MovieChat Forums > Immortel (ad vitam) (2004) Discussion > Could Be One Of The Worst Films Ever Mad...

Could Be One Of The Worst Films Ever Made!

posted 20 years ago by manwithpez
244 replies | jump to latest

When I came to this section of IMDB, I fully expected this movie to be panned, but I was wrong. Now, not to deny anyone else their opinion, but what the hell? This was one of the worst acted, worst written, worst directed, poorly cast, badly conceived films ever made. I can't fathom how anyone...I mean anyone could like this movie. To be fair, I try to find something to enjoy in even the worst of films, but this movie lowered the IQs of everyone I know who watched it. I want my IQ points back!!!

[–] bartopdekamp 20 years ago

This movie was a big disappointement for me too, especially the bad acting. You cannot forget you are watching a (bad) movie. But I do like the 3D scenes and vehicles, I dig 3D you see :o) I am pretty sure if this movie was rendered fully in 3D it would have been better. The combination of 3D and real people (acting badly) breaks the imaginary world they try to create.

[–] TTWoodman 20 years ago

I like the 3D heads. At the begining the first cgi'd guy fooled me into thinking it was a real face. But then as I focused more on him I began to realize it was fake. Good CGI.

[–] ThreeElephants 18 years ago

Good CGI? Hardly. They didn't even attempt to make them look like real people, or to get the lip-syncing right. Also, it was distracting that some of the human and human-like characters were CG and some weren't. Really weird.

But, apart from that, the film was pretty good. It has a fine plot which doesn't mistake car chases for substance, characters I was sorry to leave, and the perfect combination of magic and technology to make a believable world.

[–] roell29 14 years ago

Also, it was distracting that some of the human and human-like characters were CG and some weren't. Really weird.

That was the whole point of it. The scene is presenting a future in which biotechnology has progressed to the point where the dividing line between human and machine is no longer clear. It brings the use of CGI into a new dimension in which it is no longer merely an effect but a philosophical device.

Welcome to Costco, I love you...

[–] a6a6 20 years ago

Hey if you could not understand the movie this is your problem not ours !
"this movie lowered the IQs of everyone I know who watched it. I want my IQ points back" - May be your IQ is about 50-60 so i understand why U want to return IQ points ^_^ .I think this is the best french movie ever made.

p.s : sorry for my bad english :-)

[–] bartopdekamp 20 years ago

What's not to understand ? I agree that this movie scores better on some points compared with the average french movies (like in technique and fx maybe), but there is more to a movie than just that. The acting is still bad and the directing could be better too. There are plenty of good actors and movies in France, imho alot better than this one. This movie could have been very big, with the right people.. so I sure look out to the future :o)

[–] larslarslars 20 years ago

I agree that this film was quite bad. This is far from the best french movie ever made. Go watch stuff like:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0211915/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101700/

Amelie is one of the best movies ever made imho.

[–] jraf 20 years ago

you can't compare Immortel with Amélie or Delicatessen (and can't you write the titles instead of the links?! it looks like a Nazi camp's impersonal number for a Jew!)

Please help me for my unsolved cinema researches (see my profile, thanks!)

[–] johnslegers 20 years ago

Fan of Jeunet, eh?! ;)

[–] forte-5 19 years ago

It was only "the best" waste of my time personally. Visually pretty cool. That is about it.

[–] hamiltonnick 19 years ago

"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0211915/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101700/";
way to freakin use the most cliche french flicks ever<3

[–] neomanyon 18 years ago

Well i enjoyed immortal. I thought it was original and had a wonderful ambience. Sure it wasn't perfect but i actually watched it straight through, which is saying something as many of the movies i borrow i never see the end because they are just so ordinary and uninspiring to me.

On the topic of french films "Three colors: Blue" would have to be my favourite, just so beautiful.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108394

Don
www.lucybaker.net

[–] jason-huck-hinshaw 16 years ago

Seriously, how could anyone mention the best French films and not a single Truffaut or Godard film is there? Have you seen Breathless, Alphaville, or The 400 Blows? Come on, man!

[–] raineater777 20 years ago

Well, you know what, i have an iq of 129, a point away from genius. so returning points due to serios lack is out of the question. I watched the movie, understood it perfectly (because there is nothing hard to understand about it) and was majorly bothered by the following. If you have any explanations, please enlighten me.

1. acting. Their acting was awful.

2. the character Jill was friends with. The guy wrapped in black. Why wasn't he described better, either by him acting more, or by Jill's words or memories or whatever.

3. Horus. Gods are supposed to be tyrants. Tyrants that do not explain themselves to "puny" mortals, because their purposes go beyong human comprehension. Now, in the beginning, Horus is acting like a tyrant, but during the movie, he looses his strength. It feels as if he is not a tyrant anymore, but a friend to Nikopol. There's a weakening in his character that is unexplainable.

4. The computer generated parts. There were some good bits and pieces that were perfectly generated, like the little black kid's face, for example. But he wasn't a very important character. HORUS WAS AND HE WAS AWFULLY RENDERED!!! How the heck could that happen?! I have pc games that back years ago, and they were mush better made.

5. There were technical (camera and editing) faults. DOn't know if you saw them, but they poked my eye. Like in the end, before her friend dies, she hurries to him. Somewhere around that zone, there's a cut that binds unmatching frames, thus making the image seem as if it "jumped". Probably there was another sequence between the two, and it was removed.

6. And another thing that bothered me about this movie was that i saw so many good comments about it.

The end.

[–] Aidonian 20 years ago

I think this was one of the better movies I have seen in ages. Hollywood couldn't have made such a movie. The author of the comics is the one who wrote the script and directed the movie. appearently, movie makers are given more artistic freedom in Europe than in Hollywood.
I take offense to the statement that all Gods are tyrants. If you just base on what you saw on hercules, xena or the myths, than you are a fool. The myths only show one side of them, and since most Gods were antropomorphic, their characters are far more complex than the myths lead on. The Gods that were portrayed in Hercules and Xena were no real gods. Both shows sucked.

[–] mechanismatic 20 years ago

You could claim to have an IQ of a million and there's no way for anyone on the internet to verify it, so personal boasts such as this are entirely worthless, but that's beside the point.

1. I didn't notice any acting problems myself. I thought the acting was quite seamless. If you judge the acting against the showboating style of overpaid Hollywood actors, I could see that it might not be something you're used to seeing.

2. This is one I agree with you on, though it wasn't a significant issue for me. I would like to have been told more about John, but not knowing added to the mystique of the movie. I almost think it's better not to know and to simply ponder the possibilities. I hate it when movies tried to over-explain everything to the audience. The story-telling is what's important, not the encyclopedia article you could write about every detail of the film's universe. It is based on a comic book, so perhaps that's where more explanation lies.

3. I don't know where you learned that all gods are supposed to be tyrants. That's a gross oversimplification of mythology. Gods have human aspects. They have compassion, love, respect, pity, anger, jealousy, malice, etc. They aren't all just fire and brimstone. But further to the point, Horus had a weakness. He had seven days to find a host and then a mate to impregnate. While Nicopol couldn't resist him, it was simply easier to get along with Nicopol than to have to force him at every point. If you recall, the first and second intercourses were forced through Horus influence, but the third was entirely consensual through the relationship between Jill and Nicopol with Horus just tagging along, and that was the time during which Jill was impregnanted.

4. The CG threw me off at first simply because I didn't know that it had fully CG characters in it before I saw it, but after understanding that, it wasn't a distraction. It wasn't the best CG I've ever seen, but it's a heck of a lot better than many.

5. I noticed the jump, but it almost seemed intentional. If it wasn't, oh well. A lot of great movies have minor flaws. It's not like there were 20 jumps in it.

6. If it makes you feel better, it doesn't bother me that you seem to have missed a lot about this movie. I don't mind you having your own opinion.

Personally I thought this movie was awesome, despite what flaws it had. The characters were unique and interesting, as well as well-stylized. It reminded me of the game Privateer 2, as well as the 5th Element, but grittier and less Hollywood.

[–] raineater777 19 years ago

1. Overpayed hollywood actors?! I don't know what you mean by overpayed commercial actors, but if angelinajolie and sharon stone are all you know, you should look further. I find Hollywood as a pile of trash in which you rarely, very rarely, see some gems sparking. Harvey Keitel, for example! "Duellists" rings any bell? They are few and most of it is *beep* actors and films sent on heights of celebrity by media and influential friends. Didn't you notice that most actors live outside the screen?

2. You can't just introduce a character in a movie and go.. nowhere with it. If you would have taken at least a few script classes in your life, you would have known this, at least some vague explanation should have been given. If you don't need it, don't put it in the film. If it is important, explain at least at a minimal level. As far as i'm concerned, that guy could've been someone's masked grandma, saying it at a very grose level.

3. I don't know since when making an effect out of a defect has become a trend. And i would sdvise you to read some mythology and perhaps study some more before you lauch such statements (i am talking about the "gods" comment here). Not only do they not need to explain themselves to humans, but their will translates as action for humans.

4. Again, things can be worse, things can be better. Things can be much better and we mustn't settle for mediocracy and say stuff like "oh, it's not good, but i've seen worse|, as in "yeah, what the heck, they won't notice, it will go ok". That's just a huge insult to the public.

5. The jump sure as heck wasn't intentional, because the editor didn't make a style of it, and you can't just say that an editing mistake at the end of a whole movie was "intended". And yes, editors have styles. That is just another failed try to make an "effect out of deffect" AGAIN.

6. It doesn't make me feel better that you don't feel bothered. Actually i am quite blank towards it, and understand that for you a foreign film with too many unsolved trails (dramathurgically speaking) and editing errors can be somewhat exotic and great. Enjoy the rest of them, i am shure there are a lot of bad directors out there that do stuff like this, and i think you should personally send uwe boll your regards, since you are such a keen defender of his .. "movies".

I have to agree that in the beginning it does seem charming, but while you discover all i wrote (and more, because i didn't have the patience to write more) you sort of... lose interest. Too bad, for all the money invested in this.

And i congratulate you for being the only person who had something sort of constructive to comment other than the iq point business. I don't renounce my words, but it was a mere test, done for myself. And it seems that out of the "movie fans" that roam this here forum, only a fraction are actually devoted to discussing films (lights, dramathurgical leads, camera, directing acting, costumes, makeup, story, script)instead of having "bar talk"-like comments.
I am sick and tired of commerciality. Of the "american" way of seeing/not seeing things, and i totally weep for the detail loss in perception. And this is a spreading thing.. Shame.

[–] bfroberg 19 years ago

How about instead of constantly actively looking for faults with a movie, you try and just take in the movie without thinking about all those things, and ejoying it for what it is?

[–] raineater777 19 years ago

I am not looking for faults, i study film at unatc (directing, lights, camera, editing, scenography) and the faults just jump at me. Even when i try to "not see" faults, some slip and make me laugh. Your idea is noble however, but i'm afraid it won't work for me.

[–] maturity 18 years ago

"I am not looking for faults, i study film at unatc (directing, lights, camera, editing, scenography) and the faults just jump at me. Even when i try to "not see" faults, some slip and make me laugh. Your idea is noble however, but i'm afraid it won't work for me."

You can't prove that there are any mistakes. The jump you mentioned is probably intentional to show that the laws of reality had broken down in the Zone. From every technical standpoint, the movie was fine. The effects were good enough to achieve what they set out to. For my money, I'd rather watch this than the crap from Disney or Pixar. The movie has a great atmosphere and style. It's complex. You have to see it several times to understand how everything fits together. It might also be wise to read the original graphic novels by Enki Bilal.

[–] lucsch_lucsch 18 years ago

I'm terribly sorry but if your IQ is 129 please show it to us because reading your posts didn't connvince me at all.

I agree that this film has some serious flaws for example that red monster is awfully bad (it reminds me of the monsters in power rangers) but there are things that i really like in this film.

*This guy wrapped in black... i love the fact that there is no explanation for him
at all, that way everyone can see him in his own kind of way.

*The behaviour of the gods was awsome maybe it doesn't stick to whyt you learned
in school or in books, but hey gods don't exist (and if they do no one knows how
they behave) so its just a different point of viev and i love the fact that they
are very human.

Well even if these things don't go with your rules, they can still still be great elements in a movie... you have to look forward and sometimes ignore the rules, so you can create something new. Personally I have never sen anything like this movie and that's why I like it, and not because it's particularly good.

[–] drum_flare 16 years ago

i personally enjoyed this film. Though i would like to see it for a second time just to catch things i might have overlooked.

But from what i saw i liked, maybe because i like stories connected with mythological/historical characters/peoples.

I liked the guy in black because he remained that mysterious character throughout the movie. You don't know whether to trust everything he says or keep an eye on him. He, himself, was very god like...hmmmmm. Are somethings better left unsaid?... With the rest of the info provided yes.

I also agree with lucsch_lucsch that the behavior of the Gods shouldn't be based on what we were taught earlier in life. I remember the first experience i had with Greek Gods was off some Disney Movie, then i get into Middle school and all of a Sudden Zeus the almighty "merciful" King of the Gods is Raping women every which way. I know that the Disney Movie changed his character cuz of the kids, so i figure the writer(s) for this movie (who was the original writer for the comic i believe) wanted his gods to act in this way. Arrogant and Tyrannical with a longing for friendship maybe... especially after the way the other Gods treat Horus. If he can't find friendship in his own kind then he turns to what is left. Some people might argue that friendship might be some human quality Gods will over look, but mythological gods tend to posses human qualities from what I've studied (so i guess that's where my acceptance of his character comes from).

The acting was eh... i liked the acting by the main characters (Jill, Nikopol, Horus, John (man in black)) and basically all the non-CG characters. Some CG characters' voice where nicely done; Horus for example. Other's were not the lady with that blond streak, and the soldiers.

As for the CG work: Horus' lack of detail made him more fantasy which is what he is (although it would have been nice to see him more life like i won't lie, but i think maybe they were going for less human-like idk), but the detective and other CG humans should have been done better. (As aforementioned) i caught some of the voice work with the CG characters was poorly done =( too bad.

raineater777, with your mention of the "jump" during that one scene: I'm not sure what is up with that. It caught me by surprise when i saw it. I don't know if it was a poor attempt at time laps, or really a few missing frames but yea that was pretty weird... kinda wack.

in conclusion good movie... but i won't declare it great until i watch it again and am satisfied for a second time. like Fight Club =) Also the song at the End "Beautiful Days" is great =) <3

Screw you guys, i'm going home

[–] roell29 14 years ago

I've watched it many times. It's an absolutely brilliant film. I think the anti-French crowd is annoyed at America being shown up by the French.

Welcome to Costco, I love you...

[–] maturity 18 years ago

raineater777:
"2. You can't just introduce a character in a movie and go.. nowhere with it. If you would have taken at least a few script classes in your life, you would have known this, at least some vague explanation should have been given. If you don't need it, don't put it in the film. If it is important, explain at least at a minimal level. As far as i'm concerned, that guy could've been someone's masked grandma, saying it at a very grose level."

Lots of movies introduce characters and go nowhere with it. What was Boba Fett's history, before Lucas made the prequels? That's right, he didn't have a history. He was just a bad-ass bounty hunter. John obviously had a history with Jill. You can fill in the blanks.

"3. I don't know since when making an effect out of a defect has become a trend. And i would advise you to read some mythology and perhaps study some more before you lauch such statements (i am talking about the "gods" comment here). Not only do they not need to explain themselves to humans, but their will translates as action for humans."

Maybe they don't need to explain themselves, but they don't need to keep secrets either. You're complaining that the movie doesn't explain things and complaining because it does explain them. Make up your mind. Do you want explanations or not? Maybe they should have had Horus a mute and never explain anything. I'm sure you would have liked that much more. Right? Sheesh.

"4. Again, things can be worse, things can be better. Things can be much better and we mustn't settle for mediocracy and say stuff like "oh, it's not good, but i've seen worse|, as in "yeah, what the heck, they won't notice, it will go ok". That's just a huge insult to the public."

I thought this movie was great and it's not an insult to say that you can enjoy the movie without understanding it. Most people don't understand David Lynch or Peter Greenaway movies. That doesn't stop them from enjoying. Your argument is tiresome. Immortal was a great movie, IMO. They explained enough of it, and you can come up with your own explanations if you want more.

"5. The jump sure as heck wasn't intentional, because the editor didn't make a style of it, and you can't just say that an editing mistake at the end of a whole movie was "intended". And yes, editors have styles. That is just another failed try to make an "effect out of deffect" AGAIN."

I think the jump you refer to was intentional. It was an effect of being in the Intrusion Zone. The normal laws of reality do not apply there. You are assuming that it was a defect when I never even noticed it and I'm usually very aware of such things. I think it was intended to be that way, whether you do or not. I'd suggest you watch those scenes again and pay attention. You can't expect normal laws of science to apply in those supernatural conditions.

"Actually i am quite blank towards it, and understand that for you a foreign film with too many unsolved trails (dramathurgically speaking) and editing errors can be somewhat exotic and great."

You can't prove that there were any errors. Given the situation, those "errors" might have been deliberate to show how the laws of reality were not the same in the Intrusion Zone. Having unsolved trails is not a defect. Lots of movies have characters who aren't introduced. You know their name, or you see what they do, how they interact with other characters. You can fill in the rest by your self. That's the beauty of these movies. Don't brag of your IQ and then refuse to use your brain when a movie challenges you. Don't try to nit-pick things by arguing both sides - complaining that things aren't explained, then complaining because Horus explains too much. You can't have it both ways.

[–] LuciaJoyce 19 years ago

@ mechanismatic: you've convinced me that this is worth downloading. Peace!

[–] alsanali 20 years ago

Dude, 130 isn't genius, 140+ is.

[–] nwg-1 12 years ago

^this

[–] johnnyrandom 20 years ago

"Well, you know what, i have an iq of 129, a point away from genius."

Yeah yeah...shut your pie hole, idiot. Nobody's fooled.

[–] Tsavo 15 years ago

"Well, you know what, i have an iq of 129, a point away from genius."

Well you know what? Hitler had an IQ of 129, so... what does that say about you?

[–] downloadeux 19 years ago

Genius is not 150? Anyway, I have 135. Take that, you and your little 129!

[–] raineater777 19 years ago

Yes, of course, the iq talk is pure cr@p. But have you got anything interesting to say about the movie?
Apparently not. I rest my case.

[–] djphlanx 19 years ago

Uh huh, so your IQ allows you to recognize that gods would never explain themselves to "puny" humans.

Considering you are a part of that group, that is probably the best thing you can learn from this movie.

[–] Askur 11 years ago

But what is a god?

[–] abel-30 19 years ago

130 is "gifted." 150 is "genious." Not that IQ has ever been a great measure of a person's worth. Im 150 and it's never helped me.

edit: This is a straight up lie teenager me may have thought was true.

[–] sexbomb-1 19 years ago

Too bad the movie made you think.

The incredible, edible, Leik

[–] maturity 18 years ago

raineater777:
"i have an iq of 129, a point away from genius."

Actually, 140 is considered genius level. But 129 is well above average (100).

"1. acting. Their acting was awful."

Well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

"2. the character Jill was friends with. The guy wrapped in black. Why wasn't he described better, either by him acting more, or by Jill's words or memories or whatever."

There are a lot of things not fully explained. Figure it out yourself or go read the director's comics from the 1980s. Nikopol Trilogy, for instance.

"Now, in the beginning, Horus is acting like a tyrant, but during the movie, he looses his strength. It feels as if he is not a tyrant anymore, but a friend to Nikopol. There's a weakening in his character that is unexplainable."

He develops a respect for Nikopol, because he's the only human whose body didn't reject him. What do you want them to do, make him a totally unsympathetic a-hole character? Horus was sentenced to death. That might also explain why he seems to lose more his strength as his execution draws near.

"4. The computer generated parts. There were some good bits and pieces that were perfectly generated, like the little black kid's face, for example. But he wasn't a very important character. HORUS WAS AND HE WAS AWFULLY RENDERED!!! How the heck could that happen?! I have pc games that back years ago, and they were mush better made."

They wanted to make the Gods look like statues, like they were carved of stone. Saying there's something wrong with that misses the point. It's not supposed to look like some Disney/Pixar crap (which I hate). Horus looks that way, because the director wanted him to look that way. Just go with it - or not.

"5. There were technical (camera and editing) faults. DOn't know if you saw them, but they poked my eye. Like in the end, before her friend dies, she hurries to him. Somewhere around that zone, there's a cut that binds unmatching frames, thus making the image seem as if it "jumped". Probably there was another sequence between the two, and it was removed."

I don't know what you're talking about. I've seen the movie twice and I didn't notice any jump cuts at that part. Can you give the exact time that happens? Or more detail what's going on, like dialogue before and after.

[–] nickveliki 12 years ago

Ok, Mr. Genius,

1. I can agree with, though as an understated acting thing, it wasn't half bad

2. He's not actually that important. The first time I saw the film without even a trace of him in it, only recently I got a version with him in it. It did work better without him.

3. That's really the point where I have to disagree with you. If anything, the god never understood why Nikopol didn't want to be his friend. Being a tyrant one instance and going all chummy on someone the next is, well, tyrannical. I know it's not in Manipulation 101, but leaving your victim in the dark about your measures just makes them more... malleable and submissive. But, Horus' divine instinct made him reward Nikopol in the end, exactly because he had been a good host. Had he just been an impersonal, mechanical, tyrannical god, well, he could have just had sandals and a white beard... and a Dalek extermination issue.

What was I saying? Oh yes, Horus was very tyrannical, but not in the "Hollywood Stereotype" manner, which made him just more convincing, imho.

4. Also about Horus. I'd say you are suffering from the uncanny valley effect: he looked anthropomorphic, all right, but just somewhere between too perfect and not perfect enough. Also, he was mostly nude, and I know how Americans react to that...

5. I'm usually hammered when I watch stuff like that. So no, tech errors don't usually jump into my face and gnaw at my eyes.

6. Get used to people disagreeing with you

[–] gnaws_4_us 20 years ago

Perhaps if your IQ was larger than your shoe size,you would have been able to understand the movie. This movie doesn't lower your IQ but challenges it. If you want to talk about movies that lower your IQ, try Supernova.

[–] thebrawler 20 years ago

You think this film is better than La Cité des enfants perdus? Or Le Pacte des loups? Wow, I think your crazy and I haven't even seen the film.

[–] biancoceleste87 19 years ago

How many french movies have you seen? One?
French movies like Irreversible or Seul contre tous are vastly superior to this uninteresting CGI drek.
Its not often that I find myself watching the time counter on my dvd player in anticipation of the movie to end but this one did

[–] Steel_Gangrel 19 years ago

You know there is such a thing as the eject button... If the movie was so horrible, why did you keep watching it?

[–] maturity 18 years ago

"French movies like Irreversible or Seul contre tous are vastly superior to this uninteresting CGI drek."

Irreversible and I Stand Alone were total crap. I watched the DVD time counter waiting for them to end. This was an intelligent and challenging film. You have refused to take the challenge, preferring to wallow in the trash bin of Gaspar Noe. Try watching Man Bites Dog if you want challenging French cinema. Noe is a NOE-talent, incompetent idiot. What's so "superior and interesting" about that dreck he peddles, huh? You must be high on crack to defend Noe's tedious boring drivel as superior to anything. His movies are complete and utter RUBBISH. Ha!

[–] SamedisGirl 18 years ago

I really think, not that it was an option, but it should have been several movies. There was just *too* much going on in some places (all the stuff with the Mayor and the weird Detective storyline) and not enough set up (backround info and info about why there are all the different kinds of people and what they are) and interaction bewteen the main characters Horus/Jill and Nikopol.) Also more information of anykind about John would have been nice.

Pretty interesting but not much pay off (answers/emotional) besides beautiful images and half formed ideas.

[–] spencermccall 18 years ago

Well, most french movies suck anyway, so that's not saying a lot.

[–] hrhhrh 17 years ago

And for your rudeness, we hope.

[–] lowrises 16 years ago

I think this is the best french movie ever made.

Really not. French Cinema is among the best of the world, and I could name you a fifty better movies without much thinking. Remember the fantastic gangster movies from the forties to seventies (starring Gabin, Ventura, Delon etc) dramas (Schneider Piccoli,Deneuve) Modern Horror Movies (Irreversible, Ils, Martyrs, Haute Tension, Pacte des Loups), the afore mentioned Jeunet, modern police movies (Mr. 73, 36 Quai d'Orfevres)?
I loved the comic books from Enki Bilal, but neither is Thomas Kretschman a good actor, nor was this movie more then mediocre.
Better french 3D movie, try "Kaena, la prophecie"!

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] bwilkus 20 years ago

Wow, this is proof right here how very differnt people can be. I thought this movie was one of the most fantastic films I have seen in years. The visuals were stunning, the story was interesting and the characters and acting we just fine. I just hope I am right in assuming that you are the kind of person who thought ID4 and The Hulk were good movies, because then I will understand where you are coming from (that is, the complete polar opposite of me). I understand how someone could say that perhaps the cg animation was not the absolute best, or the story not the absolute most inventive, but it sure beats Hollywood. If you didn't like this movie, you probably shouldn't watch sci-fi anymore unless it is all glitzy like Minority Report. Again, WOW! I can't believe how different people are.

[–] henriqueaguiar 20 years ago

I sincerely can't understand where these people come from...
I most agree with you, bwilkus, they've got to surely be ID4 and The Hulk fans... Do you people even have the slightest idea of what making movies is all about? Or are you just the regular blockbuster consuming narrow-minded people? I'm am very sorry, but I would say you are the second option. No offense!
It makes me really sad...

Hold on to your panties Miss Hollywood, we're coming to get you!

[–] rogerdv 20 years ago

I wonder if those people ever saw Blade Runner. Maye Immortel is not the best french movie, but what the hell, if you waste your time to see a movie to criticize it then you are wasting half of the fun. IMHO, the movie is good, but maybe Hollywwod action movies have hurt the tastes too much. I see here Blade Runner, anime and cyberpunk at same time, if someday I would have the chance to make a movie, would be like this (or maybe even worse and tetric).

[–] 20 years ago

[deleted]

[–] stargateslash 19 years ago

You said:

if you waste your time to see a movie to criticize it then you are wasting half of the fun.

I ask:

Does this mean you, like, don't believe in bad films?
Because, really, if no one critizes anything anymore, then the days of bad movies are finally over!
And we can all just lie down and turn our brains off...

[–] paladin_messiah 20 years ago

Actually bwilkus, I liked this movie, along with ID4 and Hulk. Heck, I adored Minority Report. There is no black and white to this. People have different tastes, so accept it. And just to let you know, IMO the Hulk is probably one of the most intelligent CG Heavy films, next to the Matrix Trilogy.

[–] enroth 19 years ago

I like this movie, and agree with you on Hulk. I thought it had a lot of beauty in the camerawork and presentation, although the story wasn't the strongest by far. The same goes for Immortal... the setting was amazingly unique and creative, and they used CG to really back it up. I love the shot of Jill walking along the cable car beam through the city, for example. Part of the charm of these non-blockbuster films is that they don't have to be fully explained or wrapped up in neat little packages. Yes, there were some bad parts (at times the acting was a bit cheesy) but there's also some brilliant sections that you wouldn't get in any mainstream film.

That said, Matrix 2 and 3 were pretentious and worthless. :-P

[–] [email protected] 20 years ago

This film was extraordinary in the way it seamlessly combined a realistic imagination of the near future with fantasy elements, such as the return of the Egyptian gods. It shines like a laser among the sewage that constitutes the great bulk of the SFF genre.

[–] vindicatedplum 13 years ago

Agreed bwilkus, I also thought the movie was fantastic! I will agree that it took a moment for me to get use to the muntants in this film, the CGI was not the best I have ever seen in a movie, I was still highly entertained with the story line.

Again, I will agree with bwilkus, maybe some should only watch the Hollywood Sci-Fi features!

Sidebar: When there is banter about I.Q....when someone has to "tell" their number it is like invoking Godwin's law, thus making their part of the discussion null and void. Isn't the deeper meaning of an I.Q. test is that those with "high I.Q.'s" passed more questions on a test than someone with a "lower I.Q."? What does your I.Q really do for you in life? Give you something to brag about?

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[–] scriewy 20 years ago

hey listen guys. this is more of thinking movie less action. this is kinda movie when u watch it makes you wona be the GOD and imortal, shows us again how puny we R ! if u dont like dreaming about imortality mixd up with mystery that leaves you in sense of ephoria (drifting weightlessnes-uncertenty-confusion), then u wont enjoy it. just not you'r wave, LUCKY me i enjoyd hulk as well, the moments when he gets engry arghhhhh.... som ppl have narow wave som have broader recieving wave. same as ppl like difrent music

it's a pity i wont stay to see the world crumble

[–] AHatFullofSky 20 years ago

You mean you actually had IQ points to looose? Man you must be in the negative now!

[–] holyhell_ca 20 years ago

excuse me, but I usually like movies that are "different" and arenT made like the normal Hollywood movie is, but this just was an awful movie. I was just sitting through it thinking WTF the whole time..
horrible horrible movie, donT wast your time !!!

[–] floerke 20 years ago

this movie sucked so badly, for the first time in my life i thought about leaving a movie before its end. though i watched it and all my worst expectations were fulfiled.
the acting and the actors were simply horrible. the 3D is totally out of place. all or nothing but this mixture of real actors and 3d-animation just looked awful in every aspect. the story is boring and not worth a penny. any bum on the street can come up with a better story.
every time some action came up in the movie, at once the god came out and killed whoever was threatening him. wow. great. im stunned by the tension created there.
conclusion: this movie sucked so bad, i wonder how the director and actors didnt notice while shooting it and stopped the production.

[–] manwithpez 20 years ago

No, I did NOT like Hulk...I did like ID4, but it's far from my favorite.

But, my GOD! How on earth could you call this a THINKING movie. The only thing I was thinking was "Wonder what groceries I need to pick up today" cause the "story" sure wasn't holding my interest. And, as point in fact, this film ending up being kinda notorious at Osan AFB, Korea, where one guy, who does, in fact, like these sorts of movies bought it downtown, and brought it up to the dayroom, where a group of people were sitting around. Laughing their asses off at what a horrible movie it was. "Spider-Sharky" became a catchphrase for something improbably stupid.

A THINKING movie? Really...

I'm sorry, but my brain took leave when I saw a man, possessed by Horus banging some weird chick with one breast outrageously bigger than the other one! So, say all you want about me, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find a majority who enjoyed this film anywhere.

As a matter of fact, why am I apologizing. I didn't say anything offensive to begin with. Say you don't like a movie, and get attacked and called stupid. Sounds fair. Then again, what can you expect from a bunch of "Immortel" fans.

[–] andrewakman 20 years ago

this movie was really bad, and evryone who wrote their opinions about this movie and how bad it was, i agree fully. i have finally seen the worst acting in my life, the direction was awful, the 3d effect were not that bad, but it was really messed up and it ended up really ugly, the story was just terrible, i mean terrible.
i would write more but i don't want to repeat what evryone else has said about this film.
this was just a horibble film, end of story.

[–] simplewanderer3846 20 years ago

to: manwithpez's above comment
maybe the story was not holding your interrest because it wasnt just handed over to you like the movies of today. I believe this is a thinking movie cause there is a massive plot surrounding this movie, this place. But you only get to see a small tale inside of it. Like having a pail full of stones but only getting to remove one, for examing. So to get all of the other information you have to reach for it, look for all the clues. i'm not like the others and saying this movie is great...far from it but it is good and different. I love to see movies that dont follow hollywood's blue print for movies. Not many movies have such poetry within them either. Oh and i agree with the other person saying you cant compare this type of movie with the likes of amelie. Two completely different types of movies.

And last why insult chicks with one breast larger than the other? Perfection is not beauty. And no wonder your brain took leave during this movie, if you were stareing that intentively at the chick's breasts.

[–] Brian_Fantana 20 years ago

Pefection isn't beauty because perfection is based on each persons opinion. Eye of the beholder etc etc. However Beauty is Symmetry, this has been veried in several scientific studies, as through symmetry one can detect whether the DNA blueprint can be properly transformed into a human body, thus showing that the future offspring can also be created without complication.

However this is not to say such a "chick" with one breast larger than the other is ugly, however he error does make her less beautiful. Although this is not to say others shouldn't fancy her, in fact I know many people who wouldn't mind or care about such an issue. I am not one of those people and I don't like it, but that doesn't make the film bad. It wouldn't have mattered if the chick had three arms, I'm not the guy having sex with her.

[–] probe_78 11 years ago

Symmetry in human body / face may be beauty, but that is not general truth. Most things are not really beatifull if they are totally symmetrical. Think about painting or photograph for example. Beauty of painting /photo comes partially from composure, in which symmetry is not end all solution. Composure technigues usually thrive for harmony (usually symmetrical is harmonic), but really masterfull and beautiful pieces of art are good because they some way break the harmony ("You need to learn the rules so you can break them").

Also, beauty is very subjective. There are no scientific proof which directly proves symmetry equals beauty. That is because thing like that cannot be proven, because beauty is not concrete and unchanging thing. Go 100 years back to history and ask what is beautifull and you will get different answer than you will get today. Or go other side of world. There is no one universal definition of beauty.

[–] floba 20 years ago

You are a bit harsh here. It certainly is not a good movie by any means, but I for one thought it was better than, say, Star Wars Episode III, which got a much higher rating by IMDB visitors :)

[–] Bryan-Sommer 20 years ago

After watching Alone in the Dark this was an Improvement in my Opinion, I think I am Ready for Gigli now. ;P

'You got to be Cruel to become Good.'
Bryn Morgan 1998

[–] sym 20 years ago

i am very tolerant towards all kinds of movie ...but i miss something in this movie which probbably is a sense in the story. from the beginning on the movie evoked more and more questions in me, the mystery a sci-fi movie should have got me, and i thought the story would bring up several surprises and turns and tell more about the forbidden zone and the origin of john and jill. but i d been disappointed and thats my conclusion: the story disappointed me.
however, the movie's story had nice approach, the whole 3d stuff is great in general and last but not least Linda Hardy looks really cute in blue ,-)

by the way, the movies optic appearance remembered me of final fantasy (which i really like).

can anybody name or send me the links to other movies like these (3d stuff or other similar works) ?

thx

long live good movie worshipers !

[–] sljones44 20 years ago

Interesting idea, but not executed as well as it should have been. The CGI looked more like a video game. It needed more background on john and especially "enigmatic" jill. It's like they dropped you into the comic and you had to be familiar with it in order to understand it. There was no flashback to set up the premise, especially the character annubis. It was sort of like Zardoz, a strange premise without any background given. You just accept the story and draw whatever conclusion you want. It was a missed opportunity at a franchise. They didnt invest in a budget to really develop it. Theres a russian film called Nightwatch that looks amazing, visually.

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] jdeezlegacy 20 years ago

After reading quite a few of the replies here i must say I agree with this one. Even horrible stories can be saved if there's a director who knows how to tell it. This isn't one of them. This movie could have been one of the greatest movies of all time if the screenwriter and the director knew how to tell a story. There's no explanation for anything:
Why is Jill blue?
Why is Jill who Horus wanted to impregnate?
Who is John and what is his connection to Jill?
Why was Jill willingly taking a pill knowing it would erase her memory?
What was this movie about: procreation vs cloning good vs evil
or a god's fetish for blue women? What?
My uncle coaxed me into watching this film because he had a difficult time figuring it out. He kept saying it was weird. I don't think it was weird. Its just poorly executed.

[–] nochturne 20 years ago

Ok, jdeezlegacy:

I didn't like this movie wither, but you would have figured out a couple things had you been paying attention.

You ask:
Why is Jill who Horus wanted to impregnate?
Well, he told us that she was one of only a few women who could breed with a god. Simple!!

Why was Jill willingly taking a pill knowing it would erase her memory?
C'mon, surely you can come up with something. Maybe because she was becoming fully human and this made it easier to leave her old life and more importantly, John, behind.

[–] scriewy 20 years ago

u thinking to hard, this was a relaxing movie. the CGI was as it was because thats the style they intended, no 1 tryd to full viewers that this are real ppl, didnt u noticed the hole CGI was bronze grayesh color that created cirten atmosphear. NO answers NO future NO past loosless ends ! only a fragment of present, this is a DIFRENT movie, n u all pind to the ground n reality, can't let go, DEAL with it n STFU ! or i'l burn all opresors to the bone like scorpion from mortal combat !
i dont understend how can u argu about taste. only cuple years ego i was inlightend by a question, how can OSCAR nomination exist ?! the jury doesnt represent the hole world, not even the majurity of the world. it's just another big fansy game to kill bordem time. no nomination should exist.
it's like punk musician cant love hindu music, it's like a generation from 1940 dont understend sci fi movies. but there are allways axceptions
and i didnt watch titanic cause im sure it's just a big piece of tear jorker another drama, like we dont got anought of those.
and remember script writers will go out of ideas, i see many stories rewriten with minor changes and remakes start to pop up !

u wona stress ur brains. go hunt bigfoot, go hunt reptilian humanoids, find how to contact aliens. or at least download "ufo files Then And Now" "Roswell Final Declassification" "Soviet UFO Secrets Revealed" "Area 51 Alien interview" "UFO Hot Spots" "Area 51 Beyond Top Secre" and see how the governmant has their way with you puny ppl. (but dont forget about disinformation) Muha ha ha ha !!!!.....
start with this recent http://www.ebaumsworld.com/ufoguy.html

it's a pity i wont stay to see the world crumble

[–] lebowski024 20 years ago

Check out Casshern!! Asian movie executed much better than this!!

[–] essbry 20 years ago

now that was a bad movie. alone in the dark makes this look like gone with the wind. :) i did like the movie but it was not the best movie i have seen. i have have seen a lot worse. it was a nice change from all the hollywood type movies out there. i liked it because it was differnt. it was not perfect but then agian i had no expections.