Jason
and the Argonauts (2000)
Our rating:
3 out of 5
Rated: PG13
reviewed by Charity Bishop
A legendary tale of great heroics, Jason and the Argonauts is the story
of one man's journey to find the legendary golden fleece that will grant its
owner anything his heart desires. It is an adventure, a romance, and authentic
mythology from beginning to end. After the kingdom is stormed and its ruler
(Ciarn Hinds) slaughtered by his evil brother Pelias (Dennis Hopper), the heir
to the throne, young Jason, is taken by a temple guard far from the city. Raised
among the impoverished of his nation, with his true heritage kept a secret from
those who would wish to destroy him, Jason (Jason London) soon wishes to discern
the truth. He returns to the homeland of his fathers and on the way gives aid to
a crippled old woman, who promises him that a great journey lies before him.
Little does Jason know that the old woman is the goddess Hera (Olivia Williams),
who toys in the fates of men for pleasure. Jason's mother has long invoked
Hera's name as a guardian over her son's fate and because of her loathing for
Pelias, Hera has chosen Jason to succeed him to the throne. Her emotionally
distant and mischievous husband Zeus becomes jealous of Hera's love for Jason
and determines to make his trials difficult. Jason is captured and taken as a
prisoner to the palace, where Pelias offers him his life in exchange for the
theft of the golden fleece, a mystical object he has long sought. If Jason does
not return in six months' time, his mother's life will be forfeit. Determined to
persevere, he gathers together an intrepid group of sailors willing to take on a
great adventure, among their ranks the legendary Hercules (Brian Thompson).
Together they encounter many trials and dangers, from enraging the sea god to
fighting demons, following a mythical star chart, and finally the epic battle
with the fleece's keeper, a dragon.
The fleece is in the guardianship of King Aertes (Frank Langella), whose
daughter is a sorceress chosen to protect its powers. Medea (Jolene Blalock)
foresees the approach of Jason and predicts it will bring their downfall. Rather
than setting out to sabotage him, with a little help from Hera and the god of
love, Medea will compel him to succeed. The result is a tale that is well
transcribed to the screen and beautifully filmed. A story that has enraptured
audiences for thousands of years is treated with decency, given strong dialogue
and intriguing characters. While the gods wage war in the heavens, Jason forges
forth with a gathering that become likable as time wears on. The thief who
wishes to be reformed, but not quite enough to keep his hands off other people's
property. The young woman who has always loved Jason but cannot seem to draw
more than brotherly affection from him. Hercules, who never fails to amuse the
audience by spouting off one of his legendary victories. "And, as always," he
says with a less than modest shrug, "I saved the day!"
From evil princes to mythological creatures such as sprites, demons, dragons,
and sirens, to an old blind prophet banished to endless hunger for displeasing
the gods (a cameo by Derek Jacobi), the story is highly engaging and enjoyable.
There are some production flaws. It's evident the filmmakers have never observed
a bull ride. Their supposedly monstrous and terrifying supernatural bull appears
to be hopping around the arena. Its animation is also shoddy, odd when you
consider that they do a fantastic job with all the other elements, including the
dragon and demons. There is some wooden acting involved, particularly on Jason's
part. I was disappointed in him for being so easily seduced by an islander. The
women have a strange lure over men and then sacrifice them to the gods. They're
seen flirting with the crew, bathing in the river (bare backs shown), and their
queen beds Jason. They hold a moderately lengthy conversation afterward (the
actual action isn't seen, but we do watch her stretching and flexing on top of
him, with a lengthy view of her bare back).
Dialogue references sex on several occasions. Hera accuses Zeus of romancing
mortals and avoiding her bed. To prove a point, Zeus later comes to Medea and
asks her to lie with him. Because of her love for Jason, the princess refuses.
She sensuously pours oil over Jason's skin and rubs it into his chest; whether
or not he's completely unclothed isn't revealed, but she does have him remove
his shirt. Medea's brother says he overheard her scheming with Jason while the
couple was making love like a pair of cooing pigeons. Hera remarks on Jason's
body to enrage her husband. There's one profanity and mild abuse of deity each,
but a great deal of battle violence. It rarely becomes bloody except on two
occasions, when a man is attacked by a group of soldiers and slaughtered and
another spits up blood after being stabbed. Numerous people are slain by the
sword. Two are eaten by a dragon. Several are attacked by demons and consumed.
Others drown in the sea. A priest is dragged to the depths of a bottomless pool
inhabited by a monster.
Obviously the religious aspect of this film is based in ancient mythology, so
there are scenes of praying to the gods, along with the gods responding in
various ways. Sometimes they come to earth to influence men. Other times they
stir up angry storms and typhoons, set other "smaller" gods on the warpath, etc.
Medea is a sorceress who can foresee the future. She often goes into trances.
She and others perform various actions to foresee events. Of great importance in
most of these is water. A priest observes future events through a scarlet cloud
in a pool. Most of Jason's journey is based on an astrological star chart.
Because of the mythological ties, I can forgive most of these elements: they're
part of a fictional story and hold no basis in truth, however younger viewers
might be confused between the false gods of the story and the real One who holds
our fates firmly in the palm of His hand. Because of the violence, conflicting
religious aspect, and implied sensuality, children should not be allowed to view
this film, but for older audiences it's an amusing and creative interpretation
of the classic myth.
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