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7 Apr 2010

Clash of the Titans

If taking on the military and killer robots wasn't enough, action hero Sam Worthington aims higher and takes on the Gods of Olympus!

Director: Louis Leterrier

Language: English

Cast: Sam Worthington, Mads Mikelsen, Alexis Davalos, Pete Postewaithe, Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson 

Screenplay: Lawrence Kasdan, Travis Beacham, Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi 

Release Date: 01 April 2010

Rating: PG - Some Violence


I remember watching the original Clash of the Titans as a pre-schooler and then running around half-naked with a towel wrapped around my shoulder and waist for weeks after, hacking at imaginary gorgons and krakens and holding up a durian triumphantly in lieu of Medusa’s head. It was fun and it was silly. But it was good.

The film had not aged well: the opening minute or so, with its overwrought atmospherics, felt like a Monty Python parody. The kraken looked like a cross between the tokusatsu Godzilla and the creature from The Creature from Black Lagoon. Yes, the sad fact is that no one will tell you how campy the stop motion original picture was, and how much in need of a remake it needs. The cruel joke is that even in 1981, the Ray Harryhausen film was a fossil utilising dated technology such as stop-motion fantasy and science fiction movies from three decades ago.

Hence, I suggest that remake should be seen in the light of its predecessor and compared to the recent Greek/mythological revival in Hollywood cinema. Strictly speaking, I’m only interested in how the special effects would come together (please, no more jerky stop motion, hand-drawn Pegasus wings, and scale models of cities!), the design of the mythological monsters, and the action sequences – in other words, the visual appeal is highly critical for this film.

In this regard, I am relieved to say that this film doesn’t fail to entertain or mesmerise when it should. Designs and animation for the scorpions, Medusa, the kraken, the Stygian witches and especially Charon are a marked improvement over the original, and serve as a decent showcase of today’s special effects technology. Like the original, the stumbling block remains the Olympian gods, who still look annoying ineffectual. All is not lost, however, as their dialogue and delivery seems to have improved. Personally, I put it to a change in acting styles since the 1970s.

There are surprises too for fans of the original: visual references from the original movie kept popping up in creative and unexpected ways, so that you can really play party games in the cinema. Overall, the film is a fun and engaging watch – though it could have gone much further given what we’ve seen in 300 in terms of style, and the Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief in terms of revisioning the old myths.

Reader's Comments

1. 2010-04-07 20:01  
I am going to have to disagree with the reviewer's derision of the original CLASH OF THE TITANS. Any film needs to be viewed in its context and it is entirely arguable if the film has 'aged well'. The charming element of the original CLASH OF THE TITANS is precisely in its camp factor and its polyester-nylon quality. I would say that this is the very same reason why the older GODZILLA films remain cult classics and why Roland Emmerich's 1998 version was dismal. Both Emmerich's remake and Leterrier's remake just take themselves too seriously and had NO SENSE OF HUMOUR - no irony, no quirk - all slash-and-burn; all exploding-concrete; filled with earnest muscle-flexing and testosterone-spewing. The inclusion of the ION narrator/narration is far more 'MONTHY-PHYTHON' than the original - again, all very earnest - but earnestness veers towards to the dull and the boring.

Make no mistake, I enjoyed Leterrier's remake but I found myself rushing out to buy the original on DVD and enjoying that far more. Maybe it's the nostalgia, maybe it's the gratuitous nudity: but Harry Hamlin's statue-like acting is far more fun to watch than Sam Worthington's sincere method-acting.

Cos seriously, this is CLASH OF THE TITANS, not THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.
2. 2010-04-08 05:37  
I would like to see a reviwe that does NOT mention the old one at all! I have not seen the old one and so there is no point of reference for me to be stuck on.
3. 2010-04-08 12:30  
totally disagree w the reviewer
the story and everything was much better in e original
the new script is jus crap... jus an empty shell for them to make special effects
u dun even feel for the characters
sam wort.. makes an adequate perseus but harry hamlin is still e best!
and why e hell did u add e stupid character Io???? completely ruins e story!
go watch e old one
4. 2010-04-09 00:40  
While I try and take movies for what they are, I really do wish they would research facts about the gods that are portrayed, Zeus did not "cheat" Hades, and the Kraken is Norse and not Greek. Otherwise it's a nice film, with good effects, and a decent storyline .
5. 2010-04-09 20:18  
i've just seen the old one. it was awesome knowing that the technology used then looks so creepy but the storyline is brilliant not mentioning the hot actor being half naked throughout the movie.
however i am hugely expecting my super hero Sammie the Perth boy's landmark acting in the new version after the successful Terminator & Avator hit on the screen.
Sam is the saviour of Hollywood :)
6. 2010-04-11 07:29  
Sam worthington is absolutely my favor actor! so sexy >_
7. 2010-04-11 12:56  
NOTHING ABOUT TITANS!
Yup...and a lousy Medusa. And IO being in love with Perseus??! Anyway, enjoy Sammie's big strong thighs.
8. 2010-04-15 08:48  
i've just seen the old one. it was awesome knowing that the technology used then looks so creepy but the storyline is brilliant not mentioning the hot actor being half naked throughout the movie.
however i am hugely expecting my super hero Sammie the Perth boy's landmark acting in the new version after the successful Terminator & Avator hit on the screen.
Sam is the saviour of Hollywood :)

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