Jason and the Argonauts

As stated on my first post, I shall be doing movie reviews as well as books and video games.  For my first movie review, I decided to do one that is universally considered to be classic.  It's time for The Illusive One's Jason and the Argonauts review.

            Released in 1963, the effects in this movie are considered to be the master work of stop motion animator, Ray Harryhausen.  But was the movie itself actually that good?

            The plot of the movie revolves around Jason of Thessaly, based on the mythical character and his quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece at the end of the world and to reclaim his murdered father's throne. 

            On the positive side it follows the myth fairly well, cleverly combining the best elements of the journey to and from Colchis into a single voyage.  It depicts the Gods using the world as their own chessboard and the mortals as their pawns in their never ending games.  The stop motion effects by Ray Harryhausen are well done and are the spectacle of this movie and have inspired countless film makers and special effects crews.  The most famous of these was the battle with the skeletons and was a fight that would never be surpassed using stop motion animation.

            On the negative side, however, this movie is very outdated.  The acting, to put it lightly, is very bad and didn't seem to have much effort put into it.  It's the kind of acting you would probably expect to see in a 50s/60s matinee movie.  A lot of the miniature sets were obvious and some of the background scenes, particularly the ones with the Cashing Rocks, look really fake and requires a lot of suspension of disbelief not to laugh at.  The final issue I have with this movie, (and I know I'm not alone in this), is the ending.  I won't spoil it for those who haven’t seen it, but the ending leaves you hanging in a way that makes you feel that the story is only half over.

            All around, it's a decent movie and must see for any lover of Greek Mythology.  I say watch it if you can get past the outdated feel to it.  If not, don't bother.

All Around

7/10