DVD REVIEW: “Clash of the Titans”

I never got a chance to see this when it went to theaters, but that’s what DVDs are for! The premise of this reboot of Clash of the Titans isn’t too much different from the original Titans movie; fisherman Perseus (Sam Worthington) finds out he’s the demigod son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) as well as being the only one to save the Andromeda, Princess of Argos, from the Kraken, a monster Hades (Ralph Fiennes) has released at the request of Zeus in order to make humans subservient to the gods once again. However, Hades has plans of his own.

There are some key problems in this film, the  main one being that the film doesn’t live up to its title. When I see the title Clash of the Titans, I expect an actual clash. In this film, the friction between the humans and the self-absorbed gods is hinted at, and the war between them is always on the verge of happening, but we only get to see one attack–the destruction of the statue of who I’m presuming to be Poseidon (or I guess it could be Zeus; the movie doesn’t actually say), which affects Perseus’s life tremendously. Never do we see Perseus fight any of the gods (Zeus and Hades especially for a specific reason), something he should be doing, considering what he’s been through and how he came to be in the first place. There are a lot of clues and plot points that seem like they should lead up to a grand battle–Zeus giving Perseus the gift of a mighty sword for one. How awesome it would have been for Perseus to fight Zeus, his own father, with the very sword Zeus gave him. It would’ve been poignant and very fitting for Perseus’s heroic journey. But they bypass all of this and go for an odd ending, making Zeus, who had been a bastard for most of the movie, suddenly turn into some benevolent and apologetic god/father. A bit disappointing, to be sure.

Also, the film seems to flit from wanting to be an epic film to a man’s man action/adventure/comedy movie. A lot of the “humor” in this film ends up being very Emmerich-esque; if the two brothers/monster killers Ozal and Kucuk (Ashraf Barhom and Mouloud Achour, respectively) were in Independence Day or Godzilla, they wouldn’t be out of place. And many of the challenges Perseus had to face from the 1981 film are cut out completely, leaving a very small, insignificant hero’s journey that doesn’t have time and/or enough meat to be able to fully show Perseus learning more about himself and how to be a hero.

To go back to Zeus and the gods for a second–the gods are not really expanded upon in terms of story and character development. We know that Zeus wants and thrives on the “love” of the humans (even though he has an odd way of showing it). However, the movie doesn’t really expand on that idea, or use any better words other than “love”. “Love” in this case is a bit of a broad term for what Zeus wants. What he really wants is power, not love. He could care less about love. If he really “loved” humans, he wouldn’t ruin someone else’s life (which also caused Perseus to come into existence).  As stated above, the film changes his character 180 degrees from an awful ruler to some apologetic father. We didn’t get to see why and how he changed so suddenly; it’s just taped on.

Hades is probably the more developed of the gods in this movie. We have his clear motives, and he’s arguably the cooler designed of the gods. But still, something is missing with him. His plan, which could theoretically work, is presented in a half-baked way, which pulls the rug out from under Hades’s grand characterization.

Also, there are a ton of gods that only have one–or no–lines in the film. Apollo (Luke Evans) only says one or two lines, and I can’t even remember if Athena (Izabella Miko) said anything at all, but she’s in here.

The one character that is simultaneously necessary and expendable is Io (Gemma Arterton). Io is necessary since she has to set much of the exposition, but because she’s only needed for exposition, she starts feeling more like dead weight instead of a wise goddess who has looked after Perseus his whole life. She doesn’t even really do much fighting. Her backstory is mentioned as well as her reason for protecting Perseus, but there is no pathos behind it, no real motivation for the audience to feel empathetic to Io, her plight, and her decisions. And the fact that the film tries to force a love connection between Io and Perseus is just awkward and entirely unnecessary. If there is any action movie where a love scene/love interest is not needed, it’s this one. There is just too much at stake for anyone to be worrying about finding love.

I know what they were trying to do with Perseus; he is supposed to be like a Grecian version of Batman, wanting to do stuff as a man, without any special help or favors from anyone. If they had steeled themselves and went gung-ho along that route and cut out all of the filler, this film would have seemed less tangential. Overall, this is a good movie to watch at home for slight diversion, but you might want to wait until it goes on sale.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

DVD version: Additional features

Blu-Ray version: DVD and digital copies, “Maximum Movie Mode” track featuring commentaries and interviews from the cast and crew, “Focus Points”, “Sam Worthington: An Action Hero for the Ages” featurette, and an  alternate ending

Tags: Blockbusters, Clash of the Titans, dvd review, Movies