Clash Of The Titans: Movie Review

Clash of the Titans will finally blast into theaters this weekend after a release date shuffle and a mundane 3D upgrade. The film is a remake of the 1981 Desmond Davis classic that hammers out all the stiff, campy elements we loved to make a gritty hard-hitting epic. The lead character doesn’t have any boyish charm or feathery hair, instead Sam Worthington takes over as Perseus the demigod son of Zeus, the only one who can stop Hades and his pet the Kraken from destroying mankind.

The Players:

• Director: Louis Leterrier
• Writers: Travis Beacham, Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi, Beverley Cross (1981 screenplay)
• Cast: Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson, Gemma Arterton, Mads Mikkelsen, Alexa Davalos, Nicholas Hoult, Pete Postlethwaite, Polly Walker, Danny Huston
• Music: Ramin Djawadi
• Cinematographer: Peter Menzies Jr.

The Plot:

In Clash of the Titans, Sam Worthington plays the bastard son of Zeus who gets caught in a power struggle between the gods. Hades is the film’s villain, the vengeful god of the Underworld, and a brave Perseus volunteers to take him down when his family falls victim to his merciless hand. From that point on he makes it his life’s mission to keep him from gaining Zeus’s power and unleashing hell on earth.

The Good:

• The Cast: There was an interesting mix of actors who all brought something special to their performances. With the exception of one (I’ll get to that below), everyone was entertaining and fun to watch. Even though Worthington, Fiennes, and Neeson were the selling points for the film, the supporting actors were just as enjoyable.
• The Settings: There are a lot of special effects used in this movie, but the one thing Leterrier didn’t skimp on were the locations. The landscapes were all real, and you didn’t get that 300 feeling of everything being done in a studio. In the end, that authenticity accented the story and looked great on camera.
• Costumes: The designers amped up the masculine factor with the soldiers costumes by making them look as strong as possible considering they were wearing skirts. After a while, you forget about their legs and you start concentrating on their fights. Yes, they do wear skirts, but skirts of armor.
• The Action: The action sequences in the film are fun to watch. The last major fight (without spoiling anything) was the best out of the bunch. It features an old favorite from the original, which happens to be a winged horse.
• Pegasus: Speaking of winged horses, Pegasus looks amazing here. There’s such a mystery surrounding him. He comes in and out throughout the movie, but he shows up when it counts. When he unites with Perseus it’s a beautiful sight to see.
• Io: When it was first revealed that this character was created specifically for the remake it bothered me, but in the film you realize that she does serve a purpose. She’s not just there hanging out in the shadows looking pretty. She’s essentially a plot device to get Perseus from point A to point B.
• The Kraken: The design for the killer beast was terrifying, which is great because that’s what the Kraken is supposed to be. When it’s finally unleashed at Zeus’ command all hell breaks loose (literally) and its introduction is priceless.

The Bad:

• The Accents: A pet peeve of mine is whenever films are set in Greek or Roman times, the characters always have British accents and in the case of Clash of the Titans, we had Australian, British, American, and Danish. No one was on the same page. In Avatar and Terminator Salvation, it appeared that Worthington at least tried to cover his natural accent, but here he tossed it to the wind.
• Alexa Davalos: I’ve seen Ms. Davalos appear in other projects and her acting was always up to par, but that isn’t the case here. She’s very stiff and comes across as doing an impression of someone from the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her regal English portrayal just doesn’t work.

Overall:

Despite a few character flaws, Clash of the Titans is an amazing movie. It’s pure popcorn entertainment and if you go into it with that type of mindset you won’t be disappointed.

Rating: 8.5/10

Clash of the Titans opens in theaters nationwide in 2D and 3D on April 2, 2010.

Photos:

Trailer:

Do you plan on seeing Clash of the Titans this weekend?