Clash of the Titans

REVIEW: Clash of the Titans __IMDB__

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General Movie Info:

• Genre - Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
• Director - Louis Leterrier

Actors

• Sam Worthington - Perseus
• Liam Neeson - Zeus
• Ralph Fiennes - Hades
• Gemma Arterton - Io
• Alexa Davalos - Andromeda
• Mads Mikkelson - Draco
• Jason Flemming - Calibos/Acrisus
• ? - (comedy relief guy #1)
• Mouloud Archour - Kucuk (comedy relief guy #2)

INTRO STUFF

• Chuck
  • more website stuff, no travel, getting warmer in Houston,
  • TV shows 'V' and Caprica
• Mike
  • Got caught up on 24, only to find out that it is cancelled - DAMMIT!

SYNOPSIS

• In a world where men are pawns of the gods, one half man half god defies his creators to avenge his family and casting off the shackles of worship.

WALKING IN F&T (FEARS & THOUGHTS)

• Chuck
  • How can they do this movie without it being a cheese ball?
  • 3D, 3D, 3D!!! - did not waste my money
  • Why, why, why is Sam Worthington in this…?
• Mike
  • Period Piece, this had better be good...
  • I saw this movie in the theater way back when...not really in love with the series...

OPENING ACT

• They tried their best to help us understand where we were in the fictitious story in such a short time (very loosely based on Greek mythology).
• The only way to make Zeus' fake plastic armor cool was to blur the image? How about giving him real armor. I expected to hear him clank a little when he walked and heard nothing.
• The world beneath their feet with the clouds was actually pretty cool

• 3D - serious waste...
• Zeus' armor was off of an old-school Cylon...flare and flare and more flare...
• They seemed to go out of their way NOT to look like CG (armor, for example)...kinda nice

…LATER SCENES

• They brought out the mechanical bird, but then left it at the building. Wasn't the bird a big part of the first movie? Did they think it was going to be cheesy and that's why they left it out? Here's probably the answer..Sam didn't like it and threatened to break it, what an idiot. His role in the worst Terminator will do more to damage his career than a stupid mechanical owl.
• Loved the flute scene - good comedy, not cheesy jar jar humor
• When they brought out Pegasus and we learned that he was going to have to ride it, I was immediately annoyed by their casting decision (Avatar connection to riding the flying creature)
• The casting for the citizens of the city were very Greek except for one thing…most Greeks back in the day (before the battles with the Ottoman empire) were blonde hair and blue eyes and again…Perseus would have had longer hair, especially as a fisherman.
• Fight giant scorpions - dumb
• The weird desert creatures who had strange powers - very cool, loved the blue eyes and mystical powers - I could see a video game just about those guys.
• Riding giant scorpions - dumb, but funny
• The first romance to begin on the boat of the dead - pretty cool effects with the dead pulling the boat
• He was bent on not using what the gods gave him, but he used the coin - and later Zeus reminds him of Pegasus and the sword
  • So was he becoming like them then? What was the point in refusing the gods help if it was to help him in his mission?
  • Was it partly for him to realize that he should accept help when he can get it and not be so stubborn?
• His father Zeus never said 'enough is enough' - WROTE THIS IN MY NOTES BUT DON'T REMEMBER WHERE THIS WAS REFERENCED
• I think the 1981 version had a better Medusa…too computerish

• This is a popcorn movie's popcorn movie
• Michael Bay may well have been involved...really had his tone...light, not too much thought required...

…THE ACTORS

• This cast did not ever seem to gel - bad casting…did I mention Sam Worthington was a bad fit for this movie?
• Sam Worthington
  • Short hair, everyone else is long hair
  • Sam looks Etruscan, not Greek
  • He ended up riding Pegasus…hello, stupid connection to Avatar riding the 'unridable' giant bat
  • Welcome to our new "Hero" - expect to see a heck of a lot more of him...
  • I would not have been able to pull off the skirt/sandals...

• Gemma Arterton
  • would make a good Mary Poppins, but didn't seem to fit with the rest of the cast
  • She would have done well in Lord of the Rings, but not here
• Comedy relief guys (the 2 guys)
  • they played them just enough and in just a subtle manner as not to completely annoy you
• Mads Mikkelson - Stole the show in this movie and receives my 'actor of the movie' award (If I had one to give). Loved his performance in the remake of Casino Royale and proved he could be a completely different character in a different setting - great job!
  • Could not agree more!
 

• Liam Neeson - He was there, that was about it
  • Character was not too bright...kinda let along...

• Jason Flemming - Very good performance, loved the powers they gave him

QUESTIONS:

• Why title a movie 'clash of the titans' when there are no titans to clash?
• Was the original movie so bent 'to be free of the Gods' or was it us a battle to defend against the Cracken? Trying to pick up on recent culture trends to use the arts.

THE MACGUFFIN:

• The demogauge nature? To be half god and half man? - Maybe they meant semigod?

CLOSING THOUGHTS**
CHUCK Rating: 2.5

• Positives
  • Loved the city scenes, the desert warriors, the fight scenes with Calibos (Jason Fleming), and Mads Mikkelson's performance was great.
• Negatives
  • The avatar connections ripped me out of the movie, the casting never gelled, and the giant scorpions were dumb.

MIKE Rating: 3.0

• Positives
  • Great entertainment

• Negatives
  • not much more than entertainment...