Jason and the argonauts

Year of release : 2000

Run time : 1h25m -1h26m / 2 parts mini series

Genre : Adventure / Fantasy

Cast : Dennis Hopper, Jason London, Natasha Henstridge, Olivia Williams, Angus Macfadyen, Frank Langella, Ciaran Hinds

The Hallmark mini series are based on the Greek myth of Jason and the argonauts (they were Greek heroes named after the ship Argo, which was named after its builder, Argus).

Soldiers invade the ancient city of Iolcus with king’s Aeson’s brother, Pelias, in charge.

Aeson’s wife, Polymele, is praying to her goddess, Hera, for help, in the temple.

Pelias and his soldiers enter the temple, as Polymele gives Jason her medallion / emblem depicting Hera (offering the goddess’ protection).

Pelias says he’s only there to claim “what’s his”, meaning Aeson’s kingdom. Pelias hugs him, saying he only seeks his destiny, and stabs him.

Jason sees him doing it (thing important at the end), and years later he still has nightmares about it.

As Pelias wanted to k1ll Jason, as he was the next in line to his brother’s throne, one of the fallen soldiers musters the strength to get up, take Jason, and flee.

Many years later, Jason is training with his best friend, who is in love with him, but he only sees her as one of his male friends.

As he doesn’t remember who he is, the centaur Chiron tells him of his true origins, and how the nightmare he thinks the gods give him, is what truly happened to his family.

Jason decides to go to the palace, and is asked by an old woman to help her cross the river. Jason carries her on his back, and she tells him about Pelias’ obsession with the Golden Fleece, the greatest gift from gods to men, which is supposed to grant them their heart’s desire, as Pelias wants to be immortal. It’s later revealed the old woman is Hera.

Pelias’ fortune teller sees him, warning him about it. He tells him he only wears one sandal, and has the protection of the gods. He sends his soldiers to look for him, taking him to the court when they find him.

Pelias brings his mother to see him (as he married her and she has a son with him too), and his mother, to protect him, says she doesn’t recognize him or the emblem she gave him, in fear Pelias will k1ll him. Pelias is slick, so he tells her he’ll k1ll him anyway, so she admits he’s her son.

Jason says he won’t k1ll him as he knows where to find the Golden Fleece. Pelias lies to him if he brings him the fleece he will restore him to prince and right to succession to the throne (to which Pelias’ son objects). Pelias tells him if Jason is not back in 6 months he’ll k1ll his mother.

His mother comes to see him in the prison cell before he leaves, asking him to promise her he’ll never come back even if he finds the fleece, as Pelias will k1ll him either way, for he wants to rule forever.

Pelias gives him the finest and fastest ship ever designed, and makes his builder, Argus, go with the crew.

Polymele is asking goddess Hera to protect her son.

We see the goddess in the clouds, fighting with her husband, Zeus, as he has affairs with mortal women.

Jason starts looking for men to fight beside him, and finds the soldier who rescued him as a kid from Pelias, a few courageous peasants, Castor and Pollux, Orpheus, and even the mighty Hercules who manages to push the ship into the water, as all the other men together failed. Even a thief who stole his medallion asks to join, as the soldiers are looking for him.

Jason’s step brother joins them as he says with the fleece he can rid the kingdom of Pelias who’s a tyrant.

Because Hera appearing as the old woman helps Jason, by telling him to go to the map maker (as the place where the fleece is isn’t on any map), Zeus gets jealous and vows to make things hard for Jason and his team at every step of the way.

The map maker gives him a map of the stars made by his son who has amazing eye sight, and leaving, the man’s son follows him, as he wants adventure.

Medea, the keeper of the Golden Fleece, who can’t be parted with it, sees Jason and his men sailing towards her father’s kingdom.

 

Zeus, always watching, messes with them, bringing the fog, and they end up in a rock formation which turns out to be the god of the ocean, Poseidon.

His brother saves Jason as he almost drowned in the confrontation with Poseidon. Poseidon leaves them be when he realizes it was Zeus, and the crew realize they lost the map.

Zeus doesn’t quit, and creates a storm, and the crew shipwrecks on an island.

It’s the Isle of Lemnos, and the amazons lie to them their men have been fighting in wars for so long, they even forgot what wars are they in. The queen Hypsipyle finds Jason attractive, and he ends up sleeping with her.

All men except for Orpheus, who suffers after losing Eurydice to death, are charmed by the amazons, who drugged them with the wine they give them to drink all the time.

 

Atalanta, who loves Jason, sneaks on the island, and sees the temple of the amazons where they sacrifice all the men.

She warns the men, but they think her jealous.

Jason realizes they need to leave, as their ship has been repaired, and the women try to stop them.

They flee as the women are trying to k1ll them.

Jason feels demoralized, but the soldier who saved him as a kid, tells him to be brave for the men’s sake ,as he’s the son of a king. He prays to Hera, and asks the man with special eyes to read the stars again, and make another map.

Medea warns her brother about Jason, and he goes to their father, who sends his son with an army to k1ll them.

Jason’s crew finds land, and there, on the Tabletop Island, they find Phineus, who was exiled on the island by the gods envious of his sight, where to live unable to ever eat due to the harpies protecting the food, and without his eyes, as they blinded him.

Jason and his men agree to help Phineus with the food, by k1lling the harpies, and in return, Phineus will tell them where the fleece is.

I liked the first part, but the second one bored me, although it was action packed. I think it might have been due to the fact the visual effects are bad, they look like a cartoon.

Zeus, with his affairs and jealousy, is annoying, and so is Pelias, obsessed with power.

Jason and his men were courageous. I wasn’t with them on their quest though, as it meant to steal the fleece from a king who didn’t do anything to them. They just wanted it for another tyrant wanted it, so he could rule forever.

I felt bad for Atalanta, who loved Jason but he didn’t care for her.

I liked the women’s clothes, jewelry, and make-up.

The actors were great, considering they had nothing to work with, the CGI was bad, and they acted like they really had monsters in front of them.

The visual effects, in the first part were not that bad. Until they got to the harphy. And things only got worse from there.

The soundtrack started well, in certain parts of the first part I really liked it, but I didn’t like it in the second part.

You can watch the 2 part mini series on the Ok.Ru platform.

Rating : Worth a watch !