Zorn der Titanen

All right, I agree with most people when they say 2010's Clash of the Titans was not a great movie, but I didn't hate it. I didn't walk out of the theater with a feeling like "OMG, that movie kicked ass!". It was OK, I thought the film had pacing issues and the 3D was, well... about as bad and pointless as people made it out to be. So is the sequel, Wrath of the Titans, an improvement?

I'm happy to report that yes, Wrath of the Titans is better. It's not a great film by any means, it is flawed, but if you're looking for 99 simple minutes to kill by looking at some pretty darn impressive action sequences, then you are in luck. Also, if you thought the 3D in Clash was bad, that's not the case with Wrath. Don't expect anything along the lines of Avatar, but I gotta say, the 3D was used pretty nicely and didn't come off as a total gimmick.

My biggest issue with the film, however, is one that I had with the previous film. The film sometimes feels a bit slow and that it takes a while to get started, and there's not really much investment in the story or the characters. Some of the characters are mostly there to provide comic relief, but even that is very hit-or-miss. For the most part, Sam Worthington played his role pretty good, a fine example of under-rated acting. It's nothing great, but it's far from abysmal. Liam Neeson was also rather enjoyable to watch, but hey, it's Liam Neeson. Everybody else isn't particularly interesting, but they're not unforgivably boring or useless. There's also a small romance in the film between Worthington and a female side character, but it comes off as pointless and un-needed. I just don't see why the majority of popcorn action flicks require a relationship when we go to see explosions and amazing special effects, it's just not necessary.

Flaws aside, I enjoyed Wrath of the Titans. I am aware of the hate that this movie is receiving and I can understand some of the quibbles that one may have against it, but hey, at least it's better than it's predecessor.

The powers of the gods are dwindling and the gods are slowly fading into oblivion. Monsters are being raised from wherever. Buildings are sliding all around the place. And there is no reason to care about ANY of it.

Ares and Hades are villains just as we've seen in nearly EVERY Greek mythology based storyline. I just want to pound my head against the wall every time I see this cinematic flatulence.

The love interest from the first movie is gone and instead of recasting the part, they just kill off the character. Bobo the Owl makes another cameo in this movie, playing the role of Wilson the Volleyball from Castaway. The blue ents are gone... I guess the action figures must not have sold that well.

When the Titan emerges (and it is the ONLY titan in the movie), he looks like the lava Titan from Disney's Hercules. The Titan shouts a lot, but hell if I could ever understand a word he said.

At least Perseus doesn't look like he came from the Jarhead Clan anymore. But he is still an idiot. Zeus comes to him in the beginning of the story to tell him that the world is coming to an end and he needs his help. Perseus refuses because... get this... he refuses to leave his son. Apparently despite having god blood in his veins he is still unable to think far enough in advance to realize that if the world comes to an end, he'll be leaving his son permanently.

The roles of Hades, Zeus and Hephaestus were really good, but three good performances just could not save this turkey from its bad writing and a dreadfully boring plot riddled with clichés.

Perseus returns, this time to rescue Zeus who has been betrayed and locked up in Tartarus.

As for Clash this has great visuals and special effects. The monsters look fantastic (Chimera, Kronos).

The plot is not too deep, it's okay.

Some big name cast members but not great acting. Nighy was good. As for Clash I'm not convinced Worthington is big enough for this role.

Arguably the film is a bit better than Clash as the plot moved along quicker.

Overall, very entertaining movie with fantastic monsters let down by mediocre plot, weak dialogue and unexceptional acting.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

Let me start this right off the bat and tell you it's better than Clash of the Titans(Even though that's not saying much)However, Wrath of the Titans supplies enough action set pieces, that you have a good enough flick that you should check out this weekend. The plot is very simple, it's set 10 years after the events of the first film where Perseus and his son fish for a living. Hades and Zeus' son Ares trick Zeus and capture him. Now, the titans are getting stronger while Zeus is getting weaker. Perseus has to go to hell to save his father. There are some pretty cool monsters in this film, like the demons Makhai and the scene with Kronos is AMAZING. If you're looking for a good time this weekend and go into this movie with an open mind. Then you will definitely have a good time watching Wrath of the Titans. 8/10

That was really fun!

COTT was really bad and disappointing. In WOTT, Worthington is much better (I love the guy, but he was bland in COTT, and he says so himself, very professional guy), pretty intense, loved the scenes with his son Helius, nice moments with Zeus as well, he gets his ass kicked and kicks some major ass.

Neeson is great, Fiennes is really at ease, Kebbell is good, Nighy great as usual, Ramirez great (even though critics don't seem to think the same thing).

Incredible CGI, really, Kronos, Chimera, Tartarus, great set pieces, great monsters, beautifully shot, Liebesman really has an eye for the visuals, sometimes hand-held and shaky cam is used, and it works well. The action was for me most of the time mind-blowing, especially the last third of the movie.

Story is much better, even though dialogues are weak, it's more light- hearted. The 3D (and I'm pretty much a 3D lover) is great, lots of pop out, great depth, works really well with the scenery, creatures, action scenes. There are some really bad-ass scenes throughout the movie.

All in all, a truly bad-ass, kick-ass, fun movie that will get destroyed by the critics who seem like they can't just enjoy a blockbuster for what it is.