Clash of the Titans
Directed by Louis Leterrier
Warner Bros., 2010
Before I move onto the film itself, I will answer the million dollar question: Does the 3D look good? Let me put it this way — this is not the film that you would show to naysayers in order to prove that 3D is more than a fad. Heck, even the trailer for Step Up 3D that played before Clash of the Titans had better effects than this. The 3D wasn’t bad per se, but it was really obvious that the film was converted in postproduction –- the cardboard cut-out effect. The CGI creatures did look better in 3D, probably because they were easier to convert. However, they only turned up in a handful of action set-pieces.
Well, enough nitpicking about 3D, let’s move onto the story. The citizens of the city of Argos have decided that they no longer want to respect the gods, so they destroy all temples and statues worshipping Zeus (Liam Neeson). Zeus is not too happy about this, and allows his brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes) to scare the citizens of Argos back into piety. Hades tells the citizens to sacrifice the princess Andromeda before the eclipse or the city will be destroyed by the Kraken (of course, sacrifice or not, Hades plans on destroying the city anyway). As a result, a band of warriors that includes Zeus’ demi-god son Perseus (Sam Worthington) goes on a quest to find a way to destroy the Kraken before it is too late.
That is essentially all one needs to know about the film. The rest of it consists of the warriors going on their quest and doing battle with the likes of giant scorpions, the snake-haired Medusa, and of course the climatic battle with the Kraken. I would have to argue that the original 1981 film, with its wonderful stop-motion effects by Ray Harryhausen, is probably more worth watching. However, this was still entertaining, which for me is enough to ask of a popcorn flick like this.
One common beef with Clash of the Titans – which I’m inclined to agree with — is that it is, by and large, missing Titans. Zeus, Hades, and the other gods are seen only at the beginning and the end of the film, with sporadic appearances in between. Perhaps this was meant to ground the film in reality, though I would find that a little hard to swallow, considering the giant scorpions and a snake-haired creature that turns people to stone.
In conclusion, the Clash of the Titans remake is not a great film. However, I thought it was good enough to keep me entertained on a Saturday afternoon.
