An opportunity wasted

Rating: 6/10 (3 April 2010)

The first thought that came to mind after watching Clash of the Titans was What an opportunity wasted!
Now the movie isn't bad by any means & is an easy one time watch. But it could have been so much more.
The Greek mythology is as rich as the Hindu mythology. Titan is the term for god in Greek mythology. Although the Greek gods are nothing more than a myth now, it would be wise to know that once upon a time they were thought to be real & a great civilization has worshipped them for centuries. There are many wonderful stories in Greek mythology & the story of Perseus, son of Zeus (Zeus like our Indra is the head of gods) is one of them.
Based on the heroics of Perseus, Clash of the Titans was first made in 1981. With the current advances in visual effects, it's a nobrainer to remake it & so we have the current movie directed by Louis Leterrier starring Sam Worthington (Avatar fame) as Perseus, Liam Neeson as Zeus, Ralph Fiennes as Hades (god of underworld & brother of Zeus), beautiful Gemma Arterton as Io (kind of guardian angel to Perseus), Alexa Davalos as Andromeda (princess of Argos) among others.
The movie starts with a brief intro of current Titans & the rescue of baby Perseus floating in a coffin by a fisherman. How & why the son of a god was floating in the sea was narrated later in the movie. For now he grows as a simple man. When soldiers of the city Argos destroy a statue of Zeus thus declaring war on gods, Hades kills most of them & the family of Perseus who were just passing by. Remaining soldiers capture Perseus & take him to Argos. Hades appears at Argos & warns that if they don't sacrifice princess Andromeda in 10 days he will release Kraken (kind of huge monster with tentacles) on to the city. Although initially perceived as an enemy, Perseus was released by the king of Argos seeing his anger towards the gods & realising that they need him to defeat Kraken. Io who has been watching Perseus all his life advises Perseus to defeat Kraken. So Perseus & a small group of soldiers start their adventurous journey in which they face a lot of CGI enemies including the snake haired Medusa which finally ends with the defeat of Kraken & Hades being sent into the underworld.
By the way, I always thought that Pegasus was white. Is it really black or white? Any Greek scholars reading this, clarification would be much appreciated. And why is Worthington having a military haircut? It suits well for Avatar or Terminator. But it is awkward with the skirts that he wears in the movie.
Louis Leterrier's previous movie was The Incredible Hulk which I enjoyed immensely. Unfortunately he could not replicate the same here. At the end of it, Clash of the Titans is nothing more than a few action set pieces. If you only concentrate on the action sequences leaving aside proper story & character development, you can't have a die-hard or an incredible hulk. 300 was an exception but it was very stylish & it works once. Perhaps Clash of the Titans should have been made by a better suited director for fantasy genre.
This is the 3rd heavy budget action flick in the last 2 years for Worthington after Terminator & Avatar. He is alright as Perseus. Liam Neeson in that silver costume & beard was highly misfit in the role of Zeus. But I think he would superbly fit into the role of Lincoln which by all means Spielberg is going to direct in future. Ralph Fiennes is perfect as Hades & I guess his experience as Voldemort has helped him. I couldn't stop thinking about Deathly Hallows. I have a thing for British actresses & Gemma is very beautiful in the role of Io.
All the technical aspects including cinematography & visual effects are very good. The action pieces are good & you will get your money's worth if you see this in 2D.
I saw the movie in 2D although it is also released in 3D. There are 2 types of 3D movies. The 1st type are the ones which are actually shot using 3D technology. Avatar or Up or The Final Destination falls into this category. The 2nd type are the ones which are shot normally but are converted into 3D in post processing at the last minute by the greedy studios in order to increase the collections as 3D tickets cost more. Clash of the Titans falls into this category. So 3D viewing is unnecessary & you are not going to miss anything if you watch this in 2D. An extra benefit is that you will save money.
It feels a little painful when what could have been a potential classic was made into an average popcorn flick. If you like action movies see Clash of the Titans but I don't expect you to remember the movie after a while.
See more of my reviews at http://amarsmoviejournal.blogspot.com/