Movie Review: Clash of the Titans

Clash Of The Titans
Clash of the Titans (2010)
Rated: PG-13
Version:  I saw it in 2D.  Most people recommend 2D, as opposed to 3D.
My overall rating:  4 out of 5 stars

[if there are any typos in this review, let me know]

We went to see this a few weeks ago; and, despite all the negative reviews it's received, I thought it was pretty good.

I can see how Greek mythology fans (which I am not) could be disappointed; I'm not sure if there were actually any Titans in it at all.  This film is really about Perseus, a young man with a quest that's driven partly by revenge, but mostly by his wish to save the people and city of Argos from being destroyed.  His actions are greatly influenced by three people:  his real father, Zeus, a mythological god; his mother's husband, Acrisius, who tried to murder Perseus; and his adoptive father, Spyros, a plain fisherman but a much better father than the either of the other two.  As aforementioned, Argos is in trouble, because the people have stopped worshipping the gods, and the gods are in trouble because they can't stay powerful without the people's worship.  Hades (ruler of the underworld and brother of Zeus) shows up and threatens to "release the Kraken", a monster that no one has yet seen and which no one can defeat.  That leaves Perseus only two options: to let the Argos citizens sacrifice the princess and thereby stop the destruction of the city, or to attempt to kill the Kraken himself.  Of course, he opts for the latter.  ;)

As I said, I'm no fan of Greek mythology--I think they're interesting stories, and also interesting as far as ancient Greek culture goes, but that's all.  So I don't mind changes to the plots.  It might have been a better movie, though, if they had included more of the mythology stories; the movie is rather fast-paced and too short.  And most of it is about Perseus vs. Hades.  The Medusa subplot is the only story I distinctly remember having read about; but I didn't like this version of it, partly because the portrayal didn't match the illustration in the book.  ;)  It's bad, I know, but I tend to be biased towards illustrations, whether they're accurate or not... 

As expected, there were plenty of special effects...the lightning effects, Pegasus, and the Kraken moving through the water were especially spectacular; Hades flying around in a cloud of smoke was also cool, and one of the creepiest aspects of the film.  Also, the fight scenes were quite good!  I think the effects would have been even better had they been more realistic, like in LOTR; but this movie had more of a fantasy look, rather than historical.  But in the end that's ok, because it's very much a fantasy story anyway.

The script was just ok. It was a bit modern in places, but not too much. One problem is that Perseus is written as a somewhat 2D character.  In general, the movie is more plot-driven than character-driven, which is too bad because it had the potential to be both.  It has the right kinds of characters--hero, heroine, sidekicks, and villains--but for the most part, we don't get to know them.

The acting was really good.  Spyros is played by Peter Postlethwaite, who played Montague, my favourite character from Martin Chuzzlewit!  Other familiar actors were Liam Neeson (Aslan) and Gemma Arterton (Tess of the D'Urbervilles). 

As far as a message goes, Perseus's motto is "I've got everything I need right here."  He has no wish to become a god like Zeus, and he tries to fight his battles on his own, without the aid of superpowers.  He wants to be an ordinary guy, not a god or a dictator.  It's refreshing to watch a story in which the hero doesn't want to be dependent on magic or the privileges of his inheritance.  This is one of the reasons why I would recommend this movie, and it would be great if other books and films followed this example.

So, while it's not become one of my favourites, it's overall a good fantasy film, and much better than the majority of reviews would indicate.  I would definitely see it again on DVD.  :)