Immortals (2011)

We have the Gods & the humans on one side and the Titans & King Hyperion's Heraklion army on the other side. The Gods and The Titans are the immortals while the humans and Hyperion's army are mortals who obviously bleed.

The Gods live in the clouds and intervene only when the humans are really under trouble. The Titans were imprisoned by the Gods beneath Mount Tartarus. The Titans are later unleashed by Hyperion who is after the Epirus bow which will give him immense power.

Theseus is the chosen one to lead the humans. He is a mere peasant. Phaedra is the virgin oracle who gets visions of the future and she guides Theseus in his fight against the Heraklions. These two have intercourse and later have a son named Acamas.

The film ends with Hyperion's army being vanquished by the Gods and Theseus being given a place among the Gods for his sacrifice while killing King Hyperion. Probably a sequel might follow

The film has some glorious VFX, stunning set design and a surreal feel all over, much like Tarsem Singh's earlier '300'. In the action sequences, blood is splashed all over the screen and violence is both stylized and glorified.

The way The Gods have been portrayed is a style delight in itself. The action scenes involving The Gods and The Titans take the cake.

Freida Pinto is uber sexy and has such seducing eyes. Her one naked scene (supposedly a 'butt' double) where she reveals it all, is a glorious treat for all booty lovers. Henry Cavill has a sculpted body and 'Greek God' looks. Apt casting. Mickey Rourke as King Hyperion is menacing and the way he manipulates and terrorizes his army is awesome.

There are some inspiring war dialogs and in general the dialogs have a dramatic appeal.

VERDICT: A true visual delight. Much better than expected.  

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

In San Francisco, Will Rodman is a scientist who is looking to find a gene therapy for Alzheimer's disease, at the Gen-Sys lab. All the research is done on apes. Bright Eyes is one such ape which gets injected with the drug ALZ-112 (which is a modified virus) but, gets killed unfortunately while protecting her baby. Will takes the baby chimp home and names it Caesar. Will also tries this drug on his ill dad but, not with long lasting results.

The drug is passed on to Caesar through his mother and he is hyper intelligent and much more capable than humans. He doesn't like to be treated as a mere pet. Beyond a point, he is not tolerated by the neighborhood and he is sent to a Primate Sanctuary where there are several other apes. They are cruelly treated.

Meanwhile, testing on a new drug ALZ-113 is under way at Gen-Sys, headed by Will. The chimp handler Franklin is killed by this virus which is fatal for humans but is very potent on chimps.

After a point, Caesar takes control there due to his obvious superiority and he also manages to get the new drug passed on to the other apes as well. Now, the apes go on a rampage led by Caesar. They go to the Gen-Sys lab and destroy everything. Finally, they move to the Redwoods State Park beyond the Golden Gate bridge and make it their home. They destroy whatever force that comes against them and also make sure that the greedy proprietor of Gen-Sys, Jacobs is killed.

The movie ends with the premise of a sequel as ALZ-113 spreads all over the world reducing human population and making the world truly a haven for apes.

Hits

• Amazing performance capture again, for the apes. Andy Serkis does the honors for Caesar. 
• The visual effects particularly in the final Golden Gate sequence when the apes go on a rampage, is very ambitious though it is very evident in few places. When Caesar flies from one place to the other and in the trees at Redwood as a young baby, it makes one emotional. 
• The music of Patrick Doyle is Hans Zimmer like. It adds to the edge-of-the-seat and thrilling action. 
• Movies on genetic drugs and viruses are always appealing. 

Comments

• The actual actors don't have much work. The handsome James Franco and the petite Freida Pinto make a very good pair. John Lithgow as Will's father is the only human with some scope for acting and he does very well. 

VERDICT

Typical blockbuster Hollywood action where apes are in a much higher league compared to humans.