spartacus34 As a Classics major I can not recommend this movie. It holds no truth to the writings of Apollonius and is another Hollywood recreation of a magnificent Greek Poem. The writers and I call them that loosely stole a great story and changed a classic into a bad tele-novel. This is akin to taking Hamlet, keeping his father alive and Hamlet is just a joyous kid out on a fun adventure. As a Classicist this adaptation disgusts me. If anyone thinks watching this will replace reading the poem then expect a very low grade in your class!!!This is about as far away from the actual story as one could get. The original story is amazing and full of non invented plot twists and turns. The ending is Hollywood at its worst. So sad to see one of Greece's true masterpieces destroyed like this. Note to Hollywood, Why change a story so amazing it has lasted for 2,500 years. To change the story is so sad and just a slap in the face of a wonderful writer.

Neil Welch I am greatly tickled by some of the remarks on the IMDb about this TV miniseries version of Jason And The Argonauts.One - some people pick holes in the fact that it doesn't recount the "true facts". Guys, there are no facts in a myth - that's the nature of myths. So Atalanta wasn't an Argonaut? That may be so according to most accounts, but not all.Two - some elements of the Harryhausen version - Talos, for instance - have been left out. Well, the much-loved (especially by me) Harryhausen version played even faster and looser with the most generally accepted versions of the myth than this does, and Talos (and the Hydra, and the skeletons) were all such variations.Does this version succeed or fail? Well, the effects are a bit TV-budget-y in places (the Harpies, for instance, don't really convince). The colour is distinctly washed out, but that seems to be a style choice. And Jason London plays Jason Argonaut with a little less authority than he needs to.But apart from that, this is a nice leisurely stroll through a jollied-up version of the myth, and it brings it to a close (which the earlier version didn't) even though the conclusion is a Hollywood happy ending, and not the grim bloodbath you'll find in the myth.

Robert J. Maxwell Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Jason and the Argonauts. Sounds like a 1950s rock band but this outfit has legs, the story being at least 2300 years old -- and an oral tradition before that.It's a complicated narrative too. In order to save his mother's hide, Jason is forced by the king (Dennis Hopper) to undertake a dangerous sea voyage with two-dozen crew to a distant island and bring back the golden fleece, which is a sheepskin made of golden wool. The crew is full of familiar names. There are Castor and Pollux (who speak with Slavic accents), Hercules, Orpheus, Atalanta, and some others. Well, they're not household worlds exactly, but famous nonetheless.Along the way they encounter dragons, clashing rocks, harpies who are half-bird and half-women and resemble my second-grade teacher, an army of women led by Natasha Henstridge, an angry Poseidon, clashing rocks, armed skeletons born of dragon's teeth, the witch Medea (Jolene Blalock), the jealous king who wants to keep the golden fleece for himself (Frank Langella), and various other dilatory things and events that happen to ordinary people who are in a hurry to get someplace.This movie, splendidly photographed, comes to us from Hallmark, along with their superior production of The Odyssey. There have been a couple of other retellings of the Greek myths lately and I think I know why. It's a chance for a special effects extravaganza. Willis O'Brian of "King Kong" fame was replaced by the more sophisticated effects of Ray Harryhausen, and now it's time for computer-generated images. They're pretty good too. The argonauts land on a rocky island and plant a spear and a giant eyeball appears nearby -- it's not an island at all, but the barnacle bedecked Poseidon taking a snooze, and, man, is he cranky when he wakes up.The weakest part of the film is in the performances. Jolene Blalock, who looks like Hilary Swank, is the image of a beautiful model -- and she acts like one. Adrian Lester, the African-American yuppie in "Primary Colors", still looks like a yuppie. Olivia Williams as Hera isn't bad at all, but most of the gods and goddesses are no more than competent. For a great Zeus, a Zeus who has a touchy relationship with Hera because she knows he's been getting it on with mortal women, posing as a shower of coins or a swan or something, watch Lawrence Olivier in "Clash of the Titans." The central figure of Jason is given to Jason London. Now, he may be a great guy in real life for all we know. He probably loves his dog. But he's gotten the pretty boy treatment in this movie. His hair looks done by a fashionable salon on Rodeo Drive. Every female in the film falls in love with him. They fawn over him, give him presents, happily rub oil or wine on his body (twice). It's disgusting. And as if that weren't enough, London's acting is as flat as a pancake, perfectly suitable for a high-school play. Dennis Hopper is a great maniac, but he has to be seen (and heard) as a murderous Greek king to be believed. The best performance, surprisingly, is by Brian Thompson as Hercules. You'll recognize him when you see him. He's been an alien on the X-Files and a lank-haired greaseball of a heavy in some features.Still, this would make a good movie for the family. I suppose there are a few semi-nude scenes involving Natasha Henstridge -- not enough to suit me, but not enough to make any 10-year-old's eyes goggle either. The kids will probably treat it as nothing more than another action flick with plenty of CGI, but if they remember it at all, they'll be remembering a Greek myth. It might get them a bonus point on an IQ test sometime later in life.

nxylas It's such a shame that Mystery Science Theater 3000 isn't made any more. This movie contains so many unintentionally funny lines that the script practically writes itself, but somehow you just know that Mike and the 'bots would crank it up to the next level, making fun of stuff that us mere mortals didn't even notice.And yes, Jason London's performance is every bit as bad as everyone says it is. I just couldn't take him seriously when he was supposed to come across as a leader of men, woodenly delivering his not very inspirational pep talks to the crew. Still, no film that features a fire-breathing robot bull can be all bad, I suppose.