Review

Review Date: 4-April-10
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Just OK

Clash of the Titans (2010)

Like its hero Perseus, the new Clash of the Titans is confused by conflicting forces. It pays homage to the past while flaunting the present. It claims to be about men but appears to be about monsters, and which monster is the bad guy is impossible to tell. It achieves moments of artistry while getting tangled up in filler. Little wonder that it screens in two dimensions or three.

The past to which this Clash pays homage includes both Greek mythology and the 1981 movie of the same name. As in that campy classic, the mythology is skewed and the hero kind of a doofus. Played by Avatar's Sam Worthington, who does not have much presence when not blue, the new Perseus starts out as a humble fisherman who witnesses his adoptive family's demise at the hands of the god Hades (Ralph Fiennes). Perseus' desire for revenge puts him in league with most Mediterranean mortals, for, in a startling twist, human beings have decided to court war with Olympus. Such hubris strikes me as quintessentially modern. The humans' motives are not explained, but it seems they are just tired of being the low guys on the totem pole. Rebelling against the injustice of life or cruelty of fate is one thing; simply defying any higher power is another, and not something which listeners to tales in other centuries would likely admire.

In any case, Hades is wreaking havoc on Earth in the service of his supreme brother Zeus (Liam Neeson), or rather he isn't but that is one of the side stories that contributes to the confusion. That Hades informs Perseus he is the son of Zeus does not dissuade the hero from his god-hating quest. Following various paths towards destiny, he acquires a posse of henchmen who are paper-thin clichés. (I like Mads Mikkelsen as the mentor figure, though, since he does have presence.) In the highlight of the film, they fight giant scorpions to a thrilling score that is fully integrated with the action. The picture goes downhill from there despite Perseus' famous battle with Medusa. A weak point is the character of Io (Gemma Arterton), a beautiful maiden who hangs around spouting bits of prophesy and explanatory information. What she is doing in this legend is anyone's guess, since it is literally written in the stars (i.e., constellations) that Perseus is wedded to Andromeda, a princess who in this version comprises the background static with sundry assassins, sorcerers, flying horses, and religious freaks.

The movie fully exhibits its identity crisis in the finale, when the Kraken (the huge sea monster featured on poster and in trailer) is upstaged by Hades, and Perseus decides to have it both ways by enhancing his in-your-face humanity with supernatural mojo. (Again, how egregiously modern.) Clash of the Titans is visually striking escapism, yet too often the clashes are between competing elements of its plot.

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