less personality, more action

Rating: 6/10 (5 July 2011)

The original version of "Clash of the Titans" was an infinitely entertaining - and still fondly remembered - piece of early '80s kitsch comprised of one part corn to two parts cheese. It was further distinguished by having a number of acting legends of both stage and screen (i.e., Lawrence Olivier, Maggie Smith) slumming their way through the project - and obviously having the time of their professional lives doing so.
The 2010 version, directed by Louis Leterrier, trades in star power and campiness for improved special effects and a more straightforward action-movie approach to the material (though Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes do appear as Zeus and Hades, respectively).
Sam Worthington stars as Persius, the demi-god son of Zeus, who leads the humans in a war against the gods, whom he blames for the deaths of his adoptive parents and little sister. Persius also must face-down and defeat the mighty Kracken, a terrifying, indestructible beast that serves as the gods' ultimate weapon against the people.
It's all very Saturday-matinée juvenilia in spirit and tone, but the pacing is swift, the special effects impressive, and the various and sundry monsters and creatures sufficiently imaginative and larger-than-life to make us suspend our disbelief, if only for the duration.
Good fun.