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Written by: Mike Pothier on Apr 6 2010, 1:54pm

Crash of the Titans

The new Clash of the Titans would make a great portfolio for a graphic artist.  As a movie, it has no soul.  Its a 2 hour tech demo, filled with scene after scene of humans fighting off cgi monsters.  

Where is the motivation?  At what point do the characters pause and just talk?  Never.  The movie was made for suffers of ADHD.  Sam Worthington is a wonderful lead, as he proved in Avatar, but here he is reduced to running around dodging giant scorpions or flying harpies.  

In the original Clash, Harry Hamlin played a centered and motivated Perseus.  He understood who he was, he had real desires and you felt his urgency at saving Andromeda.  The new Perseus doesn't even get to fall in love.  He's out for revenge against Hades, a god that was never in the first movie, nor in the specific legend this movie is based on.  In addition, mythical Hades was a pretty decent fellow, as the greek pantheon goes.  Here, he is also reduced to a satanic figure.

You'll notice that everyone is now two dimensional.  The new Zeus just likes to pose dramatically and say "Release the Kraken", instead of having real discussions with his family.  The new Andromeda is just... there.  She has so few scenes that when she is finally tied up as a sacrifice for the Kraken, we couldn't care less if she gets eaten.

The worst part was Medusa.  In the original Clash, the hunt was filled with tension and fear.   The soldiers crept through her lair, trying their hardest not to be seen and heard.  She was a monstrous enemy, seemingly made of nightmares.  The new Medusa is another cgi demo, who laughs and chases Perseus through a lava filled temple.  There is no sense of accomplishment when he finally slays her, unlike Hamlin's weary yet triumphant pose when he holds her up to show his godly father.

Is this movie worth it?  If you turn off your brain, perhaps.  It had so much potential if they just took their time and gave Perseus real motivations.  Save your money and rent the original.  It is still a great film.

Citizens Comments

Alan V says:

Bummer, I lioved the original.

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Apr 6 2010, 1:15pm | Report

Scott Whitaker says:

Wow, I couldn't disagree with you more.

Clash of the Titans was a great movie although the 3-D was not as 'in your face' as I would have liked. 

Trying to watch the original now a days is just painful.

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Apr 6 2010, 1:19pm | Report

Robby E. says:

Both movies took creative license to craft their own stories.  The original Clash was a hero's struggle to save the woman he loves.  This new one was a hero's struggle against the gods themselves. Neither the original or the re-make truly followed the myths of these characters. 

According to the original myth, Perseus and Andromeda never fell in love before hand.  Instead, Perseus essentially stumbles across Andromeda in chains after slaying Medusa.  He saves her and they then marry.  It was the original Clash of the Titans that "re-interpreted" their's to be a "love story". 

I think the focus for this movie was more the traditional struggle of man against gods that seems popular in modern culture.  I feel Perseus did portray someone that clearly knew what he wanted.  He was a man that wanted people to be free of the yoke of the gods.  Throughout the movie he tried again and again to defy or deny the gods at every turn. 

Could there have been more conversation?  Yes.  Was it necessary to move along the plot of the movie?  No.  I can understand why you may have been disappointed by this movie.  However, from all the trailers that I saw of this ahead of time, it was clear to me that this was not going to be the same Clash of the Titans that I loved in my youth.

I have to agree with Scott, though.  I was disappointed in the 3-D effects.  It felt more of an after-thought.

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Apr 6 2010, 1:47pm | Report

Scott Whitaker says:

You guys could be the new age Siskel and Ebert.

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Apr 6 2010, 1:51pm | Report

Nick Light says:

The original rocked  - guess i'll wait for this to come out on sky

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Apr 9 2010, 10:05am | Report

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About the Author

Mike Pothier

Calabasas, CA

540 contributions

I am nerdy as nerdy gets, I'm big on gaming and reading science fiction and fantasy.  If you've read Gene Wolfe, you're my new bestest buddy in the world.  I also love breaking open my PC to fiddle around with it.  If I start going on a nerd rant, please excuse me.  It can get weird.

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