Monday, September 20, 2010

Clash of the Titans


First off, the original Clash of the Titans is a favorite of mine.  It's dated, but it still makes me feel as if I have 1980's standards and still impressed by its visuals.  Aside from that, it also told the story of Perseus and his quest to defeat the Kraken.  Each character is presented as if they are important and that makes a good story.  Is it starting to show its age?  Yeah, kind of.  Sure, some aspects of it are cheesy and hoaky, but sometimes, I just love that stuff.  Now on to the remake.

The remake is not as good as the original, of course, but it is overall just average.  Characters: pretty average.  Character development: not really fleshed out.  Special effects: pretty standard, but still overall good.  Story: borderline meh/okay.

The story of the original Clash of the Titans started from the birth of Perseus to Perseus being triumphant.  The remake had flashbacks, which made the story kind of choppy.  There are also some things behind the antagonist's motivations, which push the story forward, that can be perplexing.  Was the godlike weapon that only works for Perseus supposed to make him successful or failure?  That's one of the things that makes me wonder what side the God's are on.  I suppose it's just a game the God's are playing with one another, but it just makes me wonder what there is to gain.

Sam Worthington always speaks in a low and raspy tone while everyone else spoke with deep and mighty voices.  It somehow makes him seem a bit underplayed as compared to everyone else since everyone speaks high and mighty while Perseus sounds like the silent type.  There is also less reason to care about Princess Andromeda.  Turns out she isn't the most important lady in the movie and I really didn't care whether the Kraken could take her or not.  The real leading actress was Io, who fills the role of the wise man from the original.  She could have been left out, but she is more important to Perseus, being that they are both in way godlike.  Liam Neeson makes a good Zeus, but his motivations are unclear as to whether or not he wants Perseus to win or lose.

What I could say about the remake that it holds over the original are the antagonists, but by slightly.  Hades is the mastermind, but I still don't know if he just wants to punish the world of man by releasing the Kraken or if he has a plan to take over Mt. Olympus.  Is it both?  I actually liked Medusa in this one, because she moves fast and her arrows come out of nowhere.  It's kind of a detractor from her menacing side that she kind of looks hot, but that's when she isn't giving her stare.  The blind oracle sisters are not either better or worse than the originals, but they still do their part anyway.  Kalibos even more clear reasons as to why he wants to kill Perseus and he is still the evil and ugly monster we make him out to be.  The Kraken looks like a Rancor, but it's the Kraken nonetheless.  It comes from the ocean and wreaks havoc.

The remake also has some nice fight scenes and special effects.  Some stuff is kind of hard to make out, especially when the harpies attack because it happens so fast.  In the very least, this does pass as an epic.  Again I say in the very least when meeting requirements for an epic.

The Clash of the Titans remake is at best worth a watch or a went if you want something that you're in the mood to watch just because you like action/adventure/Greek-ish type movies.  It's just overall an average sort of movie.  You're neither too impressed or disappointing, but there is no reason to hate on it too much.  It's a half and half sort of movie.

Score: 6/10

15 comments:

  1. I really wanted to see this movie but I'm pretty skeptical with new-age movies. I'm fan of mythology and roman-type movies, do you think I would like this one? I think I might check it out.


    Thanks for the post!

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  2. Take it or leave it. Not as good the original. It's just average to me.

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  3. ive seen this movie! its really good :)

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  4. Loved this movie, although I wish they could have killed the kraken in a cooler way!

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  5. I did a review on this a few weeks back check it out if you haven't already. :) I'm a fan of greek mythology and always hate it when they make Hades into a bad guy :(

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  6. pretty good movie

    showing some luv.

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  7. I think I'll watch it just for the special effects...


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  8. The original is one of my favorites too.

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  9. I want to see this one, looks pretty good

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