RATING: PG-13
Grade: C+
Set on the mountainous coast of ancient Greece, “Clash of the Titans” follows demigod, Perseus, played by Sam Worthington (Terminator: Salvation), as he fights to save mankind from the wrath of the gods and avenge the death of his parents by killing Hades, played by Ralph Fiennes (The Reader), god of the underworld. To weaken Hades and save the city of Argos, Perseus must first battle the Kraken. This sends Perseus and a band of soldiers on a journey to find the three witches who know of the Kraken’s weakness. Underneath all the mayhem lies a battle between Zeus played by Liam Neeson (Taken) and Hades for the control of the Heavens.
Unfortunately, “Clash of the Titans” harbors the fatal flaw that so many other action flicks have succumbed to: decent directing of an an awful script. Many fights were ruined by two or three lines of cheesy dialogue that usually boiled down to “I’m just a man.” Yeah, you are part human and you just killed a monster. Here is a quick hint: it’s a lot cooler to kill the Medusa if you don’t brag about it afterward. The rest of the script was downright banal and boring enough to lull you to sleep. To be fair, some — though not all — of the Greek myths used in this film were true to the original story lines. Some had a few modifications to better fit the plot, but this is an action film, not a historical piece. The point is to be entertaining, not accurate.
The acting wasn’t particularly spectacular either. This is supposed to be a Greek epic. One would think they could throw a little passion in there. The audience feels no connection to Perseus even as he is watching Io played by Gemma Arterton, (Quantum of Solace) his potential love interest, die outside Medusa’s lair. This is after his entire family is killed by Hades and still, even as he watches his love die, absolutely no emotion is seen on screen or any personal connection made with the audience. There was more excitement to see the kraken than remorse for Perseus’ pain.
Despite the poor acting and the awful script, director Louis Letterrier manages to keep audiences fairly invested in the plot and entertained. Fight sequences in themselves were well shot, making the scenes intense and exciting. A large portion of the investment comes from interest in the kraken, a large sea beast with multiple arms, craving the Argos princess’s flesh. Letterier’s portrayal of the kraken is a little larger than myth, so large in fact that it takes about fifteen minutes before the audience even gets to see it’s slimy, toothy grin. It spends most of that time trying to pull itself out of the ocean, while whipping its multiple arms to cause as much destruction as possible.
Fans of the original stop-motion production will be disappointed with this remake. There are multiple plot differences, including a change of love interest. In the original film, Perseus falls in love with Andromeda, the princess of Argos, and that is his motivation for saving Argos himself. In the 2010 version, if Andromeda was devoured by the kraken, Perseus would have been too distracted by fellow demigod, Io, to care.
“Clash of the Titans” is just hollow. This is definitely one of those films that’s going to be forgotten once it’s out of theaters. It’s not horrible, but it’s not memorable. It’s certainly not a film that should be bought as soon as it comes out for twenty five dollars.