Trash of the Titans.

Grade: C

Clash of the Titans

Indian Release Date: 02/04/10
CBFC Classification:  U/A
Running Length: 1 Hour 58 Minutes

Cast: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Flemyng, Gemma Arterton, Alexa Davalos, Mads Mikkelsen, Liam Cunningham, Pete Postlethwaite
Director: Louis Leterrier
Screenplay: Travis Beacham and Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi, based on the 1981 screenplay by Beverley Cross
Cinematography: Peter Menzies Jr.
Music: Ramin Djawadi


So arrives the second Greek mythology ‘Demi-God’ story of the year post the woeful ‘Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief’. ‘Clash of the Titans’ also happens to be a remake (re-imagining would be more apt) of the 1981 movie of the same name which starred such luminaries as Laurence Olivier, Burgess Meredith, Maggie Smith & Ursula Andress.

The plot though loosely based on the Greek legend of Perseus & having a rich mythology to draw from is perfunctory to say the least. Its existence in the current form is simply to pad up the movie’s running length till the next fight scene shows up. The movie aims to be one long adrenaline fueled ride but instead comes closer to being a cheap energy-soda aided aftereffect.

The story is set in ancient times when the Humans & the Gods are very much in contact & conflict. Even amongst the Gods, there is a war brewing thanks to Hades (Ralph Fiennes) the God of the Underworld, wanting to overthrow his brother Zeus (Liam Neeson) leader of the gods. Meanwhile Perseus (Sam Worthington when grown up) who was rescued & raised as his own son by a kindly fisherman (Pete Postlethwaite) lives a quiet life with his adopted family on the outskirts of the city of Argos. In a show of one-upmanship the humans end up angering Zeus who promptly dispatches Hades to deal with them. Hades commands the sacrifice of the ethereal looking princess, Andromeda (Alexa Davalos), in ten days or else he shall unleash the Kraken, a vicious sea-monster, upon Argos & reduce it to dust. The king doesn’t want his daughter sacrificed & assembles a group of soldiers to find a way to defeat the Kraken. Perseus who has seen his entire adopted family wiped out by Hades is yearning for revenge & when the king learns of his “special” status he begs of him to go along. Thus the band of men along with Io, (Gemma Arterton) a celestial guide of sorts to Perseus start off on a perilous journey that takes them through the Underworld, vast deserts where they fight humongous scorpions & basically  have to fight against everything Hades throws against them.

My biggest gripe against the movie is the 3D experience it delivers. Only if you have been living under a rock for the past year or so must you be unaware of the frenzy movie studios & audiences alike have been whipping up about “god’s gift to mankind”; 3D. Frankly other than Avatar I have not found a single movie which has utilized the medium properly & if you find the 3D in the movies to be nothing more than a gimmick then Clash of the Titans will do little to change that perception. This movie contains some of the most lackluster 3D I’ve ever seen (it can barely be seen in 90% of the movie). The whole point of converting the movie which was originally in 2D to 3D through a relatively cheap post-production process reeks of ripping off the cinema-going public by cashing in on a hot current trend.

Entire action sequences get rendered incomprehensible thanks to the motion blur & dimness that occurs due to the 3D process. If the movie had been shot in 3D rather than converted then this problem would have been minimized to a great degree.

The story makes some radical departures from the 1981 original though keeping a few of the major events intact more or less (mostly action sequences). The disdain towards the Gods, arrogance of the both Humans & the Gods, the human frailties displayed by the Gods, etc could have made for some very interesting threads of the story but they are just thrown around more for posturing than any substance. In balancing & developing the story, Louis Leterrier did a better job with his last movie, ‘The Incredible Hulk’ (though I wonder now did it have more to do with Edward Norton’s involvement?)

The effects on the other hand are pretty impressive. The gigantic scorpions, the kraken & various other creatures are more than competently conjured up & especially when compared to the dated effects of the 1981 original (the last hurrah for stop-motion creations) look quite satisfactory. In an ode to the 1981 version they even have the infamous mechanical owl from the original make a cameo appearance. The other stand out is the set design & the art direction which other than the cheesy looking court of Zeus on Mount Olympus, are exemplary. The cinematography often reminded me of the Lord of the Rings movies which is a pretty good thing actually. The action sequences though mostly bereft of tension & cohesion still make a watchable spectacle. The sequence that really got my adrenaline pumping was the hunt in Medusa’s layer & was easily the best one in the movie. The background score by Ramin Djawadi is one of the few saving graces of the movie & complements the happenings on the screen well enough.

Sam Worthington (Avatar, Terminator: Salvation) has by now surely become the blue-eyed boy of Hollywood. I guess if a big budget epic action movie is what you have in mind, sign Worthington on right away seems to be the mantra. He more or less wears only a stern expression throughout & is quite the master of it so he rarely seems out of place since the script gives him little opportunity to emote otherwise. Ralph Fiennes looks comedic & after a long time I’ve seen him turn in such a terrible performance. His low raspy voice, hunched stupor & dreadful wig are laughable to say the least. Liam Neeson can sleepwalk through a role like this & has done in the past too. Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace, St.Trinians & Prince of Persia) looks very pleasing to the eye & is passable in parts but stiff as a log in others. The only actor who left any kind of impact was Danish artist Mads Mikkelsen who plays Draco the head of the band of soldiers. His character even though underwritten manages to display some really effective ferocity, vengeance & authority, all rolled into one.

Clash of the Titans is an archetypical blockbuster & would normally been a guilty pleasure for me but it falls short of fully succeeding at that too. It has all the ingredients in the right place but the finishing touches are sorely missing. The action sequences have the requisite dazzle but lack any real white knuckle tension thus making them predictable & workmanlike, the story has potential with it’s amazing Greek mythology to draw from & tit bits of more complex ideas but remains half-baked & downright cheesy mostly, the effects are wonderful but the ineffective 3D will most likely not make you appreciate them fully. If you do plan to watch the movie my only advice to you is to watch it in 2D & send out a message to studios about taking the audience for a ride with the whole 3D hoopla. Else the best thing to do is to avoid the movie all together in the theatres & maybe catch it when it arrives on DVD.
    
Final Verdict: If you have seen the trailers, you have already seen the best bits of the movie.

Grade: C

- Reviewed By Danish Bagdadi
 

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