By Matt Brunson
CLASH OF THE TITANS
**1/2
DIRECTED BY Louis Leterrier
STARS Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson
3-D or not 3-D — that’s not even a question as far as Clash of the Titans is concerned.
In the wake of Avatar‘s phenomenal success, studios are shamelessly slapping the 3-D format onto whatever pictures are in the can, failing to take into account that Avatar‘s visuals were so stunning because the picture was shot in 3-D. Clash of the Titans represents the laziest use of the process to date: I repeatedly removed my special glasses during the screening and could scarcely tell any difference between 2-D and 3-D. My advice? Avoid any theater charging more to see this in 3-D; it’s not worth the extra cash.
As to whether the film itself is worth seeing in any format, that’s a closer call. Fans of the 1981 original won’t find many improvements here: Ray Harryhausen’s lovingly crafted stop-motion effects have been swapped out for the usual CGI sound and fury; the ingratiating sense of camp has been obliterated, replaced by a solemnity signaled by furrowed brows and stone faces (and not just on those who encounter Medusa); and the amusing banter between the gods (played by the likes of Laurence Olivier and Maggie Smith) is noticeably MIA. On its own terms, however, the film is passable spectacle.
As Perseus, the mortal son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) who must thwart Hades (Ralph Fiennes) by defeating a string of ghastly beasts and saving both a city and its princess (Alexa Davalos), Avatar‘s Sam Worthington is merely OK (the reason for his high demand continues to elude me), but his character is backed by a colorful assortment of warriors who make his journey memorable. Fiennes’ portrayal of Hades may not fall far from the Voldemort tree, but he nevertheless cuts a menacing figure. And while most of the mythical creatures (Medusa, the Kraken) pale next to Harryhausen’s achievements, the monstrous scorpions prove to be an exception, and superb FX work allows their battle with the humans to emerge as the film’s action highlight.
Those hoping for a Harry Hamlin sighting (he played Perseus in the original) will be left hanging, but rest assured that there’s a clever cameo appearance by another vet of the ’81 release. It would be cruel and unfair to viewers to ruin the scene here (clue: it involves a non-human character), but it’s an amusing gag, and it slices through the rest of the picture’s glumness with the precision of a sword crafted by Zeus himself.
This article appears in Mar 30 – Apr 5, 2010.
The new creatures “pale” next to Harryhausen’s achievements? I’d encourage you to go back and re-watch the 1981 version from a critical standpoint and not rely on your memories from youth. RH did the absolute best he could with the tools that were available to him, but don’t try to aggrandize those efforts into being something they weren’t. There’s probably somebody, somewhere, who laments the creation of surround sound and really misses the “subtlety” achieved by the old masters who understood that monophonic sound was a more artistic choice. Yeah, that’s why they used it…
I like Harryhausen, and he was the best of his era. That era has also passed. Of course, it’s hardly surprising, as many people really have difficulty understanding that they will never experience the same sensation of awe they experienced with the first movies they saw–not because those movies were really all that great, but because it was all new at that point in their lives. Instead of accepting that age colors perception, it’s easier to complain that the new stuff just isn’t as good. There was once a whole segment of the population, after all, who thought that silent films were the only GOOD films, and that the new “talkies” were just for film makers who needed a crutch. But, eventually, all those people died. 🙂
Thanks for the feedback, Wes. For the record, though, I did not rely on my “memories from youth” in commenting on the 1981 version; I just watched it again TWO WEEKS ago. And I stand by my comment regarding most of the visual effects work. I found Medusa, the Kraken and even the Stygian witches to be more visually stimulating (as well as more creatively designed) in the older version than in this new one.