April 2, 2010 in Features

‘Clash’ remake not so titanic

Jake Coyle Associated Press
 
Tags:entertainmentmoviesreviews
Warner Bros. photo

Ralph Fiennes stars as Hades in the blockbuster remake, “Clash of the Titans.” Warner Bros.
(Full-size photo)

The critics’ take

What other reviewers are saying about “Clash of the Titans”:

“If the original film, with its then-state-of-the-art animation effects by Ray Harryhausen, felt like a genuinely eye-opening marriage between the ancient world and the new one, (director Louis) Leterrier’s version is just another overpopulated, CGI-cluttered action movie. Seven-year-olds in the crowd won’t be spooked – just bored.” – Christopher Kelly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“(Sam) Worthington, who made a big splash with ‘Terminator Salvation’ and went on to ‘Avatar,’ seems to grow weaker with each performance. His Perseus is personality-deficient, a vacant hunk with a Marine buzz cut.” – Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star

“For all the impressive (but not dazzling) effects, the scattered jokes and stentorian acting (especially from the Olympians), there’s not much here that will stick with you after the popcorn’s gone. But as any ancient Greek could tell you, that’s sort of the point.” – Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Who wants to be a god, anyway?

That’s the principal twist inserted into the new “Clash of the Titans,” a remake of the sometimes fondly recalled, technologically dated 1981 film about the fury of the gods of Mount Olympus and the rise of the young, earthly demigod Perseus.

This time, Perseus (Sam Worthington) bears a distaste for his godlike nature. He just wants to be a regular dude and do normal guy stuff – like ride his winged horse Pegasus on the beach.

On Mount Olympus, that golden round table in the clouds, Perseus’ father, Zeus (Liam Neeson, in the part played by Laurence Olivier in the original), is angry at an ungrateful mankind and lets loose his brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes) to destroy the city of Argos.

As a new citizen of Argos, Perseus doesn’t much like this. He embarks on the familiar journey (particularly familiar for those who saw the recent, bouncier teen version “Percy Jackson & the Olympians”) in defeating a number of mythical creatures, including a serpentine Medusa and the sea monster Kraken – which, rest assured, is eventually released.

Directed by Louis Leterrier (2008’s “The Incredible Hulk”), “The Clash of the Titans” will likely lure moviegoers chiefly by its digital effects (which are largely quite good but forgettable) and its promise of 3-D spectacle (which disappoints altogether).

Like several blockbusters being released now in the post-“Avatar” environment, “Clash of the Titans” was made in 2-D but converted to 3-D in post-production.

Audiences will hardly notice any increased depth. Though this is preferable to the distraction of most 3-D, it’s surely not worth the hike in ticket price.

Worthington, the Australian actor who starred in “Avatar,” knows a little something about 3-D. Here, he trades aqua blue-colored skin for an equally artificial bronze spray tan in the mold of “300” torsos.

He was largely eclipsed by the surrounding effects of “Avatar”; it’s an interesting irony that few would be able to name the star of the biggest box-office grosser of all-time.

In “Titans,” his presence is more explicit but also less substantial.

With a crew cut atop his almost perfectly spherical head, Worthington grits his way through the film and does plenty of dramatic leaping while brandishing a sword. But he doesn’t supply the charisma that the movie needs and the whole thing feels like a joyless slog.

Fiennes’ appearances provide a jolt. Arriving always with his head curiously fixed within a cloud of swirling black smog, he knows how to make an entrance.

His part is surely the best in the movie and he’s clearly having fun. He hisses in a horse whisper: “What could be more beautiful than death?”

But that’s not nearly enough to engender the kind of fondness people feel for the original “Clash of the Titans,” campy though it is.

© Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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