I figured going into this movie that I would be extremely disappointed, like I was with the "Clash of the Titans" remake, but the fact is I wasn't. Granted, my hopes for "Clash" were very high, being such a huge fan of not only Greek Mythology, but of the original as well. This one seems to try to be a bit more adventurous than it's predecessor, but that's not saying much.
Sam Worthington (reprising his role from the "Clash" as Perseus) proves once again that he is an Action Star - but yet to show if he's an "Actor." He's good at what he does, but I've yet to see him show some real emotion. Liam Neeson as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes as Hades basically do the same thing they did in "Clash," which is chew up all the virtual scenery they can. The loss of Gemma Arterton is too bad, but the recasting of Rosamund Pike as Andromeda is nice to see. Nothing against Alexa Davalos, but seeing as how Andromeda's mother's boasting about her daughter's beauty is what made the gods sick the Kraken on the humans in the first place, the actress portraying her needs to be more than just beautiful - she has to be goddess-like - and I just don't see that in Davalos. Not that I see it in Pike either, but it's less a stretch of the imagination.
The plot - although basd on an interesting story - seems a bit forced. Basically, Hades - God of the Underworld - and Ares the God of War (Edgar Ramirez) kidnap Zeus and kill Poseidon in order to unleash the Titan Kronus to destroy the world. Kronus was imprisoned by the Gods after defeating him in the war of the Titans. He also happens to be Zeus, Hades and Poseidon's father, but that's a non-point in the movie. There's not a lot of exposition and it doesn't give any reasoning behind the villain's motives except a drawn out sibling rivalry. Perhaps a little backstory to the rivalry would've helped get the average viewer up to speed on the tension between the brothers. Of course, going into true detail about the lives of the gods, demigods and Titans would have turned the movie into a 4 hour epic, and that might not be ideal in this day and age.
So, what it comes down to is Perseus, Andromeda and Agenor (Toby Kebbell) need to find where in the Underworld Zeus is being held and free him in order to stop Kronus. This leads them to Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), who shows them how to get to the labyrinth that leads to Zeus' prison - and home to the Minotaur. After some unforeseen (by them) bumps in the road, they find Zeus - who has now been drained of all his power. Because of this, they need to prepare themselves for their epic battle with Kronus without him - or any other Gods on their side. An all out battle with a Titan for the fate of the world sounds like something that would be a sight to behold, but it kind of underdelivers, to be honest.
The effects, as expected, are fantastic. From the Cyclops to the Minotaur to Kronus himself, everything looks spectacular. The battles are a little too short for what should be a major part of the movie (especially between Perseus and the Minotaur), but it doesn't take away from the action. The all out war at the end was okay and not too exciting, but (SPOILER ALERT) Zeus and Hades duking it out with the Titan Kronus was great to see. (Highlight to read)
That being said, it's worth paying a dollar to rent it from your local RedBox, you'll at least get your money's worth. I pity the poor fools that shelled out $10+ to watch it in 3D.
Final score, 6 out of 10.
As an aside, there are only three nightmares I can recall vividly from my childhood. One was me being chased around the house by a homicidal Rosey the Robot from the Jetsons, another was the cliched but perpetual "Falling" dream (but mine has a twist, which perhaps I'll blog about at a later date) and the third starred the broken head of Thetis from the original "Clash of the Titans." You'd think it would've been Calibos that did the trick, but nope, a freakin' statue head. Much like the movie, the head of Thetis broke off the top of the statue during an earthquake, but instead of landing in the temple, it landed smack dab in the middle of my bedroom. Then her eyes opened up it started talking to me. Scared me so much I ran screaming from my room into my parents' room and woke up both brothers in the process. I think it would probably have the same effect on me as an adult and that scene still brings up bad feelings to this day. Creepy.
Sam Worthington (reprising his role from the "Clash" as Perseus) proves once again that he is an Action Star - but yet to show if he's an "Actor." He's good at what he does, but I've yet to see him show some real emotion. Liam Neeson as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes as Hades basically do the same thing they did in "Clash," which is chew up all the virtual scenery they can. The loss of Gemma Arterton is too bad, but the recasting of Rosamund Pike as Andromeda is nice to see. Nothing against Alexa Davalos, but seeing as how Andromeda's mother's boasting about her daughter's beauty is what made the gods sick the Kraken on the humans in the first place, the actress portraying her needs to be more than just beautiful - she has to be goddess-like - and I just don't see that in Davalos. Not that I see it in Pike either, but it's less a stretch of the imagination.
The plot - although basd on an interesting story - seems a bit forced. Basically, Hades - God of the Underworld - and Ares the God of War (Edgar Ramirez) kidnap Zeus and kill Poseidon in order to unleash the Titan Kronus to destroy the world. Kronus was imprisoned by the Gods after defeating him in the war of the Titans. He also happens to be Zeus, Hades and Poseidon's father, but that's a non-point in the movie. There's not a lot of exposition and it doesn't give any reasoning behind the villain's motives except a drawn out sibling rivalry. Perhaps a little backstory to the rivalry would've helped get the average viewer up to speed on the tension between the brothers. Of course, going into true detail about the lives of the gods, demigods and Titans would have turned the movie into a 4 hour epic, and that might not be ideal in this day and age.
So, what it comes down to is Perseus, Andromeda and Agenor (Toby Kebbell) need to find where in the Underworld Zeus is being held and free him in order to stop Kronus. This leads them to Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), who shows them how to get to the labyrinth that leads to Zeus' prison - and home to the Minotaur. After some unforeseen (by them) bumps in the road, they find Zeus - who has now been drained of all his power. Because of this, they need to prepare themselves for their epic battle with Kronus without him - or any other Gods on their side. An all out battle with a Titan for the fate of the world sounds like something that would be a sight to behold, but it kind of underdelivers, to be honest.
The effects, as expected, are fantastic. From the Cyclops to the Minotaur to Kronus himself, everything looks spectacular. The battles are a little too short for what should be a major part of the movie (especially between Perseus and the Minotaur), but it doesn't take away from the action. The all out war at the end was okay and not too exciting, but (SPOILER ALERT) Zeus and Hades duking it out with the Titan Kronus was great to see. (Highlight to read)
That being said, it's worth paying a dollar to rent it from your local RedBox, you'll at least get your money's worth. I pity the poor fools that shelled out $10+ to watch it in 3D.
Final score, 6 out of 10.
As an aside, there are only three nightmares I can recall vividly from my childhood. One was me being chased around the house by a homicidal Rosey the Robot from the Jetsons, another was the cliched but perpetual "Falling" dream (but mine has a twist, which perhaps I'll blog about at a later date) and the third starred the broken head of Thetis from the original "Clash of the Titans." You'd think it would've been Calibos that did the trick, but nope, a freakin' statue head. Much like the movie, the head of Thetis broke off the top of the statue during an earthquake, but instead of landing in the temple, it landed smack dab in the middle of my bedroom. Then her eyes opened up it started talking to me. Scared me so much I ran screaming from my room into my parents' room and woke up both brothers in the process. I think it would probably have the same effect on me as an adult and that scene still brings up bad feelings to this day. Creepy.