Movies / Movie Reviews

Clash of The Titans

By Andy Frisk
April 2, 2010 - 01:14

Director Louis Leterrier’s big budget update/remake of the 1981 film of the same name definitely shows off that budget with its creatures, gods, goddesses, and big beastie, The Kraken. What it fails to show off is any of the original wonder and magic of the original. Gone, for the most part, is the mythological tale of Perseus, Pegasus, Andromeda, and their battle to overcome the schemes of the classical Greek gods who view mankind as their playthings. In its place is a modernistic take on a Nietzschean “God(s) is dead” approach. Overall the idea works pretty well, but as Nietzsche sorta pointed out himself, the story of the gods, their squabbles, and their bastard children are supposed to reflect (or at least project) human foibles and failings and help give some guidance as to how not to act as much as how to act. To be “more human than human” is to grasp the divine inside oneself and utilize it. Make no mistake, Perseus (Sam Worthington) does finally grasp that inner and divine spark, he just doesn’t cast much light.

“The gods justify human life by living it themselves,” spoke the aforementioned philosopher in his landmark work “The Birth of Tragedy.” The gods in Clash of The Titans don’t justify human life by living it. Instead they live off of it. Zeus and his Olympian court owe their existence to the love and adoration of mankind. When mankind decides that it is greater than the gods and that the gods are petty and foolish, killing at random and refusing to fill the fishermen’s nets (one of the many thinly veiled attacks on another pantheon: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), the men of Argos (the pseudo-Greek city seemingly destined to be destroyed by The Kraken) destroy a massive Colossus-like statue of Zeus in defiance. This provides Hades, Zeus’ screwed over brother (Hades got stuck with the underworld after the overthrow of the Titans—at least he got to look cooler than Zeus does in his flashy Halloween costume-like shining armor) with the perfect opportunity for some revenge. He schemes his way into creating fear and panic (as well as religious extremism-which thrives on fear and panic), thusly bolstering his own power, enough so that he can challenge his brother Zeus to a reversal of fortune. Enter Perseus, the half man, half god fisherman, who once learning that he is the son of god (well, one of the gods) decides to deny his divinity and sets out to save Argos from its own folly and impending destruction as a man. Along the way he sort of learns that being half god isn’t all that bad. At least when he taps into that inner power he miraculously becomes a warrior to rival another half god character from the ancient Greek tales, Achilles, instead of a bumbling country bumpkin…I mean fisherman.

Honestly though, this isn’t Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, or even Shakespeare. It’s a popcorn movie with plenty of big bang (for the bucks) special effects and some decent action. If you want a treatise on the existential angst of the classical Greek gods and their tragedies, go read “The Birth of Tragedy.” If you want some fun escapism with some decent eye candy then go see Clash of The Titans. It’s not profoundly deep, or as magical as the original, but it is the absolute best ever on screen imagining of (most of) the ancient Greek deities. Zeus (Liam Neeson), when not in the ridiculous shining armor, cuts a commanding look as the king of the gods and has the acting chops to pull off the tempered hubris of such a powerful being. Ralph Fiennes, who’s become quite adept at playing vile, scheming, evil beings, pulls off the look of a despaired and desolated god of the underworld with his portrayal. He also is the coolest looking of all the gods with his dark gothic robes and CGI fire and brimstone. Sam Worthington, the rising action star of the new decade, taps into some of that left over “I’m not a machine” angst from Terminator Salvation and pulls off a decent portrayal of a tortured demigod. The real stars of this film, and rightly so given its lack of profundity, are the CGI Medusa, Kraken, and killer scorpions. Oh yeah…almost forgot (since he isn’t nearly as important or on screen as much as he was in the previous version) Calibos, portrayed by Jason Flemyng…uh, is there too.

When I was a kid, the Medusa battle scene in the original Clash of The Titans film was the absolute scariest thing I ever saw in my life on screen (until I was dumb enough to watch Alien at a tender age as well—at a friend’s house). As an adult, the Medusa battle scene in the new Clash of The Titans, while not being the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in a movie, is definitely a massive and pretty cool reimagining. Yeah, it’s packed with CGI, but it works. Another scene that really works is The Kraken’s assault on Argos. While not quite worth the build up or the anticipation that us fond admirerers of the original scene (which was just too cool to an 8 year old) could ever want, it really is a visual treat.

Overall, Clash of The Titans is what it is: a popcorn movie and definitely nothing of what it sort of aspires to be: a movie with an idea or message, but is that really what we’re looking for here? The movie might advocate that we, along with Perseus, “damn the gods,” but we can’t help but ooh and ahh at their top notch visual portrayal, and completely dismiss anything profound that might be slightly hinted at thematically.

Rating: 6.5 /10

Last Updated: January 17, 2025 - 08:20