A Review: Clash Of the Titans

This on, paired with  Kick Ass  is a great way to walk into May, which ushers in the summer blockbusters. Giving us the end of school, and the start of hot, hotness in this damn Florida weather. So do yourself a fav and beat the friggin' heat by patronizing your local cinema and watch something cool. You can start with this.

We open the film with a more interesting and computer graphics designer's hay-day type of sequence, with narration from the gorgeous Gemma Arterton (1 of 3 underused thespians in the film) playing Io. She tells us in her cocoa-butter smooth voice about the war from Zeus, Hades and Poseidon battling the Gods with the Kraken, created by Hades, and how things have come to be what they are. Or, the Titanomachy.

Then we meet baby Perseus (Worthington) is inside a coffin, with his deceased mother holding him. He is found and saved by the wonderful and skilled, Pete Postlethwaite as Spyros. Who's talented is wasted to a offensive degree 5 minutes later. Perseus, Spyros, his new sister, and mother, all live on a boat no bigger then my bedroom, fishing for food, day after day. Until Hades kills a bunch of soldiers, merking a Zeus statue to signal war against the Gods. And then he goes after the boat, killing all but of course, Perseus. So basically, the humas are pissed at the God's for being douche's and want to take power back, which fuels Hades (Fiennes) with power and amkes the very basic plot of the movie.

And of course, the star of the film, is the most clean cut. The only one without a lick of hair anywhere above his neck line. Because how else would you know it was him, if he, dare I say it... had a beard and hair? I shudder to think, good thing, his surrogate dad was shaving his face and head for him, for all those years on the 10 ft. boat.

I have no doubt, once Worthington heard of Neeson and Fiennes, in a film written by Lawrence Kasadan and directed by the guy who did The Incredible Hulk, (and his payday of course) he made no other decisions. Who could blame him really? On paper that sounds pretty good. Perseus, a fisherman born a raised, displays the best example of swordsmanship I've ever seen after just one lesson. Oh yeah, that's right! He's a demigod, so he can do cooler shit than your best friend in the actually army Argos, a trained hardened solider for years. And is it just me, or am I nit-picking when I say that sarcasm and the word "Bitch", isn't something I'd lead with, in a Greek mythology movie? Just sayin'...

Peter Travers from Rolling Stone Magazine had this to say among other negative things in his review of the film:

"The film is a sham, with good actors going for the paycheck and using beards and heavy makeup to hide their shame."

I don't exactly agree with it, but he's most def  onto something. Any excuse this film has for violence and action, no matter how quick or painstaking it must have been for the CGI department or fight choreographers, it capitalized on. And I'm not entirely all about the kinda stuff, son.

But I will say I still enjoyed myself, watching this as it boomed and flew at me from the screen. Leterrier has brought his bag with him from Hulk and fleshed out a little more of the tricks he used. The sweeping cameras with a mix of CG and actors in the shots. Holding the takes of action, attempting to avoid blinks and give us something special. I do feel, this film is the vomit of a 300 and Guillermo del Toro milkshake, so take that as it sounds. Good or bad, but it is what it is.

This more inspired take on Greek Mythology is a good prep course to the summer season (albeit, a weaker one, but still blockbuster time). It handles it's content well. I mean, let's face it, Greek mythology isn't anyone's favorite subject, but when you inject CGI and banging music chords into it, that kinda dryness is ramped up enough to make a little bit of money. 

3 outa 4 'Nanas for Perseus and his barber, Neeson's beard and Platinum metal suit, and Gemma Arterton and all her glory in that toga.

Munki Out.

P.S. This film is now two in a row for Worthington where is character rode a mythical flying creature at the end. Woops! Spoiler...