Enki Bilal's Immortal (Immortel)

Honestly, I haven't seen a single Sci-Fi flick or an anima that I didn't dig 😁
Even Pitch Black was actually pretty solid for me—and Battlefield Earth wasn't half bad either 🙂
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Sandra King86 said:I honestly can't remember a single Sci-Fi flick or anima I didn't enjoy😁
Even Pitch Black was actually pretty good, and even Battlefield Earth had its moments 🙂

So, you're saying that movie is total garbage?🙄 🙄

Larry King37 said:So you're saying the movie is total garbage then?🙄 🙄

Haven't seen it yet—but I definitely want to catch it when I can🙂 . Why the eye roll?...

The film by Enka Bilal—though I honestly know him more as a legendary comic book artist from the Midwest... It feels like some weird mashup of The Fifth Element and The Terminator, except it’s nowhere near as good as either of those. You’ve got a handful of actors, but most of it is just shot against blue screens with CGI characters and environments thrown in later. It’s giving me major Final Fantasy vibes, or maybe something like Lord of the Sky... or whatever that other recent mess with Julia and Law was called. 🤔 Now, look... I’m not exactly a die-hard fan of that hyper-digital aesthetic, but Immortal actually features some incredibly well-designed locations where the story unfolds... you see the buildings, the vehicles, all that stuff. But there is one massive flaw in this movie—and it’s honestly just frustrating because it looks so cheap and fake—it’s the animated characters! 👎 Total flop. On the bright side, though, if you're just listening to the dialogue, it's actually a really solid film!

I feel the exact opposite. Immortal is honestly one of the biggest wastes of time I’ve ever sat through. For me, Sky Captain is easily fifty times better, even if they both end up in the same bucket eventually.

Sky Captain is just a self-aware, tongue-in-cheek nod to comic books—both the print stuff and the movies—and it doesn't pretend to be anything more than a fun ride. Sure, the cast is decent and the CGI environments don't always land quite as smoothly as intended, but by leaning into those washed-out colors, heavy light-to-dark contrasts, and that dominant brownish-gold tint, they at least managed to make it look cohesive.

Immortal, on the other hand, does the worst possible thing a Sci-Fi movie can do: it tries to act all pseudo-intellectual and mysterious about "big" life questions—who are our gods, what is true reality, where are we headed—only to leave you with nothing but a pile of half-baked teenage scribbles on a middle school chalkboard. It's fake, plain and simple, from a needlessly confusing start to a predictable, pathetic finish. Look, there are moments where it looks visually striking, but in the end, it's just pure style without any actual substance. That's my biggest gripe: people love claiming European Sci-Fi beats American trash, but here, it feels like Henry just made something that's triple-trash. He still has plenty to learn from the Americans...

🙂

...and now he'll get his chance with Sin City. Honestly, if I could stomach that movie, then so can he. Consider this another lesson in monochromatic color palettes and how a straightforward story, despite its simplicity, can pack a punch if it's actually well-articulated. My takeaway? Henry, stick to the comics. I don't really read them myself (much to my shame), so I probably won't run into you again anyway...

It’s just... kind of arrogant, I guess? It feels super confusing, unfinished, and honestly, just poorly written. Total garbage. 👎 👎

I have a deep appreciation for the visual design of a film, though I suppose I’m just as fond of the narrative itself... if that makes any sense! But honestly? It drives me absolutely up the wall when they rely on those CGI characters that look completely artificial and fake! 👎

Since I bailed halfway through, I can’t exactly offer a professional critique, but honestly? It felt like the story never really climbed out of the comic book page. It gave me the distinct impression that the studio was just going through the motions, perhaps more enamored with the concept of making an animation than actually telling a compelling story. To me, the atmosphere felt incredibly thin—almost two-dimensional. Even the plot wasn't my main issue; what really missed the mark was that cinematic weight you expect from a major production... it just felt unfinished. 😕