Review: Clash of the Titans

Clash of the Titans is full of swords and sandals and sweaty men fighting giant mythical creatures. It’s based on the Greek legend of Perseus, although the screen writers take liberties with the story. In this telling, Earth’s humans have become disenchanted with their vengeful and unpredictable gods, so they decide to rebel. The gang on Olympus doesn’t think much of that, and in spite of their long simmering acrimony Zeus teams up with his brother Hades to put down the uprising. But they don’t count on Perseus, Zeus’ half mortal son who has an axe to grind – his adopted family was killed by Hades, collateral damage in a bigger battle.

Perseus, played by Sam Worthington (Avatar), becomes an unwilling hero of the rebellion as soon as the other humans recognize his demi-god talents; for example, he masters expert sword fighting skills after one lesson. Also, he takes a little walk in the forest and sees a glowing thing -- it turns out to be a magic sword that retracts like a light saber when anyone else tries to use it. Perseus doesn’t want to exploit all that specialness, since it makes him too much like the enemy, but it’s pretty clear that he’ll come around, particularly when Hades starts unleashing all kinds of savage creatures on his ragtag little band. And of course there are a couple of damsels in distress who can’t be rescued by just a regular guy.

Frankly, I don’t know why there’s been so much critical complaining about this movie. It’s not great cinema but it isn’t trying to be; it has a sort of dumb movie integrity. And if the 3-D was lousy well, sorry, James Cameron, it didn't bother me much. (I did suffer some sticker shock when I paid $16 for a matinee). And here’s the thing: even though I thought Avatar was visually stunning, I found Sam Worthington a lot more interesting in this film. It’s not a perfect performance but he shoulders the reluctant hero role pretty well, starting out as a kind of dazed country bumpkin and evolving, a little erratically, into a  swashbuckling leader. I look forward to seeing him on screen again. See this film if you're in the mood to kick back with some popcorn and enjoy a little mindless fun.  With Ralph Fiennes as Volde – oops – Hades; Liam Neeson, almost convincing as Zeus; and Gemma Arterton as the goddess Io, who doesn’t show up in the original story. Big spring hit; playing everywhere. B-


Photo - Warner Bros