Its Kraken...not Cracken; but its still awful

Rating: 2/10 (15 May 2010)

First, let's get the good stuff out of the way. Liam Neeson is lots of fun displaying his talent in a bit part as Zeus in this Computer-Generated Image (CGI) fest. Ralph Fiennes is somewhat less entertaining as the underworld lord Hades, in a portrayal that seems to borrow a lot from Ron Moody's Fagen in the musical Oliver! The Kraken, a sea creature described by Norwegian fishermen probably based on sightings of giant squid, is transformed into something out of H.P. Lovecraft and is at least inventive. The Medusa in this update is a clever combination of the seductive and the horrifying. Unfortunately, to get to these bits, the viewer has to wade through a tiresome "quest" plot, struggle to make sense out of badly-edited CGI combat, and suffer through endless stoic scowling by Sam Worthington. The heroic part of this version of Clash of the Titans was the effort to keep awake. Sure, the old Harryhausen version is limited to stop-motion special effects and a woefully miscast Harry Hamlin as Perseus, but it was thoroughly entertaining, cleverly written, and had a engrossing plot (and Judi Bowker as Andromeda was a turn-on). My suggestion: watch the original for fun and rent this one if you have insomnia.