right?





The crucial thing to take into consideration here is the director, Tarsem Singh. He is no Hollywood hack, but a true auteur. He make his movies his way, and the first thing for him is visuals. Simply stunning, dreamlike visuals. If you've seen The Cell or The Fall, you know what I'm talking about.

If you haven't, well, you should check these films out. They are highly unusual pieces of cinema, more art than blockbuster. They really aren't for people who enjoy say, Michael Bay films for the visuals. They're for people who will purposely go into an art museum for the visuals. If you want to see what the inside of an amazing man's imagination looks like, you need to see the films of Tarsem Singh.

That said, they haven't been received that well by a wide audience. The Cell, which starred Vincent D'Onofrio and Jennifer Lopez, wasn't a hit, and The Fall went out under the radar. This makes Immortals (originally entitled God of War) a bit of a gamble, despite its all star cast.






We have our fingers crossed that the film's pacing and story will be as much as a thrill as the obviously exciting visuals. Here are both trailers currently on offer. Definitely worth a look:



Trailer 1





Trailer 2




We'll keep you updated on any further developments.