There are no Latino characters in this film, which I expected as this film takes place in Greece. The film is in 3D and stars Micky Rourke (The Wrestler, Iron Man 2) as King Hyperion, Henry Cavill (The Tudors) as Theseus, John Hurt (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2) as Old Man, Luke Evans as (Clash of the Titans) Zues, Frida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) as Phaedra the Oracle, and Stephen Dorff (Public Enemies) as Stravros.

Written by Greek-American brothers Charley and Vlas Parlapanides and produced by Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton, both who are behind the production of 300 (2006); I knew there would be some fantastical elements to the film. However, it was the director Tarsem Singh that won me over. Singh has created two of the most visually stunning films I’ve seen in a really long time: The Cell (with Jennifer Lopez and Vincent D’Onofrio) and The Fall (with Lee Pace). I also knew that having a director of Color working on this film means that the racism and ethnocentrism that we saw in 300 (all the people of Color were evil sends a very specific message) is not going to fly so easily. And it didn’t.

Although the cast is primarily racially white to help us believe this is taking place in Greece, there is not an exclusion of faces of Color as many are sprinkled throughout the film. Not only are many of the men of Color in the army, some of them even have speaking roles. We see the most diversity in the High Priestesses and Oracle. Frida Pinto as the virgin Oracle is protected by three other women who are High Priestesses and include a Black (Ayisha Issa), Asian (Mercedes Legget) and Native woman (Kaniehtiio Horn). The Hight Priestesses are to protect the virgin Oracle and confuse people into know which one is the actual Oracle. The women are powerful, have formed a spiritual and emotional bond with one another, and are also loyal. They were by far the highlight of the film for me as a viewer as they are some of the main women with speaking roles in the film (other women in the film that speak are Theseus’ mom and Athena both who are killed).

The synopsis is very formulaic: Theseus, a poor man in a small community is the product of a gang rape and he and his mother are outcasts. An Old Man trains the young boy and is a father figure to him. King Hyperion seeks power over the world (although we only see Greece as this “world”) and seeks out the Oracle Phaedra to help him find the Epirus Bow which is one of the only ways believed to dominate the world as it can release the Titans that the Gods have imprisoned since their last war. the poor man who was trained now becomes one of the only ways humanity (just in Greece) can survive.

The film very much has a class discussion and representation as both Theseus and King Hyperion are “peasants” in the film. We discover that Hyperion’s desire for domination is connected to his lack of faith in the Gods because he begged for help from them when his wife and children were ill. This help did not come and his family has died.

It is very clear how Theseus and his mother are outcasts. His mother is called a “whore” for surviving her gang rape, people push her into the waters when she is praying and at communal alters for the Gods. Theseus’ status as a peasant is one that doesn’t even allow him the honor of joining the army that protects his community, regardless of his strength. However, we never figure out how King Hyperion even becomes a king, especially since he claims he too was a peasant. Perhaps this is just a title he gives himself, but this was not the only aspect of the film that was not clearly presented.

There are moments when the screen goes black to phase into another scenario or place, this is, for me as a viewer, not a useful way to transition to another scene. This may have also been connected to the film being in 3D. Now, the film does not have to be in 3D and I’m not sure if it will be released in two formats, but the 3D isn’t always useful. For example, when spanning the screen or an area in the film, the image is blurry. However, I will say that this film seems to have been created with 3D in mind and not done in 3D after production.

A large part of the story is the search for the Epirus bow, which when they find it I had to laugh. I have affectionately called the bow: “RuPaul’s Drag Bow.” (and if you are sleeping on RuPaul’s Drag Race and Drag U I don’t know what to tell you about yourself!). I imagined a bow that was gold, or silver, or some fancy looking weapon. Instead, we see a black bow that is bedazzled with black glitter! I’m sure this was on purpose as I can imagine this being a gender neutral toy that may be available for purchase for children (or fans). And if it wasn’t it’s still fantastic and kept me giggling throughout the film.

What didn’t have me giggling throughout: how rape is just glossed over. I know this happens often, but to have a main character be the product of a gang rape and the woman who birthed that child having to remain in the community where that happened and nothing being discussed about that injustice, doesn’t make me a huge fan. Nor does the continued discussion and representations of rape throughout the film (King Hyperion has women around him and it is often that we only see their body parts and I got the impression they were there agains their will). There was no response to this form of rape and assault by the audience, but when a character who is a man gets his penis and testicles crushed with a hammer, a collective moan was released throughout the theater. Other topics around sex and sexual harassment (as Stravros’ character often participates in towards the Oracle) also brushed off. It’s clear how normalized the abuse, disrespect, and objectification of women’s bodies are very much a part of the narratives we see in film, even when the films are considered fantasy.

At the end of the day I didn’t really know what exactly to expect from the film until Ramon mentioned it would be similar to 300. That prepared me for a lot of the drama and extreme violence that I witnessed. Had I had the choice to see this or Puss In Boots, I would have chosen the latter. However, I’m glad I did get a chance to see this film as I know it will be useful for the work I do with youth. If you have a child under the age of 13, this is a film you’ll have to consider taking them to as there is a lot of graphic violence.
Immortals is in theaters today, November 11, 2011.

VL Verdict:  7/10 (mainly because very visually appealing)