DVD
Immortal

Starring: Linda Hardy, Thomas Krelschmann and Charlotte Rampling
Optimum World
RRP: £15.99
OPTD0253
Certificate: 15
Available 05 June 2006


In the year 2095, a giant extraterrestrial pyramid appears over New York. Inside, the ancient Egyptian god Horus is told he has just seven days on Earth before his destruction. Seven days to revisit the world he helped create, and mate with the beautiful blue haired woman Jill Bioscopin. In order to seduce Jill, Horus must find a human body capable of hosting his own form. In his search for a body that can be possessed without being destroyed, Horus leaves a trail of death and bloodshed. He finally discovers Nikopol, a rebel leader who has been cryogenically frozen for 30 years. Together Nikopol and Horus pursue Jill, whose strange powers are being investigated by Doctor Elma Turner...

Immortal (Ad Vitam) is based on the comic book characters created by artist Enki Bilal, who also directed this movie. Shot entirely on green screen, this blends computer animation with live action footage to produce one of the most original movies I've seen in years.

Visually Immortal is incredibly beautiful. From the skyline to the building interiors, a lot of thought has gone into framing every shot so that, in a sense, this is very close stylistically to a comic book. The only downside is that every now and then there is a little bit of bad animation that makes it look like a console game cut sequence - this is particularly the case with some of the fully computer animated characters. However, the skylines, vehicles and actors, that are part computer animated, all look the business.

There's also a hint of Blade Runner running through the film - the look of the city buildings and vehicles are obviously influenced by Ridley Scott's cult sci-fi movie.

To be honest acting is not something that is that important in this film. Both of the main characters (Jill and Nikopol) have very little in the way of serious dialogue. It also felt like the sex scenes were included as gratuitous titillation. They didn't really add much to the film - although I know there was a valid reason for their inclusion.

Charlotte Rampling puts in an, as usual, solid performance as Doctor Elma Turner, but her character doesn't seem to be fleshed out very much. In fact that is probably my biggest criticism of the film - that all of the characters, like comic book creations, are all very two dimensional.

Extras include Making of CGI (11 minute featurette); a Making of documentary (36 mins); and three trailers.

At the end of the day this is a good solid movie that works well for the most part - just don't expect too much and you'll come away happy.

Nick Smithson

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