"Clash of the Titans" (2010) Talkback (Spoilers)

[Lord Dalek]

THE CLASH BEGINS!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/lorddalek/clash_of_the_titans_ver2-1.jpg

"UNLEASH THE KRAKEN!!!" - Zeus


Release Date: 4/01/10
Studio: Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures
Director: Louis Letterier
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 (Panavision)
Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes

Plot Summary: "Clash of the Titans" is set in the Greek city of Argos where a war is about to explode between man and the gods. Persesus (Sam Worthington) raised as a fisherman, but is actually a demi-god. Persesus is the bastard son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) who is about to take on the gods after the death of his family. Zeus' brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes) was the one who kill his family, and Persesus wants to kill him. However, it is Persesus' destiny to rescue the city of Argos from the ruthless rage of Hades and his Kraken monster. With nothing to lose, Persesus leads a band of soldiers on a quest to defeat the Kraken. In doing this, Persesus will prevent Hades from overthrowing Zeus and in turn destroying mankind.

COMMENTS?

LD Talkback #104

Warner has elected to go early screenings with this one, so depending on your theater this may be showing right now or later on this evening.

And in case you missed it... "Clash of the Titans" (1981) (http://www.toonzone.net/forums/showthread.php?t=266011)

[TheVileOne]

Don't pay the extra money for 3D. It looks HORRIBLE in 3D. It makes everything harder to see.

[KCJ506]

The reviews have me worried. I'll still check it out though, but I doubt it's gonna be better than the original.(Heck, has a remake ever been?)

[mumbo]

Oh, it's one of those movies that were converted into 3D rather than made for it? Then I'm guessing going to a 3D screening for this one is a waste of money, I have no faith in conversion efforts.

I'll still probably pop in to see it, though. The only film I've seen in theaters in the past few months is Alice in Wonderland, and I'm in the mood for something loud and mindless.

[Knight]

Heard a lot of bad things about the 3D for this movie. I think Hollywood is just trying to get 3D money out of every movie now because of AVatar. Im not buying in though esspecially for a conversion. I do plan on checking this out.

[suss2it]

I'll see this movie, but in regular 2D. I'll only watch 3D movies if they were actually filmed that way and not just converted.

[Animationerd]

I went and saw it in 2d. It was okay. I paid to see an action movie w/ giant monsters, swords, and all that cool stuff, and that is what i got. No more no less.:cool: The acting and plot, on the other hand, were rather iffy and leaves the viewer scratching his/her head.:shrug:

I give it a C. Good day to you all!:D

[Hanshotfirst113]

So you have a multimilliondollar budget and the nearly limitless possibilities of Greek Mythology to draw from. And you....regurgitate Harryhausen's original almost exactly? Don't get me wrong, the original is a highly enjoyable slice of camp, but there was plenty of room for improvement. But often-competent-never-stellar director Louis Letterier's remake is just dull in places. Sam Worthington's macho he-man bravado is fun up to a point, and the Seven Samurai-like structure of the men-on-a-mission storyline works up to a point, but nearly everything feels regurgitated. The Kracken? Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest not withstanding, it looks like a cross between the Cloverfield monster and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring's Watcher in the Water. The Medusa, reconfigured as a sexy Russian supermodel, was a highlight, but I wanted more critters! More mythology! The adventure movie has been replaced by the action movie. I want swashbuckling! The paper-thing storyline (guy's family is killed by the gods, he wants revenge, all of the characterization we're given, the end, and the characters on the mission are so interchangeable that I don't think that they even gave them all names) and thematic incoherence (Do the gods need us? Does Percius come to terms with his heritage) were balanced by the gleeful hamming of Fiennes and Neeson. Not a bad film, and reasonably diverting entertainment, but I could have just played God of War again.

[Batmex]

Don't pay the extra money for 3D. It looks HORRIBLE in 3D. It makes everything harder to see.

It seems that they added the 3d at the last minute after they saw how much money Avatar made, as critics would say: "Lousy"

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-critics-clash-over-titans-3D.html

[JPPT1974]

It will be #1 but wonder how much money it will make?! I put it in the $40-$45M range.

[Old Guy]

It will be #1 but wonder how much money it will make?! I put it in the $40-$45M range.

It has grossed $29 million since its Thursday at 8pm opening. So, we're looking at an opening of atleast $70 million.

[OnePark]

Saw it on release day, against my own wishes. I had the day off, and my friends forced me to get out of bed to see it, as I get us in free.

Not going to write a full review, but I will post my overall opinion. It felt very rush. Everything happened quickly. At times when I felt like I dosed off to sleep, I would think I missed something.

I liked the action, and the Kraken amazed my eyes. However, it was short lived.

I think I prefer the old version, of what I remember of it. But this film I would watch at the price I paid for it: Free.

[FireWarrior]

I was originally going to see it yesterday but when I got to the theater there were children running amok everywhere so I decided to wait til today and it was the best decision.

Overall it was simply ok. I don't know maybe I had my expectations too high but after seeing The Incredible Hulk I was expecting another fun and exciting movie from Louis but what I get is just ok nothing too jaw dropping. I guess I'll have to give up on Hollywood trying to faithfully adapt the Greek stories since it never happens (e.g.: Troy) and while they did some parts right, there were other parts that were twisted around too much. The movie was extremely fast paced, almost a little fast for me. While I do like my fast movies from time to time I'd prefer that this one slow down just a bit but alas it didn't happen. I also didn't care much for Sam Worthington as he seems to give Perseus the generic all American Marine tough guy look (funny since he's Australian).

However I did enjoy some parts of the movie. That one Argos soldier was an unexpected comic relief and I did like that. Mads Mikkelsen definitely deserves props for his portrayal of Draco. That guy simply kicks ass and I found myself rooting for him more so than Perseus. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes are great actors on their own right and the both of them do fine jobs portraying the brothers Zeus and Hades respectively. Medusa had a great look to her, combining the hideous Gorgon look with her forgotten human beauty. And of course the Kraken was the best special effects part of the movie. Whoever worked on the Kraken needs to be considered for the new Godzilla movie. And of course the Bubo reference was awesome! :)

Overall - 3/5

[mumbo]

Saw it and, well, it met my expectations we'll say.

Yes, the dialogue was covered in a thick layer of cheese. Yes, Perseus was the king of all generic main characters. Yes, Ralph Fiennes looked like he didn't want to be in the movie at all.

But the CGI monsters looked good, the style and overall look and feel was nice, the battles were pretty satisfying, and really, that's what I came to see. I got some enjoyment out of that soldier with the grey beard too. And the pacing was nice and brisk, and the movie was just the right length - unlike so many other of these kinds of movies are with their bloated runtimes - so there was never a point where I felt like I wanted to leave. I was happy at the end.

It was kind of like watching...Spider-Man 3. Some mindless action fluff that's fun to laugh at and make fun of with your friends after watching.

[Old Guy]

Even the director thought that the 3D sucked:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100405/film_nm/us_titans


Q. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE 3D CONVERSION? THERE'S BEEN A
LOT OF TALK THAT IT'S NOT UP TO SNUFF.
A. Well, what did you think? Be honest.

Q. WELL, TO ME, IT WAS LIKE WATCHING A VIEW-MASTER.
A. (laughs) It's funny, that is one of the things I was saying to them. Don't make it so much like a ViewMaster -- so ... so puffied up. Listen, it was not my intention to do it in 3D; it was not my decision to convert it in 3D. Now, people love 3D. People will go see it in 3D, and it will play in 3D; it's like a ride.

If you love 3D and the studio is giving you the opportunity to see it in 3D, go see it in 3D. If you don't like 3D, don't go see it in 3D.

Conversions, they all look like this. "Alice in Wonderland" looks like this. Remember the technology was not ready, so it's Warner Bros saying we are giving you the best of what we can do.

[Gold Guy]

This wasn't an awesome film, but man, it was very entertaining. The fights were exciting and epic, the giant scorpions and the kraken were cool in CGI glory, and Medusa was maybe the best female villain in a 2010 film. The main character was pretty likable, and I am glad that at the end the female who had died came back.

I was pretty happy when I heard that a sequel was coming out. Sadly, this director won't be returning.

[AdamYJ]

Saw it on Blu-Ray. Didn't care for it. Mainly because I just didn't like Perseus. He was grouchy and growling his way through the whole movie. I know he had his reasons, but it was still a chore to listen to him.

[Jedigreedo]

Recently picked up a rental copy and despite not expecting much I was still pretty disappointed. For some reason I don't want to say it's a terrible, horrible or even a bad movie - maybe due to the visuals and that it was still somewhat mindlessly entertaining. The thing that baffles me most about this is that I liked Sam Worthington in Terminator: Salvation and Avatar, but here he was the weakest actor and character. I'm fairly certain it's not just my disappointment with the movie itself having an influence, since I would place Avatar even below this movie. Anyway, I'm guessing the director constantly wanted him to be moody and rebellious which came across as awkwardly forced for the majority of the time.

The story paled pretty badly in comparison to the original, which was slightly confusing but still fairly solid and coherent. This version constantly felt like the script had been "brainstormed" over an alcohol-induced discussion among a group just trying to one-up another on what they would toss into a remake. None of it seemed well thought out, properly integrated into the story, and just made it frustratingly inconsistent. The actual plot within was overshadowed with various unnecessary additions such as the random deus ex machina people with the funky eyes that could control the over-inflated scorpions, the lame pair that HAD to tag along with the group, and the Hades subplot.

Actually, Hades and his shenanigans became so prominent it felt as though Perseus' journey was the sub-plot. Further distracting from anything worthwhile was the nonsense with the street guy in Argos that went from hobo-prophet to Hades zealot without any real point. It seemed like they put it in there to add further drama and tension by forcing Andromeda to be sacrificed, but then she gives herself up with no problem. It was a complete waste of time.

The one thing I was looking forward to in this movie were the updates to the Kraken and Medusa. I thought that while they may not be better written, more notably Medusa, than the original's features, they may be a little more exciting. Instead, however, Medusa's feature felt brief and so poorly conceived that I actually have to say she was more interesting in Percy Jackson. Her appearance was made to be ludicrously bland whereas the original can practically define creepy, and the scene was so overblown to be EPIC and OMG that it forgot to include a sense of actual intense danger. Sure, there were the four guys that got killed, but none of them ultimately mattered since they all simply came across as filler characters. Granted, they attempted to make Solon something of a mentor to Perseus, but every scene constantly ruined by Perseus' demigod eliteness allowing him to be automatically adept at everything or his unnecessary growling. Plus, Medusa's facial effect for turning people into stone was pretty cheesy looking.

The Kraken, though somewhat impressive, was a complete waste. There wasn't any significant reason presented as to why it took so long to attempt to eat Andromeda, and the longer it was featured the more boring it became. Sure, it was bigger, and uglier, and more menacing, but so what? It was just sitting there giving the town the occasional tentacle-slap, but there wasn't anybody in danger (especially not Andromeda) that we cared about, so it was just eye-candy.

The movie's constant sway from Perseus' adventure to Zeus and Hades' plot made it ultimately feel that someone REALLY wanted to do a God vs. Satan vs. Man story, but they knew it would have been far too controversial. The most evident of this is that it was far too strange for a Greek God to be emo about not getting prayed to anymore; they were supposed to have been pretty shallow beings that only cared about themselves. They did not care about the population loving them or praying to them. Zeus was presented as a clear copy & paste stand in for God, while Hades - complete with Hellish demons - was undeniably Satan. This is most likely why the movie has so little substance to it, since there really wasn't actual motivation to make Clash of the Titans better, but rather to shallowly use it for an ulterior motive.

Overall, it was disappointing despite not expecting much, and offered nothing significant or ground-breaking. I actually have a lot more complaints about this movie, but still I know it's something that I could tolerate watching again to pass the time - but pretty for no other reason but that. It has something about it, possibly the scenic visuals, that seem to be able to entertain me on a simple level. Also, I appreciate its existence simply for making the original feel all that much more impressive.