Clash of the Titans

I used to write movie reviews all the time, and I miss it!  So I've decided to do it here.  =)

Justin and I like to go to the $1 theatre here in town, and sometimes we do so a couple times a week if there are enough movies we want to see.  Last week, Justin wanted to go see Clash of the Titans, which (judging from the trailer) is mostly a guy-oriented action movie.  It's a remake of the 1981 version.




Rating: PG-13 for fantasy action and frightening images
Cast: Sam Worthington (Avatar), Ralph Fiennes, & Liam Neeson

The Accuracy of the Title:  Well, there were no Titans, but there were plenty of clashes.  I guess "Clash of the Demigod and Gods" isn't as catchy?  Because that's exactly what it was. 

The Plot:  Sam Worthington (Perseus) is Zeus' son, but he didn't know this until Hades accidentally killed Perseus' adoptive family.  From that point on, it's a straight up revenge flick.  Apparently the gods need prayers to survive, but people are getting a little angry at the gods for causing disasters and generally making life hard.  Hades volunteers to make the people pray to Zeus and the other gods, and Perseus decides that he's not okay with that because his whole family has died.  Hades is going to "release the Kraken" unless Perseus finds a way to stop him.  That's basically the extent of the plot - the rest of the running time is taken up with fighting big monsters and looking at neat special effects.

What Worked:  The CGI was pretty good - it was fun to look at.  You know those sweeping shots from Lord of the Rings which included a lot of landscape and pretty sunsets and other nice things?  There are a lot of those here, and they're good.  The acting wasn't wonderful, but I wasn't sitting there the whole time going "Man, he's SUCH a bad actor."

What Didn't:  ***SPOILER ALERT***  Perseus set out to destroy/kill/imprison the gods.  And he didn't.  He got to imprison Hades with the Titans under the sea (?) and then he had a heart-to-heart with Zeus and apparently wasn't feeling like revenge anymore.  Because the rest of the gods didn't even enter the picture.  ***END SPOILER ALERT***

Also, Perseus was very adamant at the beginning about bringing down the gods like a man rather than a god.  This went out the window in about 30 minutes.  Personally, I think it would have been way cooler if the gods got involved in the story (like they tended to do in the actual mythology - taking sides and generally interfering).  That way, Perseus would have a chance at manipulating them into self-destruction.  And though the action is fun, movies like Oceans 11 and the Prestige are way more fun to watch again because you can see how clever the plot is.

Warnings:  Obviously, Clash of the Titans is about mythological gods.  That's pretty much just a plot point, and the gods are clearly not like the real God.  =)  I think there might be a little language, and obviously some fantasy action sequences, but they were never really gross.  Overall, it's a fun movie and potentially worth renting on Netflix.