Well done visually, but hollow

Rating: 4/10 (26 November 2010)

Despite its flaws(the uneven acting and the episodic storybook-like structure) I really like the original Clash of the Titans, especially for the set design and the Harryhousen effects. In short, it is flawed but good nostalgic fun. This 2010 remake is very well done in the costume and set design and some of the effects are truly incredible, but emotionally it is ultimately hollow.
While I do agree the effects were incredible, especially the Kraken, some of the scenes could have been better done. In particular with the gorgon Medussa. A scene that terrified me when I was little in the original and still does to some extent, but as has been pointed out once or twice before there was more emphasis on too much action not enough suspense which diminished that scene's appeal in this.
The music comes across as rather generic. It strived to be rousing, energetic and bombastic, something you would find with Erich Korngold and Bernard Hermann, but sadly it came across as generic and boring. Pacing was an issue as well, it was very uneven here. It felt as though the not-so-important scenes dragged and the important bits felt rushed and skimmed over. The direction was disappointingly lethargic too.
My main complaints though are with the acting, story and script. As I have said, the story and acting weren't the strongest points of the original, but both elements had their moments. However, the story has a very uneven structure, it is quite episodic, but it is also rather unexciting. On the whole the dialogue is awful and very banal, and there were some scenes where it came across as cheesy or forced. The acting wasn't much to go on either. Sam Worthington was merely alright, he has the heroism and charm, but then there is the accent that comes and goes and I got the sense that the delivery of some of the lines and the action sequences didn't come naturally to him. I was more disappointed in the bigger names. Ralph Fiennes doesn't seem to have a clue what he is doing here, and Liam Neeson looks lost and embarrassed. Gemma Arterton can be good(BBC's Tess of the D'Urbevilles) but while she is very pretty, her character is rather vapid.
Overall, it had its moments, but it was unengaging and disappointing. 4/10 for the production values. Bethany Cox