Could I follow-up Percy Jackson any other way than with the remake of Clash of the Titans? I even saw them about two nights apart. So, no, I couldn't.
They actually have a decent amount in common. Both are steeped in Greek mythology, with two of the three Gods they focus on being Zeus and Hades. Both leads are based on Perseus. Both have the hero having to face Medussa for any chance of success of their mission... and both use Medussa in the same way.
That's about where the similarities end though. I have to admit, I was excited about Clash of the Titans when it was first announced, then when Louis Leterrier was attached as director, and even more excited when I saw the trailer. I'm also a Sam Worthington fan. But did I see this in theaters? No. Because word of mouth was so bad I couldn't bring myself to do that. And because the 3D up-conversion was supposedly horrendous.
The action in the film was good from start to finish, as I would expect with Leterrier directing. The story strains a little in terms of logic, actually a lot - but the action keeps it moving forward at such a clip that you don't start second guessing things until the movie ends. For the most part. Gemma Arterton, who I just raved about in Prince of Persia, looks pretty good here - but not nearly as good as Prince of Persia. She's a pretty decent actress as well.
Where Leterrier went off the rails was in how he depicted the Gods. They have this Twilight like glow. It is lame, takes you out of the film and just plain sucks. It's extremely distracting and unnecessary.
And here are my two biggest complaints about the film. One - Hades comes in, ready to wreak havoc on the world. He's obviously capable of doing what he wants on earth. Why does he empower a rotted soldier to hunt Sam Worthington's Perseus? Why didn't he just do it himself? End of Perseus. End of movie.
Two - they hype the Krakken the entire film as the beast that could kill the Gods themselves. That once they release this thing it is the end of human life as they know it. It seems like the cousin of the monster in Cloverfield, not the harbinger of death. In fact, I'm not sure how many people it actually kills. It should have been on a city crushing bender when Perseus finally tackles it. Not about to kill some princess we hardly know, nor give a shit about.
I guess these are two pretty huge holes in the plot for me and ultimately ruined any enjoyment I was getting out of the action. But Worthington holds his own again and if you aren't a Mads Mikkelson fan, you aren't watching enough of his films.
No comments:
Post a Comment