Genre: Fantasy Action
Director: Louis Leterrier
Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Mads Mikkelson, Alexa Davalos
Running Time: 118 minutes (plus trailers)
“Release the Kraken!!!”
With a budget of US$120 million dollars, one would’ve hoped that the people behind Clash of the Titans would’ve had a little money to spend on a script. If you have the cash to depict an enormous CGI Kraken rising from the ocean, to pay the salaries of Hollywood superstars like Liam Neeson and Sam Worthington, and to convert the entire film into 3D in post-production, surely you could have found ten grand or so to give to someone to focus on the plot. Or the characters motivations. Or the dialogue. Wishful thinking apparently – Louis Leterrier’s remake of the 1981 film Clash of the Titans is a woefully written, muddily paced film who’s greatest ambition seems to be to check all the minimum requirements of an action adventure film, likewise delivering only the bare minimum in entertainment and excitement, as well as the odd miss-placed chuckle and some very sketchy information about Greek mythology.
The film begins with a brief chronicling of “history”, in which the Gods of Mount Olympus defeat their creators – the Titans – with the help of an enormous beast of Hades’ creation: The Kraken. However, in a shocking turn, Hades (Ralph Fiennes) is betrayed by his brother Zeus (Liam Neeson) and tricked into taking dominion over the underworld, where he spends his time letting his hair grow out and plotting revenge. In the interim, Zeus creates human beings, seemingly for the sole purpose of raping them – the result of one such union is the birth of demigod Perseus. Perseus is raised by Spyros (Pete Postelthwaite), a fisherman, and grows up without any knowledge of his birthright. But just as you begin to think that Sam Worthington could not possibly look more out of place on a rickety old fishing boat, Hades shows up again and massacres his entire adopted family, leaving Perseus to swear his revenge against the Gods who wronged him.
The biggest issue Clash of the Titans seems to face is a total lack of respect for itself. The story moves from plot point to plot point with no real enthusiasm, as Perseus and his company of poorly developed rag-tag soldiers trek across plains, deserts, forests and mountains (all inexplicably within half a day’s Scorpion ride of each other) in order to reach their next uninteresting destination. The dialogue in the film is atrociously written – generally it’s the sort of stuff that seems badass in trailers, but just sounds ridiculous when actually spoken in the context of a conversation - and it is all delivered with minimal effort by unenthusiastic cast-members. This is Sam Worthington’s third major film roll following Terminator: Salvation and Avatar, and of the three he definitely gives his weakest performance here. There is no denying that the man has a strong screen presence, but his thick Australian accent (which he has apparently just given up trying to hide) makes the suspension of disbelief all the more difficult; truly, he is totally out of place in this role.
This movie also proves that casting A-list talent doesn’t do you a bit of good is the lines they’re delivering are rubbish; although Liam Neeson does manage to muster some gusto for his big declaration that the Kraken be released, and although King of the Underworld seems like the part that Ralph Fiennes was born to play, the two of them both end up giving some of the weakest performances of their respective careers, a tragedy that is compounded by the fact that they both look completely ridiculous in their costumes and hair pieces. This is another area where the film falls flat - almost all of the mythological creatures in this film, from Charon to Medusa to Hades himself, are incredibly poorly designed, coming across as pitifully funny instead of even remotely threatening.
However my biggest gripe with Clash of the Titans is the decision made to convert the movie into 3D in post-production, presumably to capitalize on the financial success of Avatar. Whilst this may seem like a good idea in theory, we see in Clash of the Titans the difference between a movie conceived and shot in 3D by a groundbreaking director, and a film hastily converted into 3D at the last minute as a cash grab. I payed an extra six dollars for a ticket, inflation that would be an absolute rip-off even if the technology had improved the film. But instead this movie looks awful in 3D, the motion blur making the hypothetically decent action indecipherable. Until directors are using this technology with respect, in a way that enhances their films, I plan on boycotting any and all 3D films that aren’t animated, or directed by James Cameron.
While it didn’t hold my attention every second, I will at least say that Clash of the Titans is rarely boring. Thanks to simplistic, cliché and extremely repetitive dialogue, it’s always clear what the characters want to achieve, and there are a few moments of swordplay here and there that aren’t hampered by the 3D. Now I should point out that the movie is playing on both 3D and regular screens, and if for some bizarre reason you do want to see it, definitely go with the later. But at the end of the day, be they in three dimensions or two, it just didn’t matter to me what happened to anyone in this film. Sam Worthington could have died halfway through; Argos could have been utterly destroyed by the Kraken and I just wouldn’t have cared.
Clash of the Titans is in theatres now
Director: Louis Leterrier
Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Mads Mikkelson, Alexa Davalos
Running Time: 118 minutes (plus trailers)
“Release the Kraken!!!”
With a budget of US$120 million dollars, one would’ve hoped that the people behind Clash of the Titans would’ve had a little money to spend on a script. If you have the cash to depict an enormous CGI Kraken rising from the ocean, to pay the salaries of Hollywood superstars like Liam Neeson and Sam Worthington, and to convert the entire film into 3D in post-production, surely you could have found ten grand or so to give to someone to focus on the plot. Or the characters motivations. Or the dialogue. Wishful thinking apparently – Louis Leterrier’s remake of the 1981 film Clash of the Titans is a woefully written, muddily paced film who’s greatest ambition seems to be to check all the minimum requirements of an action adventure film, likewise delivering only the bare minimum in entertainment and excitement, as well as the odd miss-placed chuckle and some very sketchy information about Greek mythology.The film begins with a brief chronicling of “history”, in which the Gods of Mount Olympus defeat their creators – the Titans – with the help of an enormous beast of Hades’ creation: The Kraken. However, in a shocking turn, Hades (Ralph Fiennes) is betrayed by his brother Zeus (Liam Neeson) and tricked into taking dominion over the underworld, where he spends his time letting his hair grow out and plotting revenge. In the interim, Zeus creates human beings, seemingly for the sole purpose of raping them – the result of one such union is the birth of demigod Perseus. Perseus is raised by Spyros (Pete Postelthwaite), a fisherman, and grows up without any knowledge of his birthright. But just as you begin to think that Sam Worthington could not possibly look more out of place on a rickety old fishing boat, Hades shows up again and massacres his entire adopted family, leaving Perseus to swear his revenge against the Gods who wronged him.
The biggest issue Clash of the Titans seems to face is a total lack of respect for itself. The story moves from plot point to plot point with no real enthusiasm, as Perseus and his company of poorly developed rag-tag soldiers trek across plains, deserts, forests and mountains (all inexplicably within half a day’s Scorpion ride of each other) in order to reach their next uninteresting destination. The dialogue in the film is atrociously written – generally it’s the sort of stuff that seems badass in trailers, but just sounds ridiculous when actually spoken in the context of a conversation - and it is all delivered with minimal effort by unenthusiastic cast-members. This is Sam Worthington’s third major film roll following Terminator: Salvation and Avatar, and of the three he definitely gives his weakest performance here. There is no denying that the man has a strong screen presence, but his thick Australian accent (which he has apparently just given up trying to hide) makes the suspension of disbelief all the more difficult; truly, he is totally out of place in this role.This movie also proves that casting A-list talent doesn’t do you a bit of good is the lines they’re delivering are rubbish; although Liam Neeson does manage to muster some gusto for his big declaration that the Kraken be released, and although King of the Underworld seems like the part that Ralph Fiennes was born to play, the two of them both end up giving some of the weakest performances of their respective careers, a tragedy that is compounded by the fact that they both look completely ridiculous in their costumes and hair pieces. This is another area where the film falls flat - almost all of the mythological creatures in this film, from Charon to Medusa to Hades himself, are incredibly poorly designed, coming across as pitifully funny instead of even remotely threatening.
However my biggest gripe with Clash of the Titans is the decision made to convert the movie into 3D in post-production, presumably to capitalize on the financial success of Avatar. Whilst this may seem like a good idea in theory, we see in Clash of the Titans the difference between a movie conceived and shot in 3D by a groundbreaking director, and a film hastily converted into 3D at the last minute as a cash grab. I payed an extra six dollars for a ticket, inflation that would be an absolute rip-off even if the technology had improved the film. But instead this movie looks awful in 3D, the motion blur making the hypothetically decent action indecipherable. Until directors are using this technology with respect, in a way that enhances their films, I plan on boycotting any and all 3D films that aren’t animated, or directed by James Cameron.While it didn’t hold my attention every second, I will at least say that Clash of the Titans is rarely boring. Thanks to simplistic, cliché and extremely repetitive dialogue, it’s always clear what the characters want to achieve, and there are a few moments of swordplay here and there that aren’t hampered by the 3D. Now I should point out that the movie is playing on both 3D and regular screens, and if for some bizarre reason you do want to see it, definitely go with the later. But at the end of the day, be they in three dimensions or two, it just didn’t matter to me what happened to anyone in this film. Sam Worthington could have died halfway through; Argos could have been utterly destroyed by the Kraken and I just wouldn’t have cared.
Clash of the Titans is in theatres now
