‘Clash of the Titans’ Adapts Greek Mythology into Dumb Fun

Furious gods, non-worshipping mortals, a city-leveling sea monster and a half-man, half-god in the middle of it all. So begins a special effects-driven clash that provides exactly what you’d expect from a blockbuster of this sort—impressive action sequences, enjoyably cheesy dialogue and a simple yet entertaining ride at the movies. “Clash of the Titans” is no epic like “Troy,” but this swords and sandals action flick takes the Greek myth of Perseus studied in sophomore English class and sprinkles it with some “300” flavor, producing a translation of the material that’s you’ll actually want to experience this time around.

The thin narrative starts with foolish humans disrespecting the gods and not offering sacrifices, so Zeus (Liam Neeson) authorizes Hades (Ralph Fiennes) to teach the mortals in the city of Argos a lesson. Hades gives the people 10 days to either sacrifice their beautiful prized princess Andromeda or face obliteration from the unstoppable giant sea creature the Krakken. In response, one of Zeus’s demigod bastard sons, Perseus (Sam Worthington), sets out on a quest to save the city and princess from the fearsome monster by finding a way to kill it and then defeat a weakened Hades, who murdered his adoptive family.

Of course that all sounds like a preposterously impossible task, but “Clash” takes place in the world of fantastical Greek myths, where seemingly anything can happen and realism holds little importance, a detail that improves both the action and atmosphere of the film. So Perseus travels across the land in search of an ultimate weapon, facing many dangers and continually striving to prove his worth as just a man, not part god, all before the Krakken is unleashed.

Compared to the original 1981 “Clash of the Titans,” the story has been greatly altered, dropping the romantic subplot (for the most part), adding Hades into the narrative, involving other new characters and focusing the movie almost entirely on Perseus’s journey. However, many of these changes turn this remake into the superior version. The plot is now even less faithful to the original myth, but the differences do give the tale a bigger and more involving scale, as well as centering the action and development on Perseus. The one downside being that Perseus is childishly stubborn about not using his godly advantage, so there’s extra, unnecessary characterization stemming from that.

But this film satisfies, the main reason boiling down to the thrilling action sequences and the mythological beasts they involve. Director Louis Leterrier was strongly influenced by the original “Clash” and this can be seen in his respect for the source material and its exaggerated mood, as well as his goal to create a remake that stands on its own and fits in this day and age.

The original’s monsters were mostly created through dated stop-motion technology and they seem humorously stupid now; Leterrier has crafted intimidating, predominantly CGI beasts in this version that not only look great but make for fierce creatures in battle as well. Gigantic, unrelentingly vicious scorpions and a spidery, spindly Medusa highlight the action, but the real spectacle is seen with the Krakken at the end, the most breathtakingly awesome movie creature since the monster in “Cloverfield.”

Fighting these beasts, Worthington exudes a veteran action star air with his steely stare, stop-at-nothing persona and slow-building charisma. Straight off from his success in “Terminator: Salvation” and “Avatar” and now as this legendary half-god, half-man badass, he has officially earned his stripes and secured his spot as a leading action juggernaut. While his performance here isn’t as strong as it was in those last two films, he’s sufficient enough and his overly mellow-dramatic or half-hearted acting at points is forgivable. When monster fighting ensues, Worthington is able to quickly raise the audience’s energy and jump right into the struggle, and that’s what really matters in this movie.

Even though the writing and line delivery can be pretty laughable sometimes, the over-serious mood and dialogue acts more as an enhancement of the film’s entertainment value rather than as a detraction—despite sounding like it could’ve been written by awkward dialogue extraordinaire George Lucas. The acting follows a similar pattern but doesn’t really hamper enjoyment because the movie’s monsters, special effects and set pieces stand out so much as to overshadow those flaws.

This is most easily noticed in the scenes of the gods arguing. They’re quite fun to watch, not only due to the gaudy outfits the gods wear, but also the flowing cheesiness of their lines. Zeus dons the shiniest silver set of armor probably ever put to celluloid and bears more glorious facial hair than the Internet phenomenon Epic Beard Man. And when Neeson announces in a booming voice, “Release the Krakken!” you’ll be smiling with giddy delight. Hades, on the other hand, flies around in a cloud of black smoke, with Fiennes rasping out all his lines as if he’s been smoking for forty years straight. While this all feels pretty silly, it’s a clue the film is meant to be taken lightly, and doing so makes it far more amusing.

My only big gripe with the movie where it actually degrades the film is the less than half-assed job in making it 3D. “Clash” was originally shot in 2D, and the decision to add the extra dimension didn’t come until late in post-production, meaning very little of it actually feels like it has the added depth. So little in fact that you’d be better off seeing the 2D version, where not only will you save several bucks, but the colors of the movie will pop out more, since 3D glasses darken everything a couple shades.

“Clash of the Titans” resembles the kind of big-budget action extravaganzas we don’t usually see until the summer, and as such provides the large-scale set pieces, intricate CGI and dumb fun that comes with them, a guilty pleasure not usually granted indulgence until June and July. For that, it feels partially refreshing at this point in time, but mostly just a cool journey from beginning to end.

Three out of Four Stars