bland and boring

Rating: 4/10 (6 April 2010)

The Greek Gods unleashed their melodramatic wrath on men last Friday with the release of Clash of the Titans.
Men have grown tired of following the will of the Gods and have declared war against them but the mortals don't stand a chance against the power of the gods.
Then enter Perseus, (Sam Worthington from Avatar) the mortal son of Zeus (Liam Neeson). Perseus doesn't want this war but is motivated by the death of his adoptive family by a god, Poseidon.
So there it is, the reluctant protagonist motivated by the death of his adoptive family to seek vengeance against his biological father aided by an eclectic group of allies makes for the typical fantasy-action movie.
This movie clearly tried to ride on the excitement of the action sequences and effects of the CGI and at times that was possible. The scorpion fight scene was particularly well done. But later in the movie as the plot begins to weaken more and more those scenes loose their impact.
The movie relies on its special effects a lot. Not quite to the extent that Avatar did but still the effects are a big crutch for the movie to lean on and they are done well. The gigantic scorpions are frightening and the glowing hall of the gods was particularly stunning.
Neeson plays Zeus well, the authority can be heard on his voice. Ralph Fiennes, who always seems to play the villain, is Hades. He is great as the ruler of the underworld, a master manipulator. Worthington as Perseus is dull, he plays the protagonist with little emotion and makes the character bland. He also appears to the only person with a razor at this point in history. While everyone around him has biblically long beards he manages to maintain that constant tough guy stubble.
Clash of the Titans tries to mask a predictable story with over the top fight scenes and a pair of good actors but can't quite pull through and leaves viewers in disappointment.