I'll bet the reason Liam Neeson took this role, as Zeus in a glittering silver suit of armor, was so he could whirl face the camera, and order, "Release the Kraken!".
Try this line on those loved one around you and see it's effect. Chores get done, co-workers leave you alone and go back to work, etc.
Back to Clash of the Titans for a moment, other than uttering said line, Liam has little to, besides cashing his paycheck. I remember the 1980 version of Clash as being absurdly campy and good, clean fun with then state of the art stop-motion.
I enjoyed this new version, although the script by Travis Beacham and Phil Hay could have written by any hack over a long weekend. Sam Worthington plays Perseus, a demi-god fathered by Zeus. Perseus was adopted by a good man and woman, who cruise the Mediterranean and fish. But all is not well on ancient earth. Men have grown tired of the cruelty of the Greek gods and want to rebel, pissing off Zeus and eventually Hades(Ralph Fiennes). Perseus's foster parents are killed in one uprising.
He winds up in the city at the center of the rebellion, Argos, a town the gods will soon "Release the Kraken" on unless they sacrifice the city's princess. Only Perseus can stop this, by going into hell and bringing back the Medusa's head to kill the Kraken. End plot.
There's very little depth in any of the characters here, but, as he did in the mediocre Terminator 3, Worthington does a credible job. I want to hate the guy, he must have zero-talent Shia Labouf's agent. Worthington has been in Terminator 3, Avatar and this all within a few months of each other. Yet, he, unlike Shia, brings strength and charisma to these roles. But I still don't know, until he gets an actual acting role, if he can do more than effectively occupy screen space.
Then again Clash of the Titans is all about action and CGI and 3d, not acting or plot. So how is it here? It's a mixed bag. The CGI is good but not great- Giant Scorpions, the Kraken, are all well done but I wouldn't call them memorable. I saw it in 3d, and, for me, the 3d wasn't all that great. The action close to the front of the screen was fine, but the backdrops all looked fake to me, as if the 3d was all done in front of a flat backdrop. It was really quite jarring.
I've seen most of the new revolutionary 3d films and I'm rapidly losing my enthusiasm. I wonder if films really should remain a 2d medium. I suspect set designers and directors are getting lazy and relying too heavily on 3d cgi to fix bad shot design. Not to mention they're forgetting plot and character.
Clash of the Titans- an entertaining diversion. That's it. But at least it releases the Kraken.
Rating:
Plot: 19
Presentation: 26
Character: 23
