Clash of the Titans

Directed by Louis Leterrier

Starring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Flemyng, Gemma Arterton, Alexa Davalos, and Luke Evans.

Backstory

I have vague memories of seeing the original Clash of the Titans when I was younger. It was by no means a beloved childhood classic, but I know it is to a lot of people. The trailers for the remake started coming along, and it looked mildly interesting. Since I am a sucker for a good fantasy film from time to time, I figured why not give it a shot?

Plot

Things are not going well in ancient Greece. People are starting to grow disillusioned with the gods, and haven’t been worshiping them as much as they used to. This has the effect of weakening the gods’ powers, weak enough to release Hades from the underworld. Zeus, feeling vengeful, allows Hades to run free and wreak havoc on the city of Argos. In this havoc, Hades kills the adopted family of Perseus, a man who was rescued from the sea as an infant. Hades issues an ultimatum to the people of Argos: if they do not sacrifice their princess, Andromeda, to him within 10 days, he will unleash his mighty sea beast, the Kraken, to destroy the city. Perseus, feeling vengeful himself, volunteers to lead a quest to find some other way to destroy the Kraken, defeat Hades, and save Andromeda. Will Perseus succeed in his quest? And what is his connection to the gods?

What I Liked

Wow, does ancient Greece sure look pretty in this film. The vast cityscape of Argos is spellbinding, Olympus looks appropriatly heavenly, and the Kraken is all Godzilla-like. Even Medusa is strangely sexy for a half-human/half-snake creature.

What I Didn’t Like

Everything about this film. It’s just so bland. We hardly get to know any of the characters, there’s not much there to make them stand out or be memorable. And the plot is a fairly routine fantasy epic plot.

Final Assessment

A fairly routine hero’s journey that I found less than impressive.

2 Nibs