Clash of the Titans (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)
In Clash of the Titans, the ultimate struggle for power pits men against kings and kings against gods. But the war between the gods themselves could destroy the world. Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson) and unleash hell on earth. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, Perseus and his warriors will only survive if Perseus accepts his power as a god, defies fate and creates his own destiny.”Release the Kraken!” Ah, it could only be Clash of the Titans, the 2010 remake that retains the instruction to unleash the great beastie from the sea. The 1981 original boasted Ray Harryhausen’s legendary stop-motion technique of animating various mythological creatures–it was his final feature project–and given the cornball approach of the movie in general, that was the main draw. The remake supplies new state-of-the-art special effects (released in 3-D) and a nicely muscular sense of momentum. Sam Worthington (the Avatar guy) plays Perseus, a demigod who doesn’t know that Zeus (Liam Neeson) is his father. Perseus is selected to lead an expedition to find and slay the Medusa, lest Zeus’s evil brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes, in fine slinking mode) rain down misery upon a seaport–and you just know that means the Kraken is coming. Ye gods, it’s a mess, and we haven’t even mentioned the witches and the harpies and the giant scorpions. But if we did, it would be clear that Clash of the Titans is a perfectly dandy popcorn epic, unpretentious and punchy. Director Louis Leterrier (Transporter 2) gets a fine rhythm going during Perseus’s trek, and you can even forgive the hokey shafts-of-light-through-clouds look of Olympus. Leterrier also had the good sense to import the marvelous Danish star Mads Mikkelsen to provide mentoring duties to Perseus; Gemma Arterton and Alexa Davalos fulfill the eye-candy roles. It’s up to individual viewers to choose which they prefer–Harryhausen’s magically hand-wrought creations (his Medusa sequence is an absolute killer) or the 21st century’s slick computer-generated variations. But nostalgia aside, it would be hard to deny that this is one case where the remake tops the original. –Robert Horton
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(out of 86 reviews)
Review by Jym Cherry for Clash of the Titans (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)
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Never mind that Clash of the Titans play fast and loose with the mythological story of Perseus. Never mind that Medusa wasn’t a Titan. Never mind that the Kraken is from Scandinavian mythology, and that casting Lawrence Olivier as Zeus in the 1981 version was sort of typecasting.
The new Clash of the Titans is a darker, grittier more realistic Bronze age world than the 1981 version, but the story hasn`t changed all that much. The citizens of Argos have become disenchanted with the rule of the Gods. The Gods have caused too much chaos and ruin to their lives so they’ve decided to take their destinies into their own hands, and destroy the temples and statues of the Gods. In doing so, Perseus’(Sam Worthington) family is killed by a falling statue of Zeus. When Zeus (Liam Neeson) learns of the desecration urged on by Hades (Ralph Fiennes), he decides to destroy the city in four days or they can offer the sacrifice of the King of Argos’ daughter Andromeda (Alexa Davalos). In a visit to the throne room of Argos, Hades lets it slip that Perseus is a son of Zeus, a demi-god. Being told of his near divinity, Perseus and a group of soldiers go off on their quest to save the city.
The special effects are great! The monsters look real and the characters realistically interact with them. In 3D the water roiling off the undulating tentacles of the Kraken must look really cool! The problem is they shortchanged the story in favor of the special effects. The story only follows the barest of outlines of the myth. Same with the 1981 version, although it’s a little more faithful to the myth. The most glaring lapse is there really isn’t any reason for Perseus to save Argos. In the myth his reason to save the city is for the love of Andromeda. In this version he’s a stranger to Argos and doesn’t fall in love with Andromeda. She’s barely a consideration until she’s needed to be sacrificed to the Kraken. The only reason he seems to take up the quest is because he’s the nearest handy demi-god that can help out. Worthington’s Perseus doesn’t seem very heroic, there doesn’t seem to be any emotional investment in Perseus in either the quest or the surrounding characters. Most of the time he has a stoically sullen, put upon attitude, and this keeps the audience at arms length from the character. He doesn`t seem to embrace the heroic at all. Yes, he kills the monsters, but the tasks he must accomplish like tricking the Stygian witches and figuring out how to survive the encounter with Medusa, he seems to accomplish almost by accident. It seems that Perseus isn’t meant to be heroic. he repeatedly says he wants “to do this (the quest) as man, not a God,” and he keeps refusing the gifts of the Gods. The message in the myth is for mortals to find the divine, to find the god, the hero within themselves, Perseus’ refusal of the gifts of the Gods, is the refusal to find the hero within himself.
The 1981 version, although a bit campy in it’s delivery tells the hero’s story better. The 2010 version delivers better on the special effects. If such a thing were possible as to merge the strengths of both, you would have a better movie.
DVD/Bonus Features: When Clash of The Titans becomes available on DVD, I’ll edit the review to reflect what’s included in that package.
Review by Matthew David Ritchey for Clash of the Titans (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)
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This was bad. I was fully expecting this to be one of my favorite movies of the year. They did almost nothing right. I mean, all they really had to do was take the original 1980 script, excise Bubo and change some of the language then re-shoot the thing with better special effects. But instead, they changed things around and came out with a bad script, virtually no character development, and the one thing they did brilliantly – updating the special effects and monsters – they shot in such a haphazard and jerky fashion that you never got a chance to really see it. The first sign that 2010 was going to be a really bad year for movies.
Review by Westley for Clash of the Titans (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)
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In ancient Greece, men have started to revolt against the gods, and the gods are not happy about this development. After a massive statue of Zeus (Liam Neeson) is dumped into the ocean, Zeus’ brother, Hades (Ralph Fiennes), takes vengeance on the perpetrators, killing a family of innocent bystanders. The family includes the parents and sister of Perseus (Sam Worthington), who becomes our protagonist. Hades (who feeds off the fear and hatred of mankind) convinces Zeus (who basks in the love of mankind) to teach the silly humans a lesson. Zeus reluctantly agrees, and Hades begins a war upon the Kingdom of Argos. Only Perseus can prevent the destruction of Argos and save mankind.
“Clash of the Titans” is a bit silly at times, and like many movies of its ilk, it relies on an overly complicated back story that is related as a prologue. It’s easy to lose interest and get lost before the story even gets started. However, the story here is not really that important when it comes right down to it. That’d be the sword fights, battles, and special effects. For an early summer popcorn movie, “Clash of the Titans” is above average. In particular, the special effects are quite well done without being overly fussy, especially the horrific monster, Kracken.
How does it compare to the original 1981 film on which it is based? The 1981 version has become a bit of a camp classic, replete with horrible acting and even worse special effects. However, it’s also a rather fun movie (although I haven’t seen it since I was a teenager). I’d say that this new version is less fun but much better directed and acted. Ralph Fiennes is actually quite good as Hades, even if his role consists mostly of appearing and then dissipating as a cloud of black smoke. I also liked the character of Io (Gemma Arterton) – Perseus’s benevolent protector. Sam Worthington is not a particularly good action hero for me; he’s a bit too bland and boring. However, he can act rings around the original Perseus, Harry Hamlin. I’d call the battle of the “Clashes” a draw. I did miss the mechanical owl, Bubo (look fast for his cameo!), but many people will find his absence a blessing. Incidentally, the movie was not available in 3-D in my area, so this review is for the 2-D version.
Review by Joe Russo for Clash of the Titans (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)
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Clash of the Titans is really good. The only problem I had with it was the 3D. The movie was made for 2D and they should have kept it that way. I am really looking forward to the Blu-Ray so I can see it on my home theater in 2D. I really hope this 3D fad blows over quick.
The movie is a modern update of a great 1980′s Ray Harryhausen flick. I found the battle with the Giant Scorpions to be most exhilerating. The pegasus was dead-on. Medusae was mean as hell and the Kraken was HUGE. Great acting and set pieces. Story could have been a little better but overall a great time! Bring on Clash 2!
Review by Jason Bean for Clash of the Titans (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)
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I’ve never seen the original Clash of the Titans so I really had no expectations going into this remake. So while I can’t vouch for it’s faithfulness to the original story I can say this film is 100% fun from beginning to end.
The plot follows loosely the story of Perseus and his rebellion of his godly heritage. It’s not a very complicated plot, in fact there’s not much to it than the whole lone outcast hero saves the world (or city in this case) against overwhelming odds. I don’t think this is a bad thing at all. I realise after last year being spoiled with socially grounded spectecles like District 9 and Avatar (sort of) it’s nice to see a high-end adventure film that doesn’t have any hidden agenda. This isn’t to say the film’s mindless, it’s actually got a very engaging tale to tell. You just won’t be drawing any links to any modern political conflicts.
Another great thing about this movie is it’s acting. Sam Worthington is becoming my favorite action star (especially after his terrific work in Terminator 4 and Avatar). He’s got more charisma and presence than any other action-hero actor out there and is a perfect choice to play Perseus. Ralph Fiennes also great as the alternating creepy and over-powering Hades. Gemma Arterton is well cast as the angel-faced Lo, who act’s as Perseus guide and conscience.
With the uncomplicated plot the special effects and actions scenes become Clash of the Titan’s bread and butter..and man do they rock! I don’t know why when dealing with big monsters in film they always make the criters look kinda cheesy. This is NOT the case with Clash of the Titans. The giant scorpians look deadly, Medusa is just as creepy as her backstory, and the Kraken gives you that “holy-crap” moment few films can pull off. The special effects are even put to good use when introducing the gods (Hades killing off Perseus’ family is brief but particularly memorable).
So while Clash of the Titans isn’t going to win any big picture awards it is a hell of alot of fun. I never saw it in 3D nor do I want to. The special effects are just fine the way they are. There’s nothing deep here, just good actors, good action, and a great sense of adventure.
(a note: I couldn’t find the entry for the theatrical release of this film so I’m putting it on the DVD entry. This review is ONLY of the film itself not any disc release)