Clash of the Titans Review
Clash of the Titans
Directed by: Louis Leterrier
Written by: Travis Beacham, Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi
Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton
Unlike a lot of the Hollywood remakes being greenlit nowadays, I think most people can agree that Clash of the Titans is a film that was due for a makeover. The original was made in 1981 and featured stop motion effects created by Ray Harryhausen. Sure, they were cool at the time, but the film looks dated now, and it takes away from a fantastical story like this when the special effects are no longer cutting edge. Considering the current renewed interest in sword and sandals epics, this movie should have been an easy win for all parties involved.
Unfortunately for Clash of the Titans and director Louis Leterrier, the movie also managed to get caught in the middle of the Hollywood transition to 3-D. At the last minute, Warner Brothers decided to up-convert the film to 3-D in post-production in order to capitalize on the trend, a decision that has proven to be both distracting and problematic. The movie has plenty of other issues as well, but the poor use of 3-D is what ultimately underwhelms and puts the nail in the coffin for what should have been, at the very least, a satisfying visual spectacle.
The story is based on the myth of Perseus (Sam Worthington), the adopted son of a fisherman who does not know that he is actually the demi-god son of Zeus. When the people of Argos rebel against the gods, Zeus does not take kindly to their actions and allows his brother Hades to strike back (killing Perseus’ parents in the process). Hades will release a Kraken (a giant sea monster) to destroy the city in 10 days, unless Perseus can stop him. Together with a band of warriors and his ethereal guide Io (Gemma Arterton), he sets off to do just that.
In some ways the story is immune to criticism because it’s such a simple, archetypal tale, but they did stray from the original in a number of ways, mainly to add more CG and more sex appeal. Io was not in the original, but here she plays Perseus’ love interest in place of Andromeda (his quest to answer a riddle for her hand in marriage is also excised). They also added a strange race of sand people, one of whom ends up tagging along and grunting like Chewbacca for comic relief. Yes, screenwriters Travis Beacham, Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi (Aeon Flux, The Tuxedo) have created something that feels quite a bit like a George Lucas movie here… take from that what you will.
There are definitely two tones in competition with each other throughout the film. Clash of the Titans wants to be macho, dark and violent, but it’s also a PG-13 adventure movie for the whole family. It’s a hard balance because I think some of the monsters are probably too scary for younger kids, while the older kids have grown up with movies like 300 and video games like God of War and will probably wonder why this movie isn’t more bad ass. One thing’s for sure: almost all of the humour in this movie is groan-worthy and extremely corny.
Sam Worthington’s sudden rise to stardom continues with this film, starring in his third major blockbuster in the span of a year after his roles in the ridiculously successful Terminator Salvation and Avatar. While he has a certain amount of charm, and an everyman quality, this is probably his least memorable performance out of the three. Perseus doesn’t feel particularly heroic, since his stubbornness to use gifts from the gods just comes across as stupidity, rather than pride or bravery. The death of his parents is not built up enough to mean anything, and anytime they attempt to give him an inspirational, fist-pumping speech, the words just fall flat. He’s no Viggo Mortensen, no matter how much Letterier wants this to be The Lord of the Rings.
I realize, however, that all anyone really cares about is the special effects. Clash of the Titans does deliver some pretty cool imagery at times, including some disturbing Pan’s Labyrinth-esque creature designs and massive set pieces. As far as the action sequences go, I enjoyed the scorpion battle and some of the swordfights, but for every decent battle there is twice as much exposition that slows down the pace. I wasn’t a huge fan of Leterrier’s work on The Incredible Hulk, and once again he shows here that he knows how to orchestrate destruction, but he doesn’t really know how to give scenes weight. Also, I think it’s worth pointing out that certain characters (ie. Medusa) did not feel nearly as real or creepy in this version, so there’s still a trade-off with the original.
If you’re just going to the movies for an escape and for mindless eye candy, Clash of the Titans may satisfy on some level, but it’s yet another big blockbuster that just feels very empty and personally I’m getting kind of tired of this. It has that generic paint-by-numbers approach where you can feel all the artifice behind it and never once are you drawn into the story. People who grew up with the original will not find a worthy replacement here, and I predict that in 5 or 10 years time, this one will look just as dated. Above all, stay away from the 3-D version of this film. Don’t let studios sucker you in, because in this case, it adds absolutely nothing to the experience. Titans do clash, but I’m afraid that once the dust settles, titans will be all but forgotten. — Sean
SCORE: 
Recommended If You Like: Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Comments (26)
This is not surprising. Too bad they flubbed Medusa, which is truly a scary and compelling segment in the uneven original. I think I’m going to pass on Titans, and even if I were to see it, it would be in 2D.
Time to enjoy the great sunshine and weather of this Easter Weekend, instead.
Posted by Kurt on April 1st, 2010I can’t believe how Hollywood even screws up GREAT characters given to them by literature. I was shocked how in Alice, Burton didn’t truly develop relationships between Alice and the great characters from that book (except for the dog WHICH ISN’T AN ORIGINAL CHARACTER!) and now to hear they couldn’t do something cool with Medusa!? Are you kidding me, if you can’t do something cool with Medusa you should just put down your pen, camera or directors eyepiece and leave LA period!
Posted by rus in chicago on April 1st, 2010Who cares solely about the special effects?
I actually thought this was the most expansive B-Grade film ever to be made.
Posted by Juan Costrada on April 1st, 2010is the actual soundtrack of this movie all power-metal like in the trailer? kuz that was the only selling point for me… that and sam worthy-legs in a plate mail skirt
Posted by james on April 1st, 2010I was displeased with this film. I watched a 2D print and found the special effects to be hit and miss, but mostly miss. The scorpion fight scene had a few shots that looked truly bad and Medusa looked crappy too. Dialoge was bland, almost zero character build-up. After a stupid looking horse flew across the screen and the gaudy credits started popping in my face I was definately ready to leave.
Posted by Ovenball on April 1st, 2010I’ll catch this one on Netflix!
Thanks for the review Sean.
Posted by Marc on April 1st, 2010I am not down with the 3D. Though i do hope to go see this movie while it is still in the theater, just have not had the motivation to do so.
Posted by MoviePorch on April 2nd, 2010The Movie’s 3D effect has same quality with the others. But I like its visual background. It’s so amazing.
Posted by Always on April 2nd, 2010I’m getting pretty tired of this Louis Leterrier guy. I thought his Hulk was one of the worst movies of the year, and this only seems marginally better. However I did like Unleashed quite a bit, so maybe he’ll redeem himself someday.
Posted by Matt on April 2nd, 2010FUCK 3D!!!!
Posted by Ben on April 2nd, 2010I was surprised the 3d image was much brighter and more colorful than Avatar, the 3d was much more mundane than Avatar though.
Posted by Duke Togo on April 2nd, 2010“is the actual soundtrack of this movie all power-metal like in the trailer?”
Bubo the clockwork owl singing “I’VE BECOME SO NUUUUMB”.
I saw Kick-Ass a week or so ago and at times the movie seemed to stop the plot for a while in order to sell the soundtrack. I don’t know if it was padding or what, but there are music video sequences throughout.
Posted by DavidM on April 2nd, 2010oh come on guys stop being so grumpy about this whole 3d thing.. if we stop seeing those movies Studios will probably stop doing them.
IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT?
Posted by Kyriacos on April 2nd, 2010Kyriacos, if you mean 3D movies then…
YEEEEEEEES!!!!
Posted by Ben on April 2nd, 2010I came on to give my two cents but I think Sean pretty much summed it up perfectly. Effects were pretty good, Medusa wasn’t nearly as suspensful, Worthington wasn’t bad. I really like how they did the Kraken because you get a sense that this thing could battle the titans.
Posted by Slix on April 4th, 2010Nice one Sean. Look forward to hearing the podcast recap.
Slix
Hated it. And Hollywood wonders why people download movies after having wasted $12 to see this heaping pile of shit. They managed to take a fantastic story in the original and turn it into History for Dummies. I hope one day Hollywood realizes that special effects does not equal great storytelling.
Posted by Billy on April 5th, 20103D aside, I enjoyed this film. Bought myself a big tub of popcorn, put on my glasses, sat down and watched the fun. The SFX were pretty good, and the characters were likable. Don’t want to spoil so no more on them.
For a pleasant two hours, see it. I just don’t think 3D was necessary. 2D would have been just fine.
Posted by iluthradanar on April 6th, 2010The problem is – for the most part – we don’t care about “the gods”. They have no immediacy for today’s movie going audience. They’ve either been destroyed, discredited, or simply dismissed. So what “contemporary god issues” is a writer going to spin into a engaging script? Corporate titans can be done. Gods? Real tough. And that poor script infects the acting. A great actor is screwed when his key line in the movie is “Release the Kraken!”. All that’s left is SFX.
The important comparison is to “Lord of the Rings”. Note the big difference – no gods. They are all humans or protohumans or extreme humans (e.g. wizards) with real passion in their words and utter conviction in their actions. Ultimately we really participate in their victories and defeats. And this comes from a person who wouldn’t be caught dead with a Tolkien book anywhere in the house.
Sean’s point about “two tones” is half right. They did make a PG-13 adventure film but that’s what they wanted. Unfortunately the audience was subconsciously rooting for Clash of the Titans to channel The Dark Knight. That was never in the heavens for this group of gods.
Posted by Curt on April 6th, 2010i think the nothing beats the original clash of the titans… even though the remake has the benefits of 3D and the so-called today advanced cinematic visual effects, i still opt for the original…
Posted by Ernesto Evangelista on April 7th, 2010I didn’t see a single Titan…
Posted by Ravnsborg on April 9th, 2010A pretty good cartoon movie form the 80’s that has a good story to tell my rating is 3 1/2 Stars.
Posted by Prabhas Darling on April 9th, 2010Saw it in 2D. One of the worst films I’ve seen so far this year. I’m pretty much right on point with everything you said Sean. I’m surprised that you weren’t impressed with the coin shot in 3D though because that was only part that stood to me when while watching the film and thought would be cool in 3D.
Posted by Primal on April 16th, 2010I thought Medusa was far hotter in the new one. However, I am not sure why she is wearing a bra. Who is it that she needs to be modest for?
Of course, maybe it is a practicality thing. I suppose with all that slithering around her mammary glands could chafe.
Posted by Ricky on August 27th, 2010“Release the Kraken!” This order spoken by Zeus, played by Liam Neeson, was one of the most quoted lines of movie dialogue of the year. I’ll admit that each time I heard it in the trailer, I got a kick out of it. That and catching a glimpse of the Kraken itself got me pumped up for the movie. Unfortunately, this would be the only moments I really liked in the movie.
Compared to the original Clash of the Titans, the remake lacks all the charm and character of the former and takes liberties with the Greek mythology storyline (Black Pegasus) just for the sake of being different, I assume.
The biggest letdown for me were the moments with Medusa. In the original, the scenes where Perseus and his men are entering Medusa’s lair are filled with tension and uncertainty. The director slowly lets the tension build in anticipation of Perseus’ and our first encounter with the snake-haired female. When she is finally revealed and she slithers around, it is with real weight. The viewer gets the sense that she is bound by the same laws of gravity as her human counterparts are, moving accordingly in relation to her body size. This goes a long way in convincing the viewers that what Perseus is up against is an actual physical being despite what stop-motion bashers may say. Does this mean I think movies should go back to this outdated technique. No, but it doesn’t mean that that you have to throw out the baby with the bath water. There are still animation basics and principals that need to be applied to the new techniques that are constantly being ignored with few exceptions.
In the remake, all of the tension and suspense that is present in the original is completely absent. The scenes are rushed and lack any real weight, physical and emotional. The reason for this is not because this new Medusa is rendered in CG, it’s because she moves at lightning quick speed, despite her enormous size in comparison to the humans. It would seem that gravity has no effect on her and the human eye is used to seeing bigger things move slower. Applying some animation basics and principals to these scenes would have helped a lot.
That said, that wasn’t the only problem I had with the movie. The original movie had a much more interesting way of telling its story in the tradition of Greek Mythology. The new one seemed to be shot in an MTV style that thinks that everyone must suffer from ADD.
Calibos in the original was not only creepier looking but was a much more sympathetic character. Yes he is also evil, but at least his character is explored and we learn why he is that way. The new one is just a caricature.
The three witches looked like their faces were made of weathered wood and again these scenes lacked the tension of the original.
In the original, fans complained that the addition of the mechanical owl was a bad mistake and simply put in to sell toys and capitalize on R2D2’s popularity at the time. I would argue that the new version does the same with the addition of the sand people.
I liked the new Kraken but felt it was wasted in the way it was used and the climatic battle scene at the end was abrupt and disappointing.
The best thing I can say about this movie is that maybe it will encourage people who haven’t seen the original, to seek it out and give it a chance. You might be surprised to see how it’s not always about the most advanced f/x and techniques but how you use what you have to your advantage and tell a good story.
My Rating out of 5:
2/5
Posted by Zoo on August 27th, 2010this remake movie was so great. especially the scorpion battle and other fights. but there’s something lacking in the movie that i cant figure out.
Posted by reggie on October 21st, 2010i need to answer a question for an essay… and request your help please?
1) which version (old/2010 version) would you say conveys the message of the ancient myth better?
and
2) identify two instances where the modern version makes explicit reference to the old version?
would REALLY appreciate the help!
:) x
Posted by Sash on March 16th, 2011Leave a Reply