Movie Review - 'Clash of the Titans'

Clash of the Titans Starring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, and Ralph Fiennes Directed by Louis Leterrier Rated PG-13

Offering a few good effects but very little else, Clash of the Titans makes a tale of the gods seem absolutely mortal, sickly even. A poor script ruins what could be a worthwhile remake with boring dialogue, a leaden central performance, and clumsy exposition that nearly brings the action to a standstill. All hope is not lost, but it can be hard to find: Outside of those few good effects, a couple supporting actors are in fine form and the grittier, darker visual palette is a step in the right direction. That's not a lot to make your higher-priced 3-D ticket worth the extra three bucks, but if you're looking for a silver lining, at least the movie's not too long. And really, much of what we see isn't that bad, it's just that none of it is very good. A remake of the 1981 film that prominently featured the handiwork of visual effects legend Ray Harryhausen (which is stupidly referenced about 30 minutes in), Titans is not a wholesale update, but it's close enough, especially on the important points: A demigod named Perseus (Sam Worthington) bands with the humans in a fight against the gods, including his own Olympian father, Zeus (Liam Neeson). The fight is actually the product of a wager of sorts between Zeus and Hades (Ralph Fiennes, a standout as usual): As the humans become more rebellious against their creators, the ruler of the underworld tells his more powerful brother that in order to regain the loyalty of the mortals, they must fear the wrath from on high. That won't be as easy as it seems once Hades discovers that Perseus is not only in the mortals' midst, but that he will very likely not take the side of the gods. That's about where Clash of the Titans loses steam. Pity, because, as you can tell...the story's just getting started. Director Louis Leterrier turns the hero's journey into an carnival of CGI, most of which isn't terribly interesting or jaw-dropping. The pièce de résistance - Hades' unbeatable Kraken - sure does look good, but it's not worth the wait. Leterrier's Medusa is dreadful; the makeup used 30 years ago is far more effective. Speaking of makeup, the Djinn, a rogue band of magic-using desert dwellers who come in particularly handy for exactly one moment, look like cross-dressing Sand People from Star Wars. Despite a pretty quick pace, there are a lot of elements that simply seem wasted. Danny Huston, always great, plays Poseidon. Pretty cool, right? It would be if he...um...had a second line of dialogue. Neeson doesn't fare much better, even though he has considerably more to do. As Io, Gemma Arterton only fills in the blanks of local lore, how Perseus was conceived, how to battle Medusa, where to find a good Chinese restaurant in downtown Argos at happy hour. But as a character, she's completely nondescript. That applies to nearly everything. Sam Worthington's Perseus is a Cliffs Notes version of Perseus. He grunts bad-ass Successories slogans and is identifiable by only a handful of characteristics. As a demigod, he should be a hell of a lot more complicated than he's given the chance to be, and he has so many turnstiles to pass through in terms of the minions of evil, Perseus never has room to develop. Fiennes is great in a throwaway role, as is Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) as one of the mortals in league with Perseus. But that's a bit like saying at least the silverware was clean at the restaurant, even though you were served a meal you couldn't stomach. If the original mythology were this boring, there's no way it could have survived 20 years, let alone thousands.

Comments

[Mike in Denver]

"As Io, Gemma Arterton only fills in the blanks of local lore, how Perseus was conceived, how to battle Medusa, where to find a good Chinese restaurant in downtown Argos at happy hour. But as a character, she's completely nondescript. " Hilarious and spot on. LOL. Terrific and accurate review!

[loganwest]

My expectations for this one are so low that I don't know that this review hurt my chances of seeing it. Colin and I tend to agree on movies, so I'll take your word for it that this is blah at best. But I haven't been to the movies in a while and the wife already agreed to see this. So I guess I'm going!

One question though: is it worth it to see this one in 3D though? Or should I not spend the extra money?

Thanks Colin.

[J.Bradley]

Still plan to see it - but on the earliest, cheapest matinee there is. Doesn't look like they're trying to do anything different than the '81 version did - that's not good. Stop - motion animation was something you didn't see all the time in movies back then. CGI is commonplace now.

[Don Draper]

I agree if it is a big budget action fest coming out @ the end of March beginning of April it is CRAP Tacular See Hot Tub Time Machine with an add on to She's Out of My League

[Bunts Houston]

I completely agree. I was quite dissappointed by the end of the film. I saw How to Train Your Dragon afterwards, and that movie was put together 100% better than Clash was. I wouldn't be surprised if the Percy Jackson movie was a better.

[car games]

Clash of the titans is great, i think part two is coming soon., parking games

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