Sam Worthington is nothing if not earnest in Clash of the Titans, the muddled remake of the largely beloved 1981 film. As Perseus, the demigod son of Zeus, Worthington brings his factory line action star charisma to a role that saddles him with lines like “Everyone I loved was killed by the gods.” Worthington seems to be carving out his place as the biggest action star in the world by selectively playing unwilling saviors who tiptoe across conflicting sides until deciding on one and going into battle. Clash of the Titans does deliver on the battle part, if you can excuse the cheap CGI and the horrific 3D conversion.
Quick word of advice – do not see the 3D version. The transfer is dark and washed out and the 3D visuals have been achieved by compositing image onto image so characters look like they have reflections behind them.
Onto the story – or what passes for a story, with bits taken from Greek mythology and the Hollywood vault of clichés. After everyone Perseus loves is…yes, killed by the gods (specifically Hades, who is played by Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort with a receding hairline), the demigod is found drifting at sea and brought to the city of Argos. The people of Argos have declared war against the gods, and Zeus, insulted by the insolence of his own children, sends Hades with a message – sacrifice the beautiful princess Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) or Argos will fall. Hades, who meanwhile plots vengeance against his brother and Olympus in the shadows, plans to unleash the Kraken, a gargantuan sea monster that was once used to destroy the titans.
Perseus, fueled by revenge, sets out to defeat Hades by – well, I’m not really sure what he does. The plot runs the gamut of an action game – there is a cinematic, a training sequence, and then a battle sequence. I always thought even the best of film critics were crotchety to suggest that action films nowadays have become akin to video games but Clash of the Titans is the first major blockbuster I’ve seen to adhere to basic video game formula and almost nothing else.
Characters don’t even deserve to be called paper-thin – they are old wet newspaper, trampled underfoot. But what a cast: the excellent actor best known as a Bond baddie, Mads Mikkelsen as a badass warrior leading Perseus’ troupe; Jason Flemyng as a cursed and disfigured king who longs to impair Zeus; the smoldering Gemma Arterton as Perseus’s watchful guide and possible romantic interest Io; and of course, Liam Neeson as the god of thunder himself. Even Ashraf Barhom, who was solid in The Kingdom, makes an appearance as one of two brothers who for some reason have the know-how to defeat the creatures the group encounters on the way.
All these fine actors are reduced to stand-bys who consistently argue with Perseus, whose only conflict in the film is whether he should use his demigod powers for his own good. Worthington makes the most of what little personality his character has but his own acting talents aren’t particularly up to the occasion – he is willing but not possessive of the kind of emotive talent that would make us care for his survival. Instead, Perseus is the invincible action hero, while the rest of his team is dispensable, much like this film.
I genuinely feel that Louis Leterrier did the best he could with the given material, after countless rewrites and a rushed conversion; the cinematography probably looks significantly better in 2D, and the film’s high-budget roots allow for some great landscape shots. The CGI, unfortunately, runs the mills between subpar and downright cartoonish, particularly when it comes to Medusa, who looks like one of the bosses from the God of War series, which is incomparably better than this film in oh-so-many respects. Clash of the Titans is a disappointment on multiple levels, but none more so than the lack of concern for the survival of the cast – the poor characterization of which deals a fatal blow to an already keeling production.
P.S. Is there anyone out there who wouldn't want to see Jason Statham as a snarling, ass-kicking Perseus? I definitely would.
"Clash of the Titans (2010)" opens April 2, 2010 and is rated PG13. Action, Adventure, Fantasy. Directed by Louis Leterrier. Written by Travis Beacham, Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi, Beverley Cross (1981 screenplay). Starring Gemma Arterton, Jason Flemyng, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Sam Worthington.
