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When I first saw the trailer for “Clash of the Titans,” I was so excited. Being a big Greek mythology buff, I jumped at the prospect of seeing one of my favorite myths on the big screen in 3D.
I had high hopes for this movie, but sadly I couldn’t have been more disappointed with it. It was completely generic and turned out to be nothing special.
The film takes place in ancient Greece and is centered on the character Perseus (Sam Worthington). Raised as a fisherman but really the son of Zeus (Liam Neeson), Perseus joins the mortals in a war against the gods after his family is drowned by Hades (Ralph Fiennes).
Leading a band of soldiers, and accompanied by Io (Gemma Arterton), Perseus ventures forward to save the city of Argos from Hades’ monstrous Kraken.
The film was supposed to be a remake of the 1981 film with the same name, but strayed so far from the original storyline it should not even be classified as a remake, in my opinion.
I have my qualms with the original as far as remaining true to the myth, but at least it was entertaining. This new rendition is very loosely based on it. It omits characters, changes love interests, and introduced characters that were never even involved in the first place.
The story only focused on three gods in the Pantheon: Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. If anyone paid attention in English, you’d know that there were many gods and goddesses on Olympus, and for this movie to showcase just three was disappointing.
There are so many reasons I didn’t like this movie. The most obvious thing wrong with the movie was the screenplay.
If the screenwriters were trying to achieve a feel for authenticity they missed the mark entirely. I highly doubt that Greeks were using modern slang in ancient Greece.
What the movie lacked in dialogue I hoped that it would make up for in awesome 3D action scenes. This was not the case; there were several points where the film might have been able to redeem itself, but this didn’t happen.
This is because the movie was mostly shot in 2D with the barely-noticeable 3D conversion done at the last minute. This left viewers feeling cheated after paying the higher 3D-ticket price.
If you enjoy watching movies that are nothing but flashy scenes and the occasional computer-generated monster, you will be satisfied.
If however, you like movies that have an interesting storyline, strong dialogue, and believable acting, this is not the film for you.
Do yourself a favor and save your money. If you want to put it to good use, just buy a copy of Edith Hamilton’s book Greek Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. Trust me, the book is far more entertaining than this movie.
3 comments
i am a HUGE greek mythology buff too!! email me n we could have great fun!1