Clash Of The Titans (2010) - 2/5

I'm not always against remakes. If you can make something better or throw a new twist into it without losing the heart and soul of the original then I say go for it. When you lose sight of what made the original one good or even fodder for a revamp, then screw off. Unfortunately, "Clash Of The Titans" tends to fall into the latter category more often then not and despite its low brow action packed entertaining value, this film sinks like a stone Kraken.

Perseus (Worthington), a demigod son of Zeus, finds himself in a bad situation. The world is rising up against the gods and a plan hatched by Hades (Fiennes) convinces Zeus (Neeson) that he should release the Kraken to inspire more prayers and a new fear of the god's wrath. So Perseus and a few warriors of Argos go on a quest to seek answers about how to take down the legendary beast and put Hades back in his place. Its a long journey that is going to cost a lot of men their lives and Persus is on a time restraint to do it. He's got a long way to go and a short time to do it in.

When going into "Clash Of The Titans" make sure that you check most of your IQ at the door. This film wasn't made to be thought provoking or even all that charming. Its action and special effects. With that in mind you may enjoy it. Its hard not to get enthused by its relentless pacing and stark (almost tries too hard) epic nature.

Believe it or not, its breakneck pacing is one of its main flaws. It keeps you entertained, sure, but it also allows for almost nil for dialogue (which is okay considering how simple and silly the dialogue was) and it never lets the audience feel anything for any of the characters. Or hardly get a grasp on how epic this film should be before it moves onto the next creature and next local. By the time we got to Medusa I had forgotten what they had to do to get there because it was moving so fast. It was like when you drive for a while and realize that you don't remember driving parts because you were so intent on what was happening in the moment. That's how "Clash Of The Titans" works too much.

Even better yet, is the horrible use of the cast. Sam Worthington is still an anomaly to me. He's fucking bank at the box office ("Avatar", "Terminator: Salvation", this) but I'll be damned if he's not just going through the motions in all of them. Sam Worthington is Worthless-ington when it comes to actual acting. Then we have a cult fans dream list of supporting cast. Neeson, Fiennes, Flemying, and Mikkelsen. Damn! Too bad most of them seem to sleep walk through their parts. Poor characters and paper thin back stories just make them shadows of what these actors can do. Its sad really.

"Clash Of The Titans" may not be award winning material in most any way, but go into with low expectations, leave your IQ at the door, and just enjoy it for the spectacle that it was made to be instead of the charming story that the original one was. It still isn't good and half the time feels forced. Just got with it. Or better yet, buy the original and enjoy that one for its campy charm and mechanical owl magic. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider