Clash of the Titans (2010)

Movie Info

This is not your father’s “Clash”

Pulled from the sea by Spyro (Pete Postlethwaite), Perseus (Sam Worthington) has always wondered about his origin and why he was abandoned.  Now, mankind is rising up against the gods, and Perseus finds himself caught in the middle.  When Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) is targeted for sacrifice to the mighty Kraken, Perseus discovers he’s a demigod and the son of Zeus (Liam Neeson).  Rejecting his heritage and the gods that abandoned him, Perseus and his watcher Io (Gemma Arterton) are joined by a team of soldiers from Argo in a race against time to save Andromeda and stop the Kraken before it is too late.  Unfortunately, Hades (Ralph Fiennes) has his own plans and Perseus may have no choice but to accept the godhood which has been thrust upon him.

I’m more fun in Claymation

Directed by Louis Leterrier, Clash of the Titans is a Greek adventure-action movie.  The film is a remake of 1981’s Clash of Titans, and was converted to a 3D format for its release.  The film received mostly negative reviews but was a box-office success.  The film received Razzie nominations for Worst Eye-Gouging Misuse of 3D and Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel.

The original Clash of the Titans was a childhood movie for me.  I was really into Greek mythology as a kid and wanted to see it.  I vividly remember watching at a hotel where we had access to cable.  I can recognize however that Clash of the Titans is rather so-so even if I like it…this Clash of the Titans takes the so-so original and takes most of the magic out of it.

Wait, you bust into my home where I’m living peacefully to kill me and cut off my head, and I’m the bad guy?

The story is somewhat close.  It is a blend of real mythology with the faux mythology of the original film.  The story amplifies Hades role and has Perseus out-and-out rejecting the gods.  The story introduces another love interest for Perseus in form of Io and diminishes the role of Andromeda as a result.  The problem with the story is that the original Clash of the Titans had pacing problems with slow spots, and this film instead goes full tilt instead of pacing itself at all.

Sam Worthington was really forced on American audiences for a few years around this time.  He is pretty unimpressive and rather bland as Perseus.  He’s more athletic than Harry Hamlin who played the role before but his character pouts and mopes through the movie.  The movie has fun reteaming Schindler’s List stars Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes, but the movie doesn’t quite allow them to reach the same level as the Oscar winning film (sarcasm).  Mads Mikkelsen plays the leader of the guard while Nicholas Hoult is one of the soldiers.  I loved Calibos in the original movie (and even had the toy), but Jason Flemyng’s Calibos just isn’t as fun.  The film is also one of the last films of Pete Postlethwaite in a rather small (but important) role.

Unleash the Kraken! Then have a whole separate fight with Hades…

Part of the fun of the original Clash of the Titans was the classic Ray Harryhausen models for the creatures.  The stop-motion animation had a lot of charm and this movie with its slick special effects loses that charm (forcing the story to carry more weight which it doesn’t).  It does have some winks and nods to the original film with appearances by Bebo the Owl and other points.  An additional problem of the film’s visuals was the conversion to 3D which the director even objected to.

Clash of the Titans is a mindless popcorn movie which was true of the original as well.  Unfortunately for this one, it feels smashed together, sometimes poorly edited, and a rather uninspired action film. The success of the film led to a sequel (which had some casting conflict issues that negated important plot aspects of this film), but with it under-performing the plans for a trilogy fell through.  Clash of the Titans was followed by Wrath of the Titans in 2012.

Related Links:

Clash of the Titans (1981)

Wrath of the Titans (2012)