Entertaining but only light fluff

Rating: 6/10 (24 February 2019)

Remakes in general have a pretty big hill to overcome. Whether producers, actors and studios alike think they're doing the fans a service, it is still very likely approval will be low. A remake of an original work can't have tributes alone to satisfy viewers. But this is also the problem, a remake has to do something different from the original but also not completely alter everything, or it will alienate its base. The only way a remake can truly have success is if the original was either not that good to begin with or it manages to step up its game. Most of the time, these kinds of opportunities are far and few between. For this remake, competing with the original Clash of the Titans (1981) was already a tough call. With so many aspects of the original enjoyed by many, this film had to meet some high expectations. And while it wasn't as well received, it did manage to still produce some popcorn fluff. Just not in all the right places.
With Travis Beacham (who would later work on Pacific Rim (2013)), Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi (Æon Flux (2005)) as writers to this film, it is apparent that they tried to make it similar to the original. When a man named Perseus (Sam Worthington) witnesses his family's death to a god, he sets it his mission to fight back. This motivation is only reinforced when the city of Argos, a rebellious city is threatened by Zeus (Liam Neeson) to be destroyed. With Hades (Ralph Fiennes) being granted permission to let the kraken loose on the city thanks to the queen (Polly Walker), Perseus and Argos' strongest men seek the answer on defeating it. Directed by Louis Leterrier, a guy with many action films tied to his name like Transporter (2002) and Transporter 2 (2005), certainly has what is needed for a film that needs lively energy. The biggest issue though is the script and Sam Worthington as the lead.
While Worthington can grimace, yell and move athletically, his emotional range needs some work. Being that the script relies more on the loss of his family and less about romance, there lacks an emotional balance in the story. There's barely a time where Perseus even cracks a smile or wise remark. As a result, the lead feels less charismatic and more just a pawn in the story. With the writers' screenplay failing to incorporate more of this, it feels as though they forgot the heart of the story. Yet somehow they did remember to include charming and more favorable dialog for the supporting actors like Mads Mikkelsen, Liam Cunningham, Hans Matheson, Ashraf Barhom, Mouloud Achour and Nicholas Hoult who play Argos' top warriors. So, not sure how that works. Even Ian Whyte who plays some mysterious humanoid scorpion creature is more interesting to watch.
Aside from this, the writers do include some other references to the original like Jason Flemyng who plays the cursed Calibos. Even Bubo the mechanical Owl appears for a cameo. Action sequences are by far the strongest this film has to offer. Whether the fighters are fending off other human attackers, human sized creatures or giant monstrosities, the action is lively and engaging. The best set piece is when Perseus and company come across super-sized scorpions. Even the battle between Perseus and Medusa (Natalia Vodianova) is fairly entertaining even though it won't ever top the original. The weakest was probably the one between Perseus and Calibos. All this is most likely due to Louis Leterrier's experience working with action set pieces. Believe it or not though the graphic content is turned down. Although that's probably just to attract a wider audience.
Visuals to the film are an unfortunate mixed bag. While the imagery, makeup effects and creature designs are creative, their CGI counterparts tend to suffer. Although watching movies can be used as an escapist activity, to watch actors walking around and interacting with various settings that are CGI ruins the whole experience. There's barely a place that feels like it is physically tangible. The cinematography by Peter Menzies Jr. (The 13th Warrior (1999) and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)) was adequate, it was just the CGI scenes that felt the least credible. Producing the music was composer Ramin Djawadi, who had worked on Blade: Trinity (2004) and Iron Man (2008). Relying heavily on strings and electric guitar, Djawadi makes an interesting interpreter for the film. Sadly, it has very little resemblance to that of the upbeat and adventurous sounding score from the original.
The supporting components to this remake are probably the best thing it has to give. From the supporting cast, to the music, cinematography and action. Yet the fault in the foundation are the CGI effects, a less than charismatic lead and rather unemotional screenplay revolving around the lead. It's fun but not for frequent revisiting.