Interesting Concept, Badly Handled
Added 8/29/2009
Immortal has an interesting idea and a fair visual style. However,it is deep, artistic sci-fi (really out there sci-fi). I definitely would not recommend this to the average movie viewer, but instead to film students, sci-fi lovers, and those who can handle artistic films.
The film has its benefits: a nice visual style and some good visual effects. The concept is interesting and true deep sci-fi.
However, the film has a lot of problems. There are plot holes. Why on Earth do the residents of Earth seem to be more concerned with politics than some odd pyramid that suddenly appeared in the middle of their city?! Some scenes seem to be lost in translation due to the fact that certain actors didn't speak English. They seem to be reacting oddly. The CGI was ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE!! I understand that this movie was made when CGI was not as good as now; although, even compared to some movies with older CGI (i.e. Terminator 2),this movie's CGI still stinks. They should have made the CGI like in "Beowolf" with real actors as the base. This movie could have been great but fails in three major aspects: plot holes, CGI, and non-English actors. A true example of how some mistakes can completely ruin a movie.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Heavy on the Visuals Light on Continuity
Added 8/24/2009
When I first viewed IMMORTEL, I had heard nothing of it nor of its director. All I knew of it was that it was a science fiction film that dealt with human eugenics experiments and an appearance by Egyptian gods in 2095. Now this was indeed an enticing combination. As the film began, I could see that the visuals, shot in animation and CGI, were the foundation. Now when any film is presented in its near entirety with the viewer asked to visualize the plot through a kaleidescope, the result is either a smashing success or a crushing bore. In this case, I would place IMMORTEL somewhere in the middle. There were only three actors who were filmed more or less as human beings. Two of them (Linda Hardy and Thomas Kratchsman) I had never heard of. Charlotte Rampling was the third though I did not recognize her under her heavily made up face and banged hair. My interest was limited to how the plot followed a byzantine path that defied logic. Director Enki Bilal, as I later found out, is a avante-garde director who specializes in tranferring comic books to the big screen as animations. As I watched, I tried to decide how the movie would have turned out had a director other than Bilal been behind the camera. I quickly realized that the result would not have made a big difference. The failure of IMMORTEL was Bilal's determination to omit key facts needed as background. Now I have no problem with a director forcing his audience to think, but in this case, I had to think too much, a problem exacerbated by the patently fake look of too many characters who looked like nothing but computer-enhanced Pillsbury dough boys.
I had some problem with the appearance of a pyramid suddenly popping into existence over New York City in 2095. This problem was not that it appeared replete with bird headed Egyptian gods seeking to judge one of their own. My comfort zone of believability was shattered when the typical New Yorker seemed not to care a whit. I well know of blase New Yorkers, but their apathy was depressing. There are too many plot twists to reveal here, though these twists served more to distance the viewer rather than engage him. As the final credits rolled, I decided that IMMORTEL, like any film, could best be appreciated by those who already are fans of the genre and are willing to suspend disbelief even to the stretching point. I was not and this is why I give it a middling three stars.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Terrible bluray, everyone please file complain to First Look Studios for an refund and remaster!!!!!!!
Added 8/8/2009
I bought this movie from Amazon.com in bluray format hoping for blu ray quality and it is not. I filed an official complain about 2 big problem that makes this release not suitable for sale. I want them to reimburse me and quickly issue a remaster of this cult favorite.
1. The picture quality is really really bad. If you sell bluray and advertise it to has 1080p, it should. But clearly this master looks like a 1080i source or maybe even upconverted dvd quality. I checked for reviews online, and there are tons of complain. i should have read all the reviews here before buying, silly me.
2. Big error in TrueHD soundtrack. Dialogue is coming from my right speaker instead of left!!!! This is seriously unacceptable. I can see there is absolutely no quality control on your studio. I will never buy anything from you again until you issue this complain.
Please, follow Sony's example in listening to fan's complain and quickly remastered Fifth Element blu ray when it came out. Immortal is a great film, and I hate to ruin it with these bad technical negligence!!!
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
|
Horus, the falcon-headed god of the floating pyramid
Added 7/11/2009
Rated "R" Running Time: 1 hr, 42 min.
Directed by Enkl Bilal from his comic strips, "The Carnival of Immortals" and "The Woman Trap".
I only saw half of this film on the Sci-Fi Channel (now Sy-Fy) and thought I wanted to see the unedited version on DVD.
If you have a high-definition (HD) or LCD television, this is the movie to present your new television with to make the neighbors pea-green envy of you.
Most of this film is crystal-clear computer generated with filmed scenes with live actors, Linda hardy, Thomas Kretschmann and Charlotte Rampling.
It is an adult science-fiction film with scenes of nudity.
You have a floating pyramid, futuristic transportation and a falcon-headed, muscular naked god who wants to enter Nikopol's body to rape Jill.
The movie is a perfect 10 for originality.
This film is similar to Final Fantasy - The Spirits Within (Special Edition), but the computer animation of "Immortal" is much better. You will be satisfied with this film.
DVD includes choice of 2.0 Stereo, 5.1 Surround, DTS Surround.
Film is in English, but with choice of Spanish subtitles.
Making if...Special Effects and a Featurette.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Visually nice, but poor story and character motivations
Added 6/24/2009
There are two main reasons why this film is a failure, despite being graphically very attractive.
1) The writer/director simply poured into it everything he could think of: space aliens, aliens from extra dimensions, portals to unknown worlds, hybernation, space ships, flying cars, lasers, mutants, gods...
2) Nothing is explained and apparently no character has a motive to do anything they do. Why all Horus wants is to have sex, instead of escaping or clearing himself of charges (that are never explained)? Why did the pyramid come to Earth, since those "special women" are mentioned to appear all over the space? Why did the pyramid leave Earth and where did it go? Why it sometimes teleports, and sometimes moves slowly? Why did they suck in the fat guy? What did Nikopol do to deserve being frozen and why he didn't continue to do it after getting alive again (or at least ever mentioning it at least once)? Who/what is actually John and where did he go? What is the point of barriers around Central Park since they stopped no one from entering and leaving? What was inside killing people, except it wasn't later? What was that sparkling thing there?
Simply... we know nothing. Since we know nothing - how and why anyone got here, what are their goals, what they expect to gain by doing anything they do - we don't care about any of characters.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Interesting Concept, Badly Handled
Added 8/29/2009
Immortal has an interesting idea and a fair visual style. However,it is deep, artistic sci-fi (really out there sci-fi). I definitely would not recommend this to the average movie viewer, but instead to film students, sci-fi lovers, and those who can handle artistic films.
The film has its benefits: a nice visual style and some good visual effects. The concept is interesting and true deep sci-fi.
However, the film has a lot of problems. There are plot holes. Why on Earth do the residents of Earth seem to be more concerned with politics than some odd pyramid that suddenly appeared in the middle of their city?! Some scenes seem to be lost in translation due to the fact that certain actors didn't speak English. They seem to be reacting oddly. The CGI was ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE!! I understand that this movie was made when CGI was not as good as now; although, even compared to some movies with older CGI (i.e. Terminator 2),this movie's CGI still stinks. They should have made the CGI like in "Beowolf" with real actors as the base. This movie could have been great but fails in three major aspects: plot holes, CGI, and non-English actors. A true example of how some mistakes can completely ruin a movie.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Heavy on the Visuals Light on Continuity
Added 8/24/2009
When I first viewed IMMORTEL, I had heard nothing of it nor of its director. All I knew of it was that it was a science fiction film that dealt with human eugenics experiments and an appearance by Egyptian gods in 2095. Now this was indeed an enticing combination. As the film began, I could see that the visuals, shot in animation and CGI, were the foundation. Now when any film is presented in its near entirety with the viewer asked to visualize the plot through a kaleidescope, the result is either a smashing success or a crushing bore. In this case, I would place IMMORTEL somewhere in the middle. There were only three actors who were filmed more or less as human beings. Two of them (Linda Hardy and Thomas Kratchsman) I had never heard of. Charlotte Rampling was the third though I did not recognize her under her heavily made up face and banged hair. My interest was limited to how the plot followed a byzantine path that defied logic. Director Enki Bilal, as I later found out, is a avante-garde director who specializes in tranferring comic books to the big screen as animations. As I watched, I tried to decide how the movie would have turned out had a director other than Bilal been behind the camera. I quickly realized that the result would not have made a big difference. The failure of IMMORTEL was Bilal's determination to omit key facts needed as background. Now I have no problem with a director forcing his audience to think, but in this case, I had to think too much, a problem exacerbated by the patently fake look of too many characters who looked like nothing but computer-enhanced Pillsbury dough boys.
I had some problem with the appearance of a pyramid suddenly popping into existence over New York City in 2095. This problem was not that it appeared replete with bird headed Egyptian gods seeking to judge one of their own. My comfort zone of believability was shattered when the typical New Yorker seemed not to care a whit. I well know of blase New Yorkers, but their apathy was depressing. There are too many plot twists to reveal here, though these twists served more to distance the viewer rather than engage him. As the final credits rolled, I decided that IMMORTEL, like any film, could best be appreciated by those who already are fans of the genre and are willing to suspend disbelief even to the stretching point. I was not and this is why I give it a middling three stars.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Terrible bluray, everyone please file complain to First Look Studios for an refund and remaster!!!!!!!
Added 8/8/2009
I bought this movie from Amazon.com in bluray format hoping for blu ray quality and it is not. I filed an official complain about 2 big problem that makes this release not suitable for sale. I want them to reimburse me and quickly issue a remaster of this cult favorite.
1. The picture quality is really really bad. If you sell bluray and advertise it to has 1080p, it should. But clearly this master looks like a 1080i source or maybe even upconverted dvd quality. I checked for reviews online, and there are tons of complain. i should have read all the reviews here before buying, silly me.
2. Big error in TrueHD soundtrack. Dialogue is coming from my right speaker instead of left!!!! This is seriously unacceptable. I can see there is absolutely no quality control on your studio. I will never buy anything from you again until you issue this complain.
Please, follow Sony's example in listening to fan's complain and quickly remastered Fifth Element blu ray when it came out. Immortal is a great film, and I hate to ruin it with these bad technical negligence!!!
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
|
