Sunday, April 25th, 2010 | Posted by Matt

Review: Clash Of The Titans!

The Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk, Unleashed, Transporter 2) remake of the same name received mixed reviews since it’s release and it’s no surprise as to why. Whilst the original wasn’t exactly famed for its depth or plot, at the time it was a pinnacle in the cinematic industry due to its stop motion techniques which wowed audiences into awe. Leterrier seemed to have assumed that if he followed in Ray Harryhausen‘s footsteps with 3D, he might get the same response. The result was ultimately grim with a plot which at times flat-lined and was continued to be kept alive only by the adrenaline rushes which took the form of slicing and dicing.

Shockingly, the premise of ‘Clash Of The Titans‘ is Perseus’ struggles, played by Sam Worthington (Avatar, Terminator Salvation, Somersault) with his father, you guessed it, the film is built upon foundations of daddy problems. So was it really such a shock that a film which many expected to be a tale of an epic journey started out as a small somewhat dispensable story of a lone angry 20-something fisherman. Of course credit must be given where due, and Clash Of The Titans definitely deserves some credit. The casting earns Leterrier a few points, more specifically Worthington whose performance was not amazing, but satisfactory, Alexa Davalos (The Chronicles Of Riddick, Defiance, The Mist) as Andromeda and Liam Neeson (Taken, Batman Begins, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace) as Zeus.

The CGI used is quite admirable and was one of the few aspects of the film to impress its viewers. My favourite aspects overall were undoubtedly The Kraken, The Djinn and Cheron the Ferryman. However the CGI in question, in combination with some decent acting were ideally the highlights of the film, which were definitely more frequent come the second half. Clash Of The Titans is a film which is split down the middle, the first half is quite uneventful and lays the stepping stones of the start of the journey in such a nonchalant way that one finds much more to appreciate when it hits the 59 minute mark. The second half contains the best bits, the demo reel of mythology, its significance is that, without it Clash Of The Titans would hardly have been worth watching in the first place. Full of sword-swinging, pincer-snapping, teeth-grinding action with the occasional skit but lack of pathos it’s hardly fair to viewers to say it’s a masterpiece. Clash Of The Titans shouldn’t be on the top of your viewing list right now, but when you do get around to it you may be pleasantly surprised by what it has to offer.