Director: Louis Leterrier
Writer: Travis Beacham and Phil Hay
DVD and Blu-ray release date: July 26 2010
Studio: Warner Home Video
No of discs: 1
Region: 2
Price: From £9.99-£15.93
Running Time: 102/106 mins (DVD/Blu-ray)
Certificate: 12
Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Mads Mikkelsen, Pete Postlethwaite, Jason Flemyng, Izabella Miko, Nicholas Hoult
Desmond Davis’ 1981 film, Clash of the Titans, is fondly remembered, mostly for Ray Harryhausen’s inventive use of detailed models to create cutting-edge special effects for its day. Sure, today it looks dated and is often drenched in affectionate nostalgia but despite this, it still manages to kick the butt of Louis Leterrier’s 3D remake.
Contemporary Titans has little in common with its predecessor, aside from an all star cast, some plot similarities, a continuous string of action sequences and the brief token appearance of Bubo, the mechanical owl. In Leterrier’s reprise, it is “the era of man” – humans have become restless, rising up against the gods. After soldiers from Argos declare war destroying a statue, Zeus’ (Liam Neeson) brother, Hades of the underworld (Ralph Fiennes), threatens to unleash a deadly beast, the Kraken, in 10 days unless the Princess Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) is sacrificed.
Orphaned fisherman, Perseus (Sam Worthington), becomes involved when his adopted family are killed by Zeus in retaliation for the statues’ destruction. Discovering he is a demi-god born as Zeus’ bastard son destined to kill the Kraken in order to save Argos and weaken Hades, Perseus sets off with a band of warriors to find the witches who can tell him how to win the day.
Gemma Arterton stars as Lo, the punished eternal beauty who refused advances from a god and was doomed to live a life of agelessness. Her main function is to act as storyteller revealing the history of the gods and their complex relationships as she accompanies the motley crew on their adventure while also acting as Perseus’ champion. Liam Neeson is a fierce and menacing Zeus, perfectly complimented by the merciless ghost-like rasping Hades, forming a ruthless villain duo. Sam Worthington appears in yet another all important save the world scenario while personal favourite, Mads Mikkelsen’s, talents are seriously underused as one of the brave warriors.
Their adventure is a roller-coaster ride of non-stop kick-ass macho action porn. Where Leterrier’s plot and script lack, his use of special effects compensates – sure the giant scorpions look fake but they still look cool while Medusa’s giant serpent body slithers around and the witches are a nod to Pans Labyrinth and Macbeth in their alien looking appearances and hands with eyeball palms. Other smaller details are a nice touch, like the boat to the underworld being dragged through the misty water by two corpses pulling ropes and the religious fanatics warning that man has starved the gods of their prayers and that “Man cannot rule man – defy the gods and you will be punished.”
Unfortunately other elements of Leterrier’s vision are less successful, like the grating use of slow motion fight segments, the Djinn (sand demons with magical powers) seemingly comprised of a combination of electronic parts and tree bark and the disappointing appearance of the Kraken – a giant sea serpent with the face of a ferocious tortoise who is never seen in entirety but is instead just a mass of flailing limbs.
The script is riddled with irritating clichés from start (“The oldest stories ever told are written in the stars”) to finish, overflowing with macho bravado in laughable staff stamping and warrior group bonding: “We live, we fight and we die for each other.” If Perseus isn’t spouting cheesy testimonials to the strength of his companions (“I’ve known one great man in my life, now I know four and a woman and whatever the hell you are.”) then testosterone fuelled banter fills screen time: “It’s death that should be afraid of us.”
Clash of the Titans is certainly no masterpiece and is frequently laughable in its melodrama, cliché and utterly ridiculous happenings but if belief is suspended and the film is taken at face value as nothing more than a high adrenaline action romp attempting to cram as much fighting into the running time as possible, then an enjoyable time may be had.
***
Special Features:
1 Disc DVD:
- Deleted Scenes
2 Disc DVD:
- Deleted Scenes
- Maximum Movie Mode includes feature length picture-in-picture plus the following focus points: Clash of the Titans TV Special, Sam Worthington is Perseus Creating Medusa, The Kraken, Calibos, Zeus, Tenerife: A Continent on an Island, Scorpioch, Actors and Their Stunts, Wales: A Beautiful Scarred Landscape and Hades.
Blu-ray:
As above with the additional features:
- Sam Worthington: An Action Hero For the Ages
- Alternate Ending
