Kampf der Titanen

"Clash of the Titans" (2010) provided everything its cover image and trailer promise, except for the part about authentic Greek Mythology, but if you can get past that you'll have a good time. The draw of the film is fast paced, adrenaline pumping action, a lot of tough guys & gals who never smile, and really cool monsters and special effects for 2010.

It's rated PG-13 for some violence and gore, and there is no sexuality, nudity or profanity (except 1 awesome use of the word b*tch). The "violence and gore" is shot very fast, so even though it depicts people being ripped in half & such, it's not quite as disturbing as, say, a Quentin Tarantino film where you watch a guy slowly bleed to death for 15 mins. In other words, this is good stuff to watch with your teenage kids or puritanical parents, either way.

There are some big names on the cast, and all performances were solid, but nothing really stood out as remarkable. That is to be expected in a fast paced film. But I would have preferred a powerful monologue or two just to use the talent to its full potential. I will say Ralph Fiennes did a chillingly original portrayal of "Hades", making him to be a twisted, limping, bitter wretch who still possessed terrifying power and fury. He is definitely my favorite part of the production.

Now on to the bad, which others have covered in detail so I'll just graze over. If you think you can study for your Classical Literature exam by watching this, you're going to get flunked all the way back to James Whale's 1931 "Frankenstein" (the most successful yet inaccurate adaptation of literature ever). Different characters in mythology seem to have been transposed, juxtaposed and just plain posed for the sake of this 2010 story. The biggest liberty is that here our hero Perseus is fighting against the gods when the original literature shows that he was tremendously helped by the gods by being given special weapons and gifts. In this film he is given those same gifts which he indignantly refuses but then later sheepishly accepts them because they'll save his life. I'm not sure if that was meant to be hypocritical, ironic, or just a sloppy oversight in the screenplay, but it's worth noting. Just what exactly is this film saying below the surface? That humans have outgrown gods? Or that we ultimately still need gods?

But for the most part, this gives us a decent taste of Greek Mythology which was truly the origin of the timeless scifi/fantasy/horror genre thousands of years ago. Chances are, most people will simply enjoy this movie for its action, fantasy and special effects. For that, yes, it delivers. But for literary accuracy... well I would be terrified to approach any literature teacher with the mere mention of this movie. That teacher would kick my Assaracus out of school and I'd be crying all the way Homer.

Clash of the Titans, from the title alone, made many promises. We expect to see many monsters of Ancient Greece, and we expect them to do battle, alongside humans and the Gods. We expect many many epic battles, lots and lots of CGI and appropriately over the top performances to go with them, but mostly, we want the monsters. While Clash delivers on some level for each of these promises, it surprisingly really lacks in the monsters department.

It must be said as fair warning, you do not get to see Kraken VS Hydra or anything like that in Clash of the Titans. The action is centered squarely around demigod Perseus, who for our purposes is basically a man secreting badass. After Hades threatens to unleash the Kraken on the city of Argos, Perseus and a group of soldiers go in search of a way to kill the Kraken, encountering many perils along the way.

The problem is its always Perseus and the soldiers who end up fighting the monsters. I'm sure I'm not the only one who expected the beasts to fight one another at some, mythology be damned (not like its particularly close to the myths anyways). Only four real combat beasts emerge anyways: the Kraken, Medusa, a mutated Acrisius and some random giant scorpions. Not even the Gods get to fight much, despite the much-hinted battle between Zeus and Hades.

The Kraken in particular really should've had a battle with another beast thrown in, and its use seems like a wasted opportunity. The scorpion battle is quite exciting, though is broken up as its really four fights with different scorpions simultaneously. The Medusa sequence is easily the best of the film, as although we know from a plot perspective Perseus can't die, the fate of the group of soldiers is considerably less clear. It all makes for a very tense and rewarding sequence, somewhat hindered by the surprisingly poor CG on the Medusa character model. Shame, as the rest of the monsters are quite good looking.

The cast is quite good on paper, but it doesn't work as well as expected. Worthington is a suitable lead, but I see him heading to Stallone-esquire B-movies quickly if he doesn't find more interesting characters. Liam Neeson is fairly underused, and aside from the "Release the Kraken" line, never gets any moments. Ralph Fiennes is the biggest disappointment as Hades, spending far too much of the time whispering like a bad Sith impersonation than being actually menacing. The standout is easily Mad Mikkelson as the leader of the soldiers. While not a terribly meaty role, he has more than enough charisma to be much more interesting than Perseus himself.

Clash is definitely not a waste of a matinée ticket, and I felt I got almost what I expected. But I know it could've been more, and it seemed to be purposely saving certain creatures for a sequel. Its solid fun, but hardly the must-see some might think from the trailers.

This is one of those movies of which I had high expectations as a blockbuster. sorry folks, this is no blockbuster, it is nowhere as good as 300 and the recent Percy Jackson and Lightning Thief scores for me a whole lot better in terms of interpretation of Greeks mythology.

Sam Worthington as Perseus is likable but thats about it. He is no Sean Bean and doesn't deliver a strong enough character performance for me for a 'demi God' and the women throughout are models rather than actresses delivering good lines.

The opening boat scene is intriguing enough but the first let down is seeing the haircut of Perseus on the beach as a child, trying to connect where he was and what he was doing, it didn't wash for me. His taking to the Argos King and Queen and the confrontation inside the Palace was bizarre.

I agree with comments about the Krakken and the Medusa, they could have made more of Medusa and exploited more the real myth of Perseus and Medusa. My 11 year old son liked the film and things like Zeus giving Perseus the coin to enter the Hades underworld (same as in Percy Jackson) was interesting.

I don't say the film wasn't interesting or entertaining and there were some great scenes but I didn't go to see a mix of King Kong meets Lord of the Rings. Too much wizardry for me and the logic of Greek mythology became lost. Too many corny lines, poor lines, too much emphasis on the action without really connecting it to the story.

Certainly not a film to see in 3D.

The Clash of the Titans remade is more like a brute version of it. It's fun but its a mess. It's more of a spectacle rather than telling a story bout the whole mythology epic with its characters though I'm seeing a lot of CGI extravaganza with over the top results which my eyes are bleeding like hell . This is one of those films where there are a lot of super good casts in a bad production.

I totally agree with JoeB131 that wrote in the title of the previous review: "There should be a rule against remakes". "Clash of Titans" (2010) has great special effects, but without the charm of the original movie of 1981, one of my favorite fantasy films ever. The plot of this remake is very weak; uses a black Pegasus; forgets the delightful mechanical golden owl Bubo that makes a cameo only; and creates a diversion to the viewers with gorgeous actresses and stunning special effects. The awesome "Total Recall" seems to be the next victim of these brainless greedy people of Hollywood. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Fúria de Titãs" ("Fury of Titans")