Jason's Honor
20 years after the murder of his father the King, Jason (Todd Armstrong) must fulfil a prophecy by regaining his rightful place as the King of Thessaly. To achieve this he must go on a mighty journey through dangerous lands and across deadly sees in search of the Golden Fleece with its magical powers. With a crew of strong men and under the guidance of Goddess Hera (Honor Blackman) Jason heads off on his great adventure.
As a rule when I watch a movie I am looking for the whole package; the story, the acting, the character, the dialogue and the look. But when it comes to "Jason and the Argonauts" my interest is far more specific as in truth the story of Jason's adventure to get the Golden Fleece doesn't interest me. Now in fairness I tried to follow the story but of adventure but it did nothing for me, neither the first time I watched "Jason and the Argonauts" nor the last time. And whilst the acting is typical and Honor Blackman is attractive as Hera the characters and the dialogue did little for me either.
But like many my reason for watching "Jason and the Argonauts" and not just once but a few times is because of the stop motion work of Ray Harryhausen. There is a real beauty to Harryhausen's work with so much detail and a smoothness which just captivates you. It is not just Harryhausen's work as the sets are also enjoyable. In fact the combination of the sets, Harryhausen's stop motion work and the action makes "Jason and the Argonauts" watchable.
What this all boils down to is that as a whole "Jason and the Argonauts" has never been my sort of movie but purely for the look; the sets and for the special effects especially those of Ray Harryhausen makes it entertaining.
