Clash of the Titans (2010) - Release the Hounds!




Warner
Rated:
Duration: 118min
Category: fantasy
Available: On DVD
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Fuck...

Pardon my French but I'm a little frustrated. Clash of the Titans had great potential but it was sadly wasted on this sorry excuse for an action film. The trailer is exciting and shows the movie to be action packed with many Greek Gods in the picture. Who doesn't want to watch big powerful Gods fighting over humanity? Sounds like great entertainment doesn't it? You're going to have to look else where for that kind of excitement.

Perseus (Sam Worthington) is a demigod, the mortal son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) and a mortal woman. When his human family is killed by Hades (Ralph Fiennes), Perseus exacts revenge on the Gods (his father included) before they unleash their evil on the world. There really isn't any other way to describe the plot - it is what it is.

My biggest problem with Clash of the Titans is the script. This movie is horribly written. The plot plods along thumping explanation after explanation into the viewers head. It is basically screenplay 101 to explain things like this. Leave a little to the imagination. It slows the movie down when we get this horrible pause where some character tries to explain things so that everyone understands. There were also too many contrivances that just pushed the movie along too easily. The dialog was just awful. Lines like this are what make the movie such a joke - "This is the end..." wait for it... "This is just the start."

The acting didn't help the cause at all. Sam Worthington wasn't too bad, except when he was delivering his God awful (no pun intended) cheesy lines. He at least said them with a sort of wink (knowing that they were bad). Lian Neeson started out horribly, but got a little better by the end. The worst culprit, who has been nominated for 2 Oscars, was Ralph Fiennes. I cringed every time he was on screen. Way over acted, way stupid and way to similar to, get ready for it, John Travolta from Battlefield Earth. That isn't exactly the best comparison you want made about your acting.

The action was decent. While it was happening, it was good, but the battles were too short. The battle with the Kraken should have been this huge epic much talked about scene, but instead we get Perseus chasing the bat things around then Perseus easily defeating the Kraken. There was no battle. The whole film felt like that. It could have and should have been much better had anyone taken the time to actually nurture it instead of wowing us with the CGI. The post-production was rushed to accommodate the 3D element. I will admit that the creatures, especially the Kraken were awesome and well done.

I realize that the film may have been meant to be cheesy as it is a remake of a very cheesy film. However, the 1981 version was cheesy due in large part because of the effects. With today's technology, you should be able update a once crap fest and up the ante to make it better. The film should have been just an entertaining ride but it turned into a snooze-fest with many eye rolling bad elements. Someone needs to release the hounds on the filmmakers, particularly the screenwriters.

I really didn't want to mention the 3D but I have to. I honestly don't think you should pay the extra money to see this film in 3D. I actually watched more then half the movie with my glasses off and not a lot of the film was actually 3D (the screen wasn't fuzzy and I could see it perfectly as it it were a regular 2D film) - try it for yourself if you do see it in 3D. The film was shot then later converted to 3D so you aren't getting the full deal. It also really added nothing to the overall effect of the film.


Review By: Jeff Warner

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