Clash of the Titans (2010) (www.the-usher.com)

"Release the Kraken!"

The City of Argos has stopped worshipping the Gods much to the anger of Zeus (Neeson). With the humans turning their back on them, the Gods meet to decide what should be done. It is Hades (Fiennes) who offers a solution and as the keeper of terrifying beast that defeated the Titans, he leaves the Underworld to wage war on the citizens of Argos. Caught up in the fighting are Perseus (Worthington) and his family but as Hades gives the King and Queen an ultimatum to sacrifice their daughter Andromeda (Davalos) during the eclipse in ten days time or the Kraken will be released, Perseus discovers the secret of his heritage and that only he can save the city of Argos and Andromeda’s life.

Hollywood’s obsession with the ‘Remake’ continues but can a classic tale from Greek Mythology release a new wave of fantasy adventure at the box office?

Back in 1981, ‘Clash of the Titans’ brought the myth of Persueus to the silver screen. With an all star cast playing Greek Gods, heroes and villains, it was legendary stop motion visual effects creator Ray Harryhausen’s final foray into the world of myth and legend. After dazzling us with ‘Jason and the Argonauts’ and the ‘Sinbad’ movies of the 50s and 70s, this was the master’s swansong and has been beloved by fans ever since. With Hollywood thinking that modern audiences will not watch movies before 1990, a remake was inevitable and, for the most part, it recaptures some of the magic.

With advances in digitally created visual effects allowing a filmmaker to envisage anything they like, the stories from Greek mythology are ones that could showcase what computer graphics can do. Creating giant scorpions, winged horses, the Medusa and the Kraken as CGI visual effects allows the filmmaker to do more than Ray Harryhausen could have ever dreamed of. With the Gods themselves also given their true powers, with Hades and Zeus ripping up the screen, this version of ‘Clash of the Titans’ is a visual spectacle but unfortunately they have forgot to add any substance.

This tale of Perseus is different from the 1981 classic. This time we don’t have the story of Perseus and his love for Andromeda, which angers the Goddess Thetis into threatening to release the Kraken unless the Princess is sacrificed. Instead we have Perseus on a revenge mission, after Hades kills his adopted family. In this version, the people of Argos have stopped worshiping the Gods, much to the anger of Zeus. The leader of the Gods then entrusts his brother Hades to bring the humans back in line. Killing most of the army of Argos, Hades orders the sacrifice of Andromeda or the Kraken will be released to destroy the city. Driven by revenge and the chance to face Hades again, Perseus sets out to discover what could kill the Kraken and save the Princess and Argos from destruction. Gone is the romance with Andromeda, gone is the Goddess Thetis and gone is Bubo the mechanical Owl to be replaced by the introduction of Io, an immortal woman who has been watching over Perseus all this live, the Gods angry about the people of Argos turning their backs on them and a hero driven by revenge. These changes don’t really have the same impact as the original but it does set up the adventure.

French director Louis Leterrier has gathered together an all-star cast to bring this tale to live but some of them are not given the screen time to flesh out the story. Liam Neeson as Zeus is filled with rage because of the people of Argos turning their back on him at the beginning of the story, entrusting Hades to bring the humans back in line but for some reason he helps Perseus in this quest after discovering he is his son. Gemma Arterton’s Io has one line of backstory. Sam Worthington’s Perseus has an Australian accent, Alexa Davalos’ Andromeda is extremely underused, as is Jason Flemyng’s Calibos. The same can be said of Perseus’s Argos army companions led by Mads Mikkelsen’s Draco. As for the rest of the Gods, Alexander Siddig’s Hermes, Tamer Hassan’s Ares and Danny Huston’s Poseidon have little or even no lines of dialogue. The only actor who really has a role to sink his teeth into is Ralph Fiennes as the lord of the underworld Hades. No stranger to playing villains, Fiennes has by far the best role and he revels in it, showing again that he is Hollywood’s go to guy for some of the best villains to grace the silver screen.

The main problem with the new version of ‘Clash of the Titans’ is Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures decision to transform the movie into 3D after production had finished. A 3D movie should be planned from the start of pre-production because there are no scenes that take advantage of the extra dimension. Where is the 3D scorpion attack, Medusa’s snake hair jumping out of the screen and the Kraken’s tentacles doing the same but there is nothing that justifies the extra expense to the audience. The 3D is just a way of getting extra money and this is a movie that has done just that.

With story shortcomings, the underuse of some characters and actors, the feeling that it should have been a much longer film and the blatant cashing in with the use 3D, ‘Clash of the Titans’ isn’t the reinvention of the Greek Myth you may have been hoping for but even with all these faults, you can not help but enjoy the fantasy adventure. Switch your brain off at the door, make sure you watch the 2D version and you’ll enjoy the release of the Kraken that little bit more.

PICTURE & SOUND

The Blu-Ray disc presents the movie in High Definition wide screen 2:35 up to 1080p, with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound. The Blu-Ray package also includes the DVD and Digital Copies of the movie, making it a great value package.

BONUS FEATURES

WB Maximum Movie Mode
Explore how monsters, Gods and man clash in the ultimate battle with stars Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and director Louis Leterrier. Including behind the scenes footage and interviews, this is a new way to watch the movie on Blu-Ray.

Focus Points (35.02 mins/HD)
Entitled ‘Sam Worthington is Perseus’, ‘Zeus: Father of the Gods’, ‘Enter the world of Hades’, ‘Calibos: The Man behind the monster’, ‘Tenerife: Continent on an Island’, ‘Scorpioch’, ‘Actors and their stunts’, ‘Wales: A beautiful, scared landscape’, ‘Bringing Medusa to life’ and ‘Prepare for the Kraken’, these featurettes cover most of the key aspects of the making of the movie.

Sam Worthington: An Action Hero for the Ages (7.56 mins/HD)
Director Louis Leterrier, producer Basil Iwanyk and the man himself, Sam Worthington, talk about the role of Perseus and doing most of the stunts for the character.

Alternate Ending (5.23 mins/HD)
Watch the ending in which Perseus stands up to his father, Zeus

Deleted Scenes (18.10 mins/HD)
Watch more footage of the Gods and see the relationship between Perseus and Io grow. Unfortunately these scenes are not accompanied by a commentary track or introduction to explain why they were removed.

BD Live
Place the disc into a Internet connected Blu-Ray player or PlayStation 3 and gain access to even more bonus features

OVERALL

The Blu-Ray treatment for ‘Clash of the Titans’ is very good indeed. The Maximum Movie Mode is fun and the featurettes cover most of the film’s production. The only thing missing is a commentary track but the Maximum Movie Mode makes up for that. The inclusion of the DVD and Digital version of the film also adds to the value of the Blu-Ray package.

BLU-RAY

CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981)

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2010