Review: Clash of the Titans
Perseus - Sam Worthington
I LOVED the original Clash of the Titans film so I was hoping for big things from the Louis Leterrier remake. You’ve got Greek mythology, Liam Neeson and a pair of 3D glasses… Surely a recipe for success?
I have to say they did almost get there.
Myths, monsters and a good cast did make for an epic adventure. Leterrier brings the story smoothly into this century with some sizable special effects and 3D technology but thankfully keeps true to the original film, giving it the same overall vibe. I’m trying to pretend that the brief appearance of the mechanical owl wasn’t my favorite bit of the film… That’s not to say that it isn’t good but its the little details that give a film its edge. If you don’t know what I’m going on about you haven’t seen the original, which you must.
Clash of the Titans
The story starts with the birth of Perseus (Sam Worthington, Avatar) who is destined to settle the age old battle between the gods and man. When Zeus (Liam Neeson) and his brother Hades, the god of the Underworld, wage war on the city of Argos, Perseus is forced on a perilous journey, to eventually face the Kraken, a gargantuan beast wielded by Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and save the princess Andromeda. Perseus embarks on his quest accompanied by band of misfit soldiers and together with help from Io, Perseus’ guide they fight a plethora of unimaginable mythological monsters to stop evil overwhelming earth and the heavens. Pretty exciting stuff.
My one bugbear was the realisation of a pivotal character, Medusa. With the rest of the creatures looking so fantastic and realistic it was such a shame to be brought back to reality of the cinema by what looked like an unfinished computer game graphic.
Despite that it was a thoroughly enjoyable watch, heroic, fast paced and action packed. ?
Some genuinely wonderful information, Sword lily I found this. “Use your imagination not to scare yourself to death but to inspire yourself to life.” by Adele Brookman.
To be honest I thought it was dreadful. Random mythical beasts just kept appearing out of nowhere and they didn’t even bother to pretend there was a story driving it all. None of the actors were interested enough in what was going on to look surprised when these things kept showing up:
*SPOILERS AND MOCKERY FOLLOWS*
“Oh, its a djinn, lol suicide bombers”
“oh, its a giant scorpion”
“oh its medusa, lets kill the bitch”
“look a flying horse”
“scorponok mumakil rider huts!…somebody call a lawyer!”
“I’m immortal except now I’m dead, why I didnt kill myself hundreds of years ago to escape the curse zeus only knows”
“Look I’m doing the flying sword pose from troy!”
Embarassing.
It was just one set piece after another with mediocre link segments shining a light on characters that were so one dimensional even the half-assed 3D conversion couldn’t make them stand out.
Have to say as well there are not many films where I see the stupid plotholes on the first watch through. How did she know her father had died, how did the boats know where the pair had washed up? Hades looks cool, but why is the extent of his powers turning into a group of 6 flying imps? The Hades in Percy Jackson was scarier!
They’re doing all this in order to save a woman who has a grand total of 5 minutes on screen? How about a little character development first?
And the biggest one. Medusa’s stare doesnt work on djinn, why does it work on the kraken?
And how come Sam Worthington is Australian all the way through? He could have at least tried to hide it, he’s been in plenty of films and it has barely been noticeable but in Titans it’s like I’m listening to Crocodile Dundee.
I can’t believe I’m typing it, but even Liam Neeson wasn’t that good. At some point in this film’s development I can’t help but think they abandoned the idea of clash of the titans and decided they wanted to make a God of War movie instead…and they didn’t even do a good job of that.