Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Movie Review - Clash of the Titans


I did not remember the first 1981 film enough, so I went to Wikipedia to find out what were the main differences in the story. This film review will therefore take this into consideration.

I’m a big fan of the video game God of War. I read some time ago about a movie in the works based on the game, with bloggers and forumites debating on many websites on who should play Kratos, who should direct the movie, what it should be about, how much of the game’s story should be covered, if it should be rated R or PG-13, etc.

With Clash of the Titans, there is no more need for a God of War movie, as this is basically it. Only the names have been changed to protect the “innocent”.

The story does not take much time to tell as there isn’t much meat in this regard for this remake. Based on what I’ve read and what I remember, the 1981 original had a much more fleshed out story, with more events and characters, more fights and more creatures.

We are again served with the typical Hollywood recipe, which is the tale of an ordinary working man (in this case a fisherman) destined to topple an evil invading force (in this case Hades, God of Death, elder brother of Zeus and Poseidon, and Ruler of the underworld) that threatens to destroy/change his way of life, against all odds, using powerful weapons (in this case a magical sword) and his friends who all die, sacrificing themselves for the Hero (except, always, The Girl), who in the end triumphs and rides away on a horse towards the sunset (no shit, this is still going on after 100 years of movie making!).

His family murdered by a God, Perseus (whose name can be pronounce differently depending on the actor speaking it, apparently…) seeks revenge and finds the means to accomplish his goal with the rebellious warrior-citizens of Argos. After an ultimatum issued by Hades in the name of the Gods, Perseus sets out with a band of merry men to kill Medusa and retrieve her head, in order to turn a monstrous creature into stone, saving the city-state of Argos and its Princess.

That’s it. He even gets The Girl (who is actually his cousin or sister if you think about it…), too!

Reviewers have been very harsh for Clash of the Titans, but I personally had a great time and I would’ve liked another half-hour or so. It was a lot of fun and it ended too soon in my opinion. It felt as though large chunks of Perseus’ adventure have been edited out, like something was missing, but the whole still felt as it's holding together.

I remember the original having many more encounters with wondrous creatures such as the Cyclop. With this version, we get giant scorpions, Medusa and the Kraken, with in-betweens against confrontational Argosians and dialogues which are all mostly heard in very generic scenes that could’ve been picked from any medieval/fantasy-ish movies such as Braveheart, LotR, Willow or Kingdom of Heaven.

These three action set pieces are very well done and should satisfy the FX junkies out there. The fight scene with Medusa is especially intense and sees the demise of the entire party save our hero. The final battle however, although quite beautiful, is somewhat anti-climactic as the entire sequence lasts about thirty seconds and involves the simple pointing and shooting of the Medusa Head. I must say I was expecting some jumping-on-back and sword slicing from Perseus but alas, I sat disappointed.

There is also a very good battle with Calibos, so far one of the better villains of this year’s movie offerings. Deformed by Zeus’ wrath and empowered by treacherous Hades, Calibos sets out to kill Perseus and who’s blood in the sand births huge, powerful scorpions and another very good action scene.

Clash of the Titans is a pretty decent popcorn film that serves impressive visuals and action set pieces in a very entertaining package. It’s a by-the-book Hollywood blockbuster that doesn’t surprise much, but if taken for what it is and not some artsy-fartsy oscar-grabber, it should leave most of these viewers with a pleasant aftertaste.

Enjoy!

7.5/10