Clash of the Titans

Reviewed by Peter Veugelaers 
For more on Clash of the Titans, go to Peter's blog - the movie addict is the big softie at http://thepotsworth.blogspot.com

1 ½ Stars  

When it comes to hellish extortion, there is a need to be gone with it. It’s a subject that’s hardly there at the movies so when it turns up from time to time it’s best packaged as a blockbuster. Hell, the insidious place, should be defeated.

Clash of the Titans is set back in ancient Greece whose myths explained their lives. Zeus is blamed for the inhabitant’s hardships since he won’t deal a blow to Hades whose causing all the problems out and about. They’re brothers so dealing to Hades is harder than it should be.

The problems arrive at Perseus’ footstep, a son of Zeus, brought up by a fisherman. Hades kills off his family leaving a personal vendetta to get at Hades. He hasn’t a reason to get moving along until a prophetess (Gemma Arterton) lets him in on his godly secret. With Hades about to pounce again, he must find a way to defeat Hade’s pet, the Kraken, before it takes the life of a princess about to be sacrificed to appease the gods and thwart more hardship.

Along the way, a few unusual, mythical characters appear on the journey, including snake-haired Medussa, and some other oddities that don't look as Greek as they are off-the beaten track.

You have to take for granted that Perseus didn't know how to use a sword until after he started gung-ho going down to the belly of the enemy. It's a stretch. And the unfolding of the story is too long. It gives an expectation that should be paid off tenfold, which is more than what it should.

Ralph Fiennes as Hades does a good job of capturing Hellish sliminess although his esoteric aloofness doesn't make him a strong antagonist.

Gemma Arterton plays with the same sense of Hade's esoteric aloofness an ageless prophetess. She smiles, is mild-mannered, and wears white robes. You can trust her, unlike Hades. She's important since revelations of Perseus's destiny come from her, but he character and performance is plain.

Louis Leterrier directs this Greek mythological tale with almost the same speed that marked Transporter and The Incredible Hulk. Hades has an enemy to get at Perseus so there is the usual staple of Leterrier action set-pieces, this time with swords and armor, and a conspicuous absence of gore and blood. It's not so much that ancient Greece gets a zany Transporter make-over but that the basics remain the same. Leterrier cuts finely and briskly within scenes of a smaller scale and quickly within action-packed ones. There are tracking shots of resplendent vistas and the tone of chaos in the world is restored by beautiful flying horses – the Pegasus – a glossy look, a sincere, caring Zeus (Liam Neeson), and a few touches of down-to-earth humor. With the Pegasus, the presence of beauty in this world is welcome.

The hero Perseus is a humble warrior who doesn't blow his own horn. He goes about the job of salvaging, with a band of soldiers, without checking his deodorant, and like a good backpacker he is played by Avatar's Sam Worthington, an Aussie actor. Part god, part man, he sounds like Jesus, almost ... but not exactly. Their actions in defeating hell yield the same aims, except when it comes down to a personal vendetta which Jesus didn't have.

You can't rely on cutting briskly between shots and a fairly engaging set-up, so you got to have more. That's adding explosive action for the good measure of special effects you'd expect from a 3-D theatrical release.

It all doesn’t come together on the day, a false, heavy and unconvincing execution. Boycotting hell is fine, though, although it feels like it’s relinquishing its power rather than dealing to it a fatal blow.