Swordplay, monsters, and romance enliven this adaptation of the Greek myth about Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece. The actors portray characters ranging from the bad and the beautiful to the weird and the wondrous, starting with the gleefully malicious Dennis Hopper as the villain Pelias and the dreamily enchanting Jolene Blalock as the sorceress Medea. Good special effects dazzle the eye throughout the film, bringing statues to life, stirring seas into a rage, poising gods on clouds, and animating a fire-breathing metal bull. All is not well with this film, however. In the role of the title character, boyish Jason London lacks soul, bravado, oomph; a tranquillized mannequin could have performed with more enthusiasm. In addition, the mostly American and British cast creates an awkward linguistic problem: Characters from the same region, or even the same family, end up speaking with different accents. Finally, although the production generally retells most of the myth faithfully, it does revise or embellish important parts of it. Nevertheless, there is enough good acting -- from Derek Jacobi as soothsayer Phineas, Frank Langella as King Aertes of Colchis, Brian Thompson as Hercules, and Natasha Henstridge as the stunning Hypsipele -- to prop up the production. The monsters are good, too, especially the hideous Harpies that bedevil Phineas and the gigantic dragon that pauses to listen to Orpheus' music before eating several of Jason's crew. (Burp!)