Clash of the Titans (PG-13)

In many instances, movies we love as children lose their appeal as we get older.  This could be due to the simplistic appreciation we garner as kids, when it doesn’t take much to entertain or impress us, being hardened and lost completely by our adult minds.  As a child, I found an interest in mythology and fantasy genres like “Dungeons and Dragons.”  At some point in time I watched the 1981 movie “Clash of the Titans” and its cheesy but effective stop motion animation, and thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen.  I watched and re-watched it until scenes were memorized and dialogue could be recited verbatim.  When a 3D remake was launched in 2010 I was skeptical and made no effort to see it.

My avoidance came to end the other night when I caught it on television.  While the effects were good and the plot virtually identical to the original, I couldn’t help escape the notion that it wasn’t as good as the original – or maybe the original just wasn’t that good to begin with.

The tale begins as the Gods (who are also brothers) Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, divide the Universe amongst themselves with Poseidon taking the seas and Zeus (Liam Neeson) taking the skies.  Hades (Ralph Fiennes) is tricked by Zeus and left with the underworld.

Years later, the people of the city of Argos are waging a celebratory campaign against the Gods; beginning to doubt their existence and refusing to follow and worship them.  Harboring deceitful intentions to overthrow Zeus, Hades arrives in Argos and threatens the people with an ultimatum – if they do not offer for sacrifice Princess Andromeda (the breathtaking beauty Alexa Davalos) he will unleash the sea monster known as the Kraken to obliterate Argos.  It is then revealed that the fisherman Perseus (Sam Worthington) is the half son of Zeus, making him a demigod.

Perseus must embark on a quest, complete with battles against giant scorpions, an encounter with blind witches, and a trip to the lair of the legendary Gorgon Medusa, in order to find a way to defeat the Kraken, thus saving Princess Andromeda and the City of Argos.

Forget suspension of disbelief, movies of this ilk require realism to be completely expelled; and while the original film manages to transfer you to a period of mythological times, the remake comes across as Hollywood’s attempt to recreate mythology with one barbaric fight scene after another.  The chiseled Abercrombie-like model Sam Worthington comes across as a typical hero – girls will no doubt go giddy, guys will find themselves rooting for the Kraken to crush him.  Liam Neeson is (rightfully) celebrated as one of the greatest actors of this generation with breathtaking portrayals of Michael Collins and Oscar Schindler, but seems too good for the role of Zeus and its limited dialogue.  Ralph Fiennes (who ironically plays opposite Neeson in “Schindler’s List” as the antagonist Amon Goth) does, as is par, a brilliant job of portraying the underhanded God Hades but again seems a bit overcast for the role.  I fell for Alexa Davalo as the beautiful and captive princess, and “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” alum Jason Flemyng does a good job in the role of the sinister Acrisius.

What I found interesting is the loss of mood from some of the changes in technology.  An epic scene from the original is the battle Perseus and his men endure in the darkened chamber of Medusa.  The original film captures the tension and terror in a way that is lost with the digital animation on the remake.  The 2010 version comes off as an action-packed battle where there is no doubt the pretty boy Perseus will win.  The original will have you on the edge of your seat as the soldiers are defeated one by one by Medusa and her haunting rattlesnake tail.  The remake does have a much more terrifying and awesome Kraken – but the buildup to its unleashing is cut short by its almost immediate demise.

I don’t know if the original would be better if seen through my adult eyes only.  If you are a fan of fantasy films you will probably like either version of “Clash of the Titans.”

– by Matt Christopher