Customer Reviews
PATHETIC!! - By: Adam Jackson, 30 Apr 2008 
AVOID!AVOID!AVOID! THIS IS A SHOCKING ADAPTATION OF A CLASSIC TALE. OK, ITS GOING TO BE COMPARED TO THE 1963 FILM WHICH RANKS AS ONE OF THE GREAT FANTASY EPICS BUT NEVER THE LESS ITS APPALLING!
THERE IS LITTLE SENSE OF EPIC OR THE FANTASTIC TO BE FOUND HERE - THE FILM CRAWLS AT A SNAILS PACE AND SO CALLED SPECIAL EFFECTS ARE DREADFUL. LOW GRADE CGI WORK IS OFTEN WORSE THAN STOP MOTION ANIMATION AS CLEARLY SEEN HERE. THESE CGI FX ARE ON THE LEVEL OFTEN USED IN DOCUMENTARIES SHOWN ON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (NO DISRESPECT). DONT EXPECT CUTTING EDGE REBOOTS OF RAY HARRYHAUSEN'S ICONIC MONSTERS. THERE IS NO TALOS, THE 100 FOOT PLUS BRONZE GIANT AT ALL! THE LEGENDARY SKELETON SCENE IS REPLACED WITH SOME KIND OF BADLY RENDERED WARRIORS THAT SEEM TO BE MADE OF BARK/EARTH - THEYD BE LAUGHABLE IF THEY WERENT SO DUMB! THE MULTI HEADED HYDRA HAS BEEN REPLACED WITH A LIZARD COME DRAGON MONSTER THAT IS ABOUT AS MONSTROUS AS CROC FROM EMU'S PINK WINDMILL!!!!
I WONT EVEN WASTE MY BREATH ON THE HARPIES OR THE FIRE BREATHING MECHANICAL BULL - JUST MORE SHODDY FX WORK!!
AND AS FOR POSEIDON, GOD OF THE SEA , HE'S BEEN ALTERED TO SOMETHING MORE AKIN TO THE GIANT FROM TIME BANDITS - YOU WILL LAUGH IF YOU ARENT OVERCOME WITH ANGER AT THIS POINT! THESE SETPIECES ARE SO DISSAPOINTING AND INSULTING TO WHATS COME BEFORE AND WHAT FILMMAKERS WERE NOW CAPABLE OF THAT THIS BORDERS ON HERESY!!!
SERIOUSLY, THERE ARE WAY BETTER EPISODES OF HERCULES AND XENA THAT MAY AS WELL HAVE BEEN THE WORK OF PETER JACKSON IN COMPARISON TO THIS STINK FEST!
ID RECOMMEND INSTEAD THE 1997 ADAPTATION OF THE ODYSSEY WITH ARMAND ASSANTE. A REALLY CLASSY FILM, EPIC IN FEEL WITH GREAT PRODUCTION VALUES AND A REAL CLASSICAL FEEL. THE EFFECTS WORK IS VERY GOOD WITH INTERESTING IDEAS AND A GOOD MIX OF ANIMATRONICS/PROSTHETICS AND SELECTIVE CGI FOR THE VARIOUS GODS & MONSTERS(INCLUDING POSEIDON DONE PROPERLY INSTEAD OF SOME LUMBERING. BARNACLED TROG AS IN JASON!)
THIS MESS HOWEVER DESERVES TO STAY IN THE UNDERWORLD, ACROSS THE RIVER STYX WITH A ONE WAY TICKET. PUERILE!
Stylish and well acted - By: , 18 Jul 2005 
I think this is one of the best adaptations of Jason & the Argonauts. Jason London is a strong lead & Jolene Bialock takes your breath away as Medea, it's beautifully shot & the costumes are great. Dennis Hopper is a ridiculous evil king but very entertaining. The plot is altered considerably but still manages to convey the essence of the myth. It felt like stepping into Greek mythology !
Sluggish version of Jason legend - By: Darren Harrison, 24 Nov 2004 
When I saw this latest version of the story of Jason & his search for the fabled Golden Fleece was scheduled for broadcast on the Halllmark channel I was intrigued. Not only did the movie feature not one, but two of the most beautiful women in Hollywood today - Natasha ('Species') Henstridge & Jolene ('Enterprise') Blalock, but it also promised four hours of grand entertainment.
Why then was I, about an hour into it, looking wistfully over at my DVD collection & in particular the classic Harryhausen version of the tale & contemplating what could have been.
Essentiallly put, this new adaptation of the Greek legend is a dud. Not only is the lead actor wholly unconvincing throughout but the action is tired, the narrative too drawn out & the pace sluggish. It does not help either that Henstridge's part (although top billed) is essentiallly nothing more than an extended cameo & that Blalock is unrecognizable (after watching her in a scene it was only her voice that clued me in to it being her).
Also why is it that the set design & effects looked cheaper & less convincing than they did four decades earlier?
All in alll this was a huge disappointment & something Halllmark should have done better. For an example of the channel getting these made-for-television features/mini-series right check out the simply superb & very entertaining 'La Femme Musketeer.'
More fidelity to the classical myth but no sense of epic - By: Lawrance M. Bernabo, 24 Jun 2003 As someone who teaches Classical Greek & Roman Mythology it is impossible for me to sit through something like the 2000 mini-series "Jason & 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) & Pollux (John Sharian). We also have Jason (Jason London) & the Argo visiting the land of the Amazons & other details from the epic poem written by the third-century poet Apollonius of Rhodes, as well as the relationship between Jason & 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 & 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) & Zeus (Angus MacFadyen) aiding & 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 & 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 & even Dennis Hopper is remarkable restrained in his performance. "Jason & the Argonauts" tries to reconcile these two by having the gods work behind the scenes for the most part, but then Poseidon stands up & 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 calllow youth, which Apollonius solved by having Hera make them alll want to go. Instead Faulk & 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 & the Argonauts" that lacks the sense of heroic adventure that the tale personifies in classical mythology. It was okay & it should have been fantastic.
Quite good, actually... - By: , 18 Sep 2001 Having read R.Graves' great book "Hercules, my shipmate", everything around the Argonauts has to be compared with it. This video passed the test.
When I first got it, I was expecting something like the "Xena"and "Hercules" TV shows. During the first moments, I was pleasantly surprised. The costumes & background fits with what the ancient Greeks were supposed to be like, judging from urns & other relics & artifacts. The storyline goes closely to the ancient myths & the special effects are decent. Some inaccuracies are present; i.e. Hercules in Hera's service, but it's expected in similar movies.
The actors: Derek Jacobi, Dennis Hopper, Frank Langella need no introduction, there are magnificent. The actress who plays Medea is very good as well, enchanting & mysterious. However, the leading actor in Jason's role is not good. However, for those of us who consider the ancient Jason a useless stud who happened to be in the right place at the right time, he fits in perfectly. And a brilliant casting decision: Brian Tompson as Hercules. I loved every scene he was in.
Overalll, it's a very entertaining film, but if you want a deeper & equallly enjoyable work on the Argonauts, read R.Graves' great book "Hercules, my shipmate".
