The Plot

Perseus (Sam Worthington) - half man, half god – is discovered as a baby in a coffin along with the corpse of his mother, by a fisherman at sea. He is thus raised as a mortal, working with his apparent father in boats and living as a seaman. The soldiers of Argos declare war against the gods and fell the colossal statue of Zeus, thus arousing Hades (Ralph Fiennes) who sets harpies against them. As a devastating effect of the chaos, the boat of Perseus’ father gets struck down, leaving solely the demi-god himself as the survivor.

Perseus is taken to Argos by the soldiers, where Hades realises his true identity. Since the king and queen had compared their daughter, Princess Andromeda (Alexa Davalos), to the gods; Hades orders her as a sacrifice to the Kraken (an incomprehensively giant sea beast created by Hades himself), with the remaining option of Argos being destroyed.

The king requests aid from Perseus, who thus forms a team with Io (Gemma Arterton) and several other soldiers. As Io guides the demi-god through his pursuit to exterminate the Kraken, the team battle a number of the most notorious legendary beasts; including enormous scorpions, the Stygian Witches and the infamous Medusa – of whom the head is the sole weapon against the potent Kraken.

The Thoughts

Being a young fanatic of the original 1981 classic, I was ecstatic to read about the production of a 2010 version with potentially more impressive, realistic CGI. The three-dimensional touch I considered marvellous; I salivated at the thought of Pegasus swooping past my head and Medusa’s snakes pouncing towards me.

The film started well; the narration concerning the history of the gods I deemed necessary, particularly as the entire plot is rooted from it. The opening scene I felt was subtle, and the portrayal of Perseus’ character remained this way until he was discovered by the Argon soldiers and was summoned to destroy the Kraken. I was disheartened by his unrefined, somewhat Cockney accent; his dialect and mannerisms compared him to a younger Vinnie Jones, swaggering in a tunic that was indecently short.  I questioned Worthington’s effort at the uncanny accent, particularly because the rest of the characters portrayed clear, British RP which I felt was far better suited to the era.

The pace of the film I thought was too quickened for its genre, the dialogue inadequate and the characters lacklustre; a major let-down considering it should be an “epic”. My concentration started wandering to reminisces of other recent films based on ancient history and myths such as Troy (2004) and even 300 (2006) – both thoroughly more entertaining than this poor attempt.

The action scenes did raise the odd appreciative eyebrow, though I did not observe a significant improvement from the original (which may not necessarily be a disapproval for some viewers, seeing as it is intended to shadow the 1981 version) principally considering it was being viewed in three-dimensions. Only twice did I feel slightly startled by the supposedly “modern” effects of twenty-first century technology. Admittedly, I was most impressed with the sound system of the cinema; sadly a mere generic feature for all the films of today.

The Film Buzz Review Rating: 6.5/10

Clash of the Titans is a remake of the 1981 film by the same name that starred Laurence Olivier (Spartacus) and the wonderful Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter). This time around, Sam Worthington (Avatar) takes on the role of Perseus to battle sea monsters – Medusa, the God of the Underworld, and win his love Andromeda. Tantalizing stuff indeed, check out the trailer above.

Clash of the Titans Poster

So what did you think? Pretty awesome looking I think you’ll agree. Worthington is joined by a host of stars for this retelling including Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace), Liam Neeson (Taken) and Nicholas Hoult (Skins).

The Film Buzz Antcipation Rating: 7/10

UK Release Date: 26th March 2010

Director: Louis Leterrier

Writer’s: Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi, Travis Beacham & Beverly Cross (original screenplay)

Links: IMDB