Clash of the Titans(2010)

"RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!"  The original Clash of the Titans was released to theaters in 1981, and it starred Harry Hamlin as Perseus, and Sir Laurence Olivier as Zeus, the king of the gods.  It was one of Ray Harryhausen's last films and arguably his most famous one.  This is one of the movies I grew up watching.  It had fantastic creatures, and some nifty special effects.  Unfortunately, the special effects in the original Clash of the Titans don't age well, especially on Blu-Ray, where it is PAINFULLY obvious.   As a remake, Clash of the Titans is going to be the subject of.....discussion among moviegoers.  Louis Leterrier directs this remake that stars Sam Worthington as Perseus, Mads Mikkelson as Draco, Gemma Arterton as Io, Ralph Fiennes as Hades, and Liam Neeson as Zeus.

The film starts off with a fisherman(Pete Postlethwaite) discovering a casket floating in the sea.  Inside lies a woman and a child, Perseus.  Years later, Perseus grows to be a fisherman, like his adopted father.  Later the family is killed when Hades appears to punish mortals for defying the gods.  Only Perseus survives.  When he is brought to Argos, the queen, Cassiopeia is comparing her daughter, Andromeda(Alexa Davalos) to the gods.  The gods are angered and send Hades to force them to respect and worship the gods.   Apparently, the gods need the worship of humans to survive.  As a result, Hades threatens to unleash the Kraken upon the city unless Andromeda is sacrificed.  

Obviously, there will be comparisons to the original film.  The way the film starts out is somewhat similar, but for the most part, many of the elements of the original film are thrown out.  For instance, in the original Clash of the Titans, the city that is threatened is Joppa, not Argos, which was destroyed in the opening scenes of the original film.  Perseus is a completely different person than the Perseus in the original film.  In the new film, Perseus wasn't put into a different city by a god, although a god IS the reason for him being in the city.  The backstory of Perseus is also changed: Zeus didn't make love to Acrisius's wife to punish him in the original film.  The new film also introduces new kinds of characters/creatures known as the djinn.  These guys live in the desert and ride the backs of giant scorpions.  If that's not a lift off of Star Wars, I don't know what is.  Not all of these changes are bad.  To make a shot-for-shot remake is a really bad idea in this day in age, so changes were to be expected.  The overall plot remains the same.

Casting-wise, there were some really interesting choices.  I honestly can't say I would've pegged Sam Worthington as Perseus.  Don't get me wrong, Sam is fantastic when it comes to action movies, he's a decent actor, but I think he comes off a little to strong as Perseus.  He handles the action very well as he does most of his own stunts.  Gemma Arterton is fantastic as Io, as she brings grace and beauty to the role as Perseus's guide and possible future love interest.  I may not have pegged Sam Worthington as Perseus, but Liam Neeson as Zeus is brilliant.  Neeson has a very commanding presence whenever he's on screen, as he has a deep and powerful voice.  Ralph Fiennes is....interesting as Hades.  I say interesting, because lately, Fiennes has been playing very creepy characters like Lord Voldomort in Harry Potter.  He doesn't really come off as threatening as Hades.   He doesn't do a bad job, as he makes a fantastic villain, but his version of Hades seems like a cross between Voldomort and Gollum.  Mads Mikkelson does a fantastic job as the gruff but experienced captain, Draco.

Now on to the special effects.  First things first, the special effects in the original film really weren't all that special, particularly if you've seen the movie on Blu-Ray.  The miniatures are blatantly obvious, and the blue-screen scenes are extremely.....fake.  Granted there was no CGI in the early 80s, so stop-motion animation was the only real option.  It has its charms but the fact is is that Harryhausen's visual effects were already on their way out, when the original Clash of the Titans was released.  Simply put, Star Wars did those kinds of effects better in every way.  In the new film, CGI is the name of the game and it's kind of a mixed bag.  Certain effects such as Hades showing up in smoke and fire isn't really convincing.  It's cool, but it's pretty obvious.  The giant scorpions were pretty good as they used a combination of practical effects and CGI to help the "reality" of the scene.  When they get to Medusa's lair things get a little interesting.  Medusa herself has been revamped to be a more of a femme fatal kind of character.  She's sleek and sexy and monstrous, and completely CGI.  While it was definitely cool and well done, CGI like that doesn't really work on such a small scale.  It's when we get to the Kraken that the CGI really kicks it up to a whole new level.  Simply put, the Kraken is one of the most impressive CGI creatures I've ever seen.  The way he comes out of the see is astounding.  And when Perseus flies around him on Pegasus, it really gives you a sense that this thing is fucking massive.  This is the creature that according to THIS movie, helped the Olympians beat the Titans, and it's not hard to imagine why.  This was the big thing that was hinted at in the trailers, and I was NOT disappointed with it whatsoever.

Some of the action scenes seem a little chaotic because the director, Louis Leterrier likes to use "shaky-cam" techniques to help it seem more real.  Truth is, is that the shaky-cam technique only serves to give people headaches.  We would like to see what is going on, thank you very much.  Stop the shaking!  Overall, however, the action scenes were cool, but there's nothing in here with the exception of the Kraken, that would strike me as memorable.  The acting for the most part is standard fare in a film like this.  It seems to me that the remake of Clash of the Titans was rushed, no doubt in part to Warner Bros. wanting to release the film in 3D as a result of James Cameron's Avatar.  That did not serve this movie well, it didn't need to be in 3D.  I think with a little more time, the special effects could've been more polished and the story a bit more refined.  I still think this is a good movie, and I think the good outweighs the bad, but there are more than a few things that keep this movie from being something special.  I give it an 8.5/10.