war of Gods

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Movie
German title war of Gods
Original title Immortals
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2011
length 110 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
JMK 14
Rod
Director Tarsem Singh
script Charley Parlapanides ,
Vlas Parlapanides
production Ryan Kavanaugh ,
Gianni Nunnari ,
Mark Canton
music Trevor Morris
camera Brendan Galvin
cut David Rosenbloom ,
Wyatt Jones ,
Stuart Levy
occupation

War of the Gods (Original title: Immortals ) is an American fantasy action film from 2011 by Indian director Tarsem Singh . Henry Cavill and Mickey Rourke play the leading roles . The film is loosely based on Greek mythology , especially the legends of the Minotaur and the Titanomachy . The hero Theseus plays a central role . The film premiered on November 11, 2011. The film has - with a budget of 80 to 120 million US dollars  - achieved worldwide box office revenues of 226.9 million US dollars.

action

Long before the earth was inhabited by humans, the immortals waged war in heaven. The victors called themselves gods , and the vanquished, the titans , were forever locked in a mountain called Tartaros .

In 1228 BC Hyperion, the cruel and power-hungry king of Heraklion , wants to take revenge on the gods who once did not answer his prayers and left his family to die in agony from a serious illness. With his bloodthirsty army he is looking for the legendary Epeiros bow , the only weapon with which one can free the titans banished for eons. These, so Hyperion plans, would take revenge on the gods and thus take his revenge for him.

The gods know Hyperion's plan, but according to an ancient law, a deity must not interfere in the fate of people. The father of the gods Zeus selects the mortal warrior Theseus , who is to lead the Hellenic people into battle against Hyperion, and teaches and educates him unrecognized in the form of an old man.

Since Hyperion has searched in vain for the Epeiros bow for a long time, he lets his men capture the four sibyls of the oracle , who are supposed to show him the way to the lost weapon. When Theseus' village is warned of the approaching army of Hyperion, the residents make their way to the city of the Hellenes on Mount Tartarus. The farmers and others of lower status but must flee a day later from the village and be left without protection, including the supposed bastard Theseus and his Mother Aethra . The traitor Lysander, a soldier expelled by the Hellenic army, runs over to Hyperion and, in revenge, leads him to attack the village of Theseus. Hyperion takes the traitor into his service, but castrates him for his betrayal .

When Hyperion's men arrive in the village the next day and slaughter or enslave everyone who remains, Theseus is captured and has to watch as Hyperion kills his mother. First Theseus has to work as a slave and in an oasis meets Phaedra , the one of the four sibyls of the oracle who can see the future through her visions. She sees Theseus in a vision and then organizes her escape. During the night she and her sisters kill the guards and flee with Theseus and a few other slaves. To travel to Hyperion, they attack one of his boats, but are besieged by an overwhelming force of warriors. The sea god Poseidon , who observed everything from Olympus , then throws himself into the sea, and the resulting tidal wave kills Hyperion's warriors.

In another vision Phaedra sees Theseus standing next to a wrapped body. So she persuades him to return home and bury his mother. In the crypt behind a labyrinth in which he lays his mother, he finds the Arch of Epeiros, enclosed in a rock. However, he is attacked by the Minotaur beast that Hyperion had left behind. He can kill the beast, escapes from the maze and uses the bow to kill the soldiers who have since circled his companions.

Meanwhile, Hyperion has tortured the oracle's three remaining sisters and found out that the titans are being held captive in Mount Tartarus. He sets off with most of his army. Phaedra, who has fallen in love with Theseus and eventually loses her innocence to him, even though she loses her gift of prophecy, persuades him to lead her back to her temple and save her sisters. There they are ambushed by Hyperion's men. Theseus loses the Arch of Epeiros and the situation seems hopeless when the god Ares appears and kills Hyperion's men. The goddess Athena also shows up and provides Theseus with horses to retrieve the bow. Zeus appears and kills Ares for not obeying the ban on helping people. He sends Theseus on his way and announces that from now on he will no longer receive any help from the gods.

The Arch of Epeiros has meanwhile been brought to Hyperion, who is about to reach the city of the Hellenes with his army. This is protected by a huge wall that borders on Mount Tartaros. Theseus and his companions arrive there shortly before Hyperion and try to persuade the Hellenic king Kassander to fight, but he believes in a diplomatic solution. Hyperion, however, blasts a hole in the city gate with the Epeiros arch and sends his men through. He himself kills Cassander, penetrates the mountain as far as the prison of the titans in the midst of the battle. Theseus, who leads the Hellenes against Hyperion's army, recognizes the plan and follows Hyperion together with Stravros, his companion. But they cannot prevent the titans prison from being blown open with the bow. Still dazed by the explosion, Stavros grabs the bow and is able to kill one of the titans, but the others pounce on him and tear him apart. Now that the titans are freed, the gods are allowed to intervene too. So Zeus appears together with Poseidon, Athena, Apollon and Heracles to fight the Titans inside the mountain. Zeus destroys the Arch of Epeiros with Ares' war hammer. The gods are fighting over the titans, but in view of the majority, Apollo and Heracles fall, and Athena is also badly wounded. When Poseidon also threatens to succumb, Zeus lets the vault and with it the entire mountain collapse. At the last moment, Zeus and Poseidon disappear with Athena's lifeless body. At the same time, Theseus can catch the escaped Hyperion and kill him, even though he is badly wounded. Shortly before he is buried by the falling rocks, Theseus also disappears in a ray of light in the sky.

A few years later: Phaedra gave birth to Theseus' son Akamas , who inherited his mother's gift and can see into the future. Zeus, now again in the mortal form of the old man, visits him and explains to him that his father has become a god through his heroic deeds and is fighting against evil in heaven, just as he, Akamas, will one day do. In a vision, Akamas sees gods and titans fighting in the sky, including Theseus, his father.

Voice actor

The voice actors for the German version:

criticism

The film was largely poorly received by the critics, it received a rating of only 35% from 114 reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes website and 46/100 based on 23 reviews on the Metacritic website . With a rating of 3.2 / 5 stars on Rotten Tomatoes and 6/10 points on Metacritic, it was only marginally better received by the audience.

“That director Tarsem Singh doesn't take it too seriously with Greek mythology is half as bad in view of the visual power of 'War of the Gods'. As in his two previous films ' The Cell ' and ' The Fall ', the Indian filmmaker presents a breathtaking mix of stylish staging and fantastic set design that creates a film reality all of its own. [...] In view of such visual opulence, interpersonal relationships unfortunately fall by the wayside. [...] When Zeus & Co. swing the hatchet in slow-motion battles that are reminiscent of " 300 ", director Singh presents glossy, splattered food that looks sensationally spectacular, especially in 3D. For once there would have been more here. "

- Cinema

“Because the actors hardly have elaborated character traits, as indicated, but rather embody larger-than-life icons, in 'War of the Gods 3D' less acting talent than sheer screen presence is required […] Conclusion: Tarsem Singh's opulent, bloody picture sheet inspires with unconditional style will, but his Figures leave you strangely cold. "

- Filmstarts.de

“A monumental film about characters and motifs from Greek mythology, whose dramaturgy and character development are not very convincing; After all, he makes up for these weaknesses with grandiose imagery, bringing antiquity to life as an eclectic, suggestive fantasy. The 3D projection that 'swallows' some of the colors turns out to be more of a harm than a benefit. "

- Lexicon of international film

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate (PDF; 36 kB) from the FSK
  2. ↑ Age designation for war of the gods . Youth Media Commission .
  3. ↑ a b War of the Gods in the Lexicon of International FilmsTemplate: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used .
  4. ↑ Deadline
  5. ^ Immortals Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 29, 2012
  6. ↑ synchronkartei.de: War of the Gods. Retrieved August 18, 2015 .
  7. ↑ a b Immortals on Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved July 29, 2012
  8. ↑ a b Immortals on Metacritic . Retrieved July 29, 2012
  9. ↑ Cinema.de
  10. ↑ filmstarts.de