Clash of the Titans is the remake of the 1981 stop motion animated
action adventure classic by Ray Harryhausen which pitted man against the
gods and creatures of classic myth. As opposed to the original film
which used stop motion to provide the special effects, this modern
remake of Clash of the Titans uses state of the art CGI which makes it
difficult to relate to and the plot takes a back row seat.
The main protagonist of the film is Perseus (Sam
Worthington) who uses a variety of accents in this film, Australian
included and is the son of Zeus (Liam Neeson). As his mother had an
affair with the god of Olympus, her husband Acrisius cast this half god into
the sea and through the intervention of the gods, he was found and
raised by a good hearted fishing family.
Sadly,
his adopted
family are killed as they get caught between two warring factions, that
of the city of Argos who have denounced the gods and the gods
themselves. This all started when Kepheus and Queen Cassiope compared
themselves to the gods and destroyed a statue of Zeus. Needless to say
the gods are not happy.
Whispering in the
ears of Zeus, his brother Hades (Ralph Feinnes) believes that Argos
should be punished and if they do not sacrifice their daughter Andromeda
(Alexa Davalos) to the Kraken in ten days, their entire city will be
destroyed. As Perseus’ family was killed in the conflict, he becomes
embroiled into this war and is given the mission to find the legendary
Stygian Witches in order to save the princess and once again stick it to
the gods.
Along the way, he is helped by the beautiful Lo (Gemma Arterton) and Zeus as
he fights giant scorpions, a really cool looking CGI Medusa and Calibos
who has been cursed by the gods and is no way as cool nor scary as the
original. The main villain is Hades who is played very well by Feinnes
but overall, the acting leaves quite a bit to be desired and seems like
a mix mash of ideas and plots from other films. I mean... why on Earth
are Djinn's included in this film as they have no link whatsoever to
classical Green mythology???
Worthington is quite wooden throughout the entire movie and Liam Neeson
looks more Santa than god and I do miss the original Zeus played by the
talented Lawrence Olivier. Apart from the plot, the creators attempted
to build a movie on CGI which doesn’t work (Star Wars Episode 1 & 2
comes to mind)
which makes it difficult to relate to any of the characters, especially
with their performances. It’s definitely a Generation Y film!
The video and audio quality look stunning on Blu-ray, especially all the
CGI in the movie and although it looks cool, it’s so overused. The video
is sharp with vibrant colours and some great attention to detail and the
audio compliments the film with its perfect use of surround sound,
crystal clear dialogue and impressive soundtrack.
I do commend Warner
for the healthy dose of extras in this film, especially with the
inclusion of the Maximum Movie Mode. The Maximum Movie Mode really gives
you an interactive experience as to how the movie was made because as
you watch the film, it interlinks various featurettes with the main
movie, including commentary, special effects and the like. It’s probably
the coolest aspect to the release. The next best aspect are the deleted
scenes, 18-minutes worth and if these were included in the final cut,
the movie would have been more passable as is the alternative ending. Lastly, there is a small featurette starring
Worthington who done most of the stunts in this film and informs the viewer
how he trained to become Perseus for the film.
Unfortunately in this
world of remakes, we get some hits and misses and unfortunately Clash
of the Titans falls into the later category and proves that CGI alone
does not make a good movie. Oddly enough, I enjoyed the movie more, the
second time around than at the cinemas!
Special Features:
Sam Worthington: An Action Hero for the Ages.
Deleted Scenes.
Alternate Ending.
Maximum Movie Mode: Join Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes,
and Director Louis Leterrier on an incredible journey all while you
watch the movie.
Featurette Focus Points:
Sam Worthington is Perseus.
Zeus: Father of Gods and Men.
Enter the World of Hades.
Calibos: The Man Behind the Monster.
Tenerife: A Continent on an Island.
Scorpioch.
Actors and Their Stunts.
Wales: A Beautiful Scarred Landscape.
Bringing Medusa to Life.
Prepare for the Kraken!
