Jason and the Argonauts
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Movie Reviews of Jason and the Argonauts
Movie Review: my expectations of the movie were much higher..
Summary: 4 Stars
the delivery of the item was good.. the movie was not all that great.. i recommend the 60s version better.. overall everything was awesome.. thanks again..Movie Review: sex sex sex not for kids
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie has a SEX sceane in it that is not kid friendly.Movie Review: More fidelity to the classical myth but no sense of epic
Summary: 3 Stars
As someone who teaches Classical Greek & Roman Mythology it is impossible for me to sit through something like the 2000 mini-series "Jason and the Argonauts" without constantly thinking about its fidelity to the myths of antiquity. Certainly this new version works in more members of the Argos crew than the 1963 film version with its Ray Harryhausen stop motion animation that is one of the beloved films of our youth. This time around there we have not only the mighty Hercules (Brian Thompson) aboard, but also Orpheus (Adrian Lester), Atalanta (Olga Sosnovska), Castor (Omid Djalili) and Pollux (John Sharian). We also have Jason (Jason London) and the Argo visiting the land of the Amazons and other details from the epic poem written by the third-century poet Apollonius of Rhodes, as well as the relationship between Jason and Pelias (Dennis Hopper) taken from Pindar. There is also a hint of the Medea (Jolene Blalock) that Jason will get to meet in the tragedy by Euripides. The only complaint is that unless you know the background on most of these characters you have no way of appreciating who is sailing with Jason. A prime example is when Orpheus mentions losing Eurydice but does not tell of how he almost won her back from Hades. Meanwhile, Atalanta seems to be interested in Jason (what would Artemis say?).
But while Matthew Faulk and Mark Skeet get credit for working the ancient sources into this telling of the tale, the problem is that the end result misses the magic of the Harryhausen version. The problem is twofold. First, the tenor of the story has contradictory impulses. On the one hand we have the active participation of the gods, with Hera (Olivia Williams) and Zeus (Angus MacFadyen) aiding and hindering Jason in his quest as they work out one of their frequent marital spats. But on the other hand there is an effort to make the story more realistic, in terms of the politics and relationships, which works against the idea of being the playthings of the gods. None of the actors strike heroic poses or speak in grand phrases and even Dennis Hopper is remarkable restrained in his performance. "Jason and the Argonauts" tries to reconcile these two by having the gods work behind the scenes for the most part, but then Poseidon stands up and that idea is quickly dispatched.
Second, Jason London as the title character looks too young. I know the actor was 28 when he made this mini-series but he seems like a youth. One of the problems with the story was while the greatest heroes in Greece would come to sail with Jason, a callow youth, which Apollonius solved by having Hera make them all want to go. Instead Faulk and Skeet have Jason make up have the crew with undesirables, some of whom provide comic relief, helped because of the aid of the guard who saved him from death as a youth. In other words, Jason leads the Argonauts because that is what was written in the script. Granted, this is consistent with the tone of the mini-series, but you cannot help but think that when Jason meets Medea that she is going to eat him alive (of course, she does much worse, but that is another tragedy). The end result is a production of "Jason and the Argonauts" that lacks the sense of heroic adventure that the tale personifies in classical mythology. It was okay and it should have been fantastic.
Movie Review: Good enough Voyage to take
Summary: 3 Stars
Jason and the Argonaunts is probably one of the best-known Greek myths, and this movie tells it adequately. Jason London plays Jason, the son of King Aeson and Queen Polymele (Diana Kent) whose kingdom is overrun by Aeson's evil brother Pelias (Dennis Hopper) who kills Aeson and marries Polymele. Jason however, manages to escape, and is brought up by the centaur Chiron in a peaceful enviroment where he has no memory of his violent past except for images that appear to him in dreams. When Chiron finally tells him the truth, giving him a necklace of his mother which displays the sign of Hera, queen of the gods, Jason sets off to reclaim his destiny. Once home he finds his kingdom downtrodden and poverty-stricken as Pelias sends more and more men to their doom in the quest for his greatest desire - the Golden Fleece. When Jason appears, Pelias strikes a deal - Jason will fetch him the Fleece, or else his mother's life will be forfeit.And so the journey begins - on board the ship The Argo, with a hand-picked crew that includes the musician Orpheus, the huntess Atalanta, the mightly Hercules and eagle-eyed Zetes, Jason and his men face dangers such as harpies, the sea-god Poseidon, man-killing Amazons and rocks that crush anything that sails between them. But they are being watched - the sorceress Medea, the protecter of the Fleece has her eye on 'the boy with the pleasent face', and her father and suspicious brother are concerned for the safety of their precious Fleece.
The first half of these movie is exellent, and very accurately portrayed in accordance to the myths, (ie Jason's missing sandal, Chiron, and Hera's disguise). I was especially impressed that they called the love god by his Greek name - Eros, instead of the Roman Cupid, which is a mistake that many people make. The second half however changes a little - it is Jason and the crew attempting to snatch the Fleece on enemy territory. They are more liberal with making changes to the original story (for instance Hercules describes himself as being sent to protect Jason by Hera - however, Hera hated Hercules in the myths!). I also felt there was an unsatisfactory ending with two many loose ends that weren't tied up.
However, the battle scenes were good (though I'm sure I spotted someone being killed with a javelin that never touched him), as were the special effects, sets and very historically accurate costumes. Some people claim Jason London wasn't very good as Jason, but he could have been worse, and Jolene Blalock made Medea an interesting heroine (though they understandably cut down on Medea's original bloodthirstiness). All scenes that involved Zeus and Hera in Mount Olympus were wonderful, with the clouds reflecting their moods, as was the scene in which Zeus attempts to seduce Medea. Also watch out for Natasha Henstridge as Hypsipyle, Queen of the Amazons.
So overall, this is a good enough movie to watch more than once, though in my opinion the first half is much better than the second, and they could have done a better job of completing sub-plots (such as Atalanta's secret love for Jason) to make it a more rounded-up ending.
Movie Review: A Voyage Worth Taking...
Summary: 3 Stars
This made-for-television film based on the Greek tale never quite seems to know where its headed. It is visually exciting, however, and it seems almost certain that this is exactly what the filmmakers were looking for that they might be able to hide the films flaws behind a morass of half-naked Amazon women, computer-generated dragons, harpies, and gorgon bulls. The story revolves around the vengeance-seeking young man named Jason (played in a very cardboard manner by Jason London) who finds himself setting sail on a ship called the Argo (with the hand-picked crew known as Argonauts, of course) to fetch the Golden Fleece. Along the way, of course, in the tradition of such tales, there are many adventures and encounters with gods, men, and unnatural beasties. There is a love story of sorts hidden in there somewhere as well, but its quite unsympathetic. ...
The acting in Jason and the Argonauts ranges from shoddy to pretty good. Even the respectable actors acquired for the film sometimes manage to turn in pretty unstable performances. Dennis Hopper plays the villain of the piece (not surprisingly), the arch-enemy of Jason, and he seems to have a thing for embracing people and then stabbing them in the back. Frankly, it is a silly role, and played just so. There are other characters even more absurd - one who has the keenest eyes in the land and shouts I see it! every five seconds which is both annoying and laughable. But on the other side of the coin, there are characters that manage to keep Jason and the Argonauts interesting, such as Hercules (a very non-Kevin Sorbo performance that is pretty fun), the minstrel, and the bodyguard of Jasons father who seeks redemption. Anguss McFadyen (who played Robert the Bruce so beautifully in Braveheart) also stars briefly as King of the Gods, Zeus. It is nice to see Anguss again.
Jason and the Argonauts fails in many ways, but usually compensates in others to round out the experience somewhat. After all, a movie based on a Greek myth such as this does not have to be believable all the time, nor does it require the best actors ever assembled. This is a good thing, since the acting and the writing is so hit-and-miss. Fortunately, the adventure elements of any Greek tale such as this are here, and with them in tact there is entertainment to be had. I for one enjoy watching and waiting just to see what the Argonauts will stumble upon next - will it be a god or a monster, or a feud with men over the Golden Fleece? The battles and creature effects may not be cutting-edge, but they have impressive moments. The dragon who guards the Fleece is the creature highlight, and at times looks strikingly real, and the battle against Hoppers troops at the end is climactic enough.
All in all, Jason and the Argonauts is an enjoyable, if sometimes silly, fantasy with fairly high production values for a film of its type - complete with a wide range of adventures that any adaptation of a Greek myth should have. Its not as good as the earlier production of The Odyssey, but its a voyage to consider.