Avatar star Sam Worthington stars in yet another CGI-laden epic
that was also presented in 3-D when it was in theaters. Clash Of The Titans, a
remake of the nearly thirty year old special effects fantasy film that’s best
known as being the final film to contain the special effects of stop-motion
master Ray Harryhausen. Worthington takes over the heroic role of Perseus,
originally played by Harry Hamlin, and he doesn’t do a much better job as Hamlin
did. But then, the script ain’t exactly Shakespeare, either. As in the original,
Perseus, the son of Zeus, is a demigod. Zeus (Liam Neeson) made love to his mortal
queen mother, and both of them were banished to the sea by a really peeved King
Acrisius (Jason Flemyng) who--as punishment by Zeus--was later turned into a
horrid creature known as Calibos.
But Perseus is rescued from the sea by Spyros (Pete Postlethwaite), a fisherman
who raised him as if he were his own son. One day, while off the coast of the
city state of Argo, Perseus and his family become innocent victims in a reprisal
by Hades (Ralph Fiennes, in proper skulking mode) against the Argo troops for
desecrating a statue of Zeus. The only survivor of Hades’ smack down, Perseus is
taken to Argo, where he witnesses Hades commanding the city to either sacrifice
its princess Andromeda, or face the wrath of the mighty Kraken. Seeking vengeance
against Hades for the death of his adopted family, Perseus leads a quest to try
and find a way to kill the Kraken.
So far so good, but one problem I have with the new Clash is how quickly it
breezes through the early part of the film, as if the filmmakers were afraid
the viewer will get easily bored with the important details needed to set up
the characters and their motivations. It’s for this same reason that the
characters don’t feel fully fleshed out; they’re merely cardboard cutouts with
cliché mannerisms who properly move through the story like chess pieces. But historically,
movies like this were never really noted for their great acting and writing,
anyway. It’s the special effects that are the true star, and how do they fare?
The CGI effects are certainly very impressively
done. But the problem here is that the rapid pace editing doesn’t let the viewer
linger on them for too long so they could be savored. And Ray Harryhausen was
famous for instilling a personality in his creations, who were just as much
important characters that were vital to the story in their own right. His Medusa was a truly frightening menace who was the
centerpiece of the original film--while the new Medusa here lacks the grandeur
and grace of the original. Instead of a force to be reckoned with, this new
Medusa comes off as being a giggling little brat who likes to play pranks. Still,
the new movie improves on the Kraken: here, it's a vast, monstrous beast of epic
proportions. Despite the flaws, the new Clash is chock full of eye candy; it'll
be fun for the kids and a good visual feast, especially on Blu-Ray.
--SF
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