Clash Of The Titans: The Remake

Before I stepped into the cinema, I vowed that I would not read any reviews for this particular movie as it was a remake of a 1981 film of the same name. I was afraid that I would be influenced not to watch the movie as critics would normally be harsh towards remakes, comparing them to the originals.

My initial mental picture of the movie was a war between mankind and monsters, judging from the movie poster on billboards and in newspapers, given that I never had the chance to watch the original.

Imagine my delight when I found that the storyline was set in the Greek City of Argos. Having read stories about Greece and Greek Gods, I was fascinated to see them being portrayed on the big screen, especially by big Hollywood names such as Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. They portrayed Perseus, Zeus and Hades respectively.

There were definitely some good moments as well as boring scenes in the movie. Most of the action scenes were great, with all the special effects and sounds that were brought in, to enhance the suspense. But I couldn’t help feeling bored during a few scenes such as when the men were travelling to Medusa’s lair as there was not much dialogue, and even when the characters did interact, there was lack of intensity and emotion among them.

A few scenes that captured my attention were Hades’ appearance among humans to pass them a message from Zeus, saying that if Princess Andromeda was not sacrificed, the creature, Kraken would be unleashed, causing havoc in the city.

In the real world, we would absolutely not experience seeing Gods in a crowd among us, what more the God of the Underworld. And princesses should not be sacrificed, they should be pampered. The mention of the name Kraken also made me fidget in my seat waiting for the creature to appear at any moment, not knowing what to expect.

But there were also other things going through my mind while I was watching the movie. Although all the other Greek men were sporting long hair and lots of facial hair, our main hero, Perseus, remain bald headed and clean shaven throughout the entire ordeal of travelling and fighting!

Perseus, the hero, had to fight with all sorts of monsters, creatures as well as Gods, such as the Stygian Witches, Medusa, the Kraken and Hades, Zeus’ brother and nemesis.

I have to admit that Worthington carried out the character of Perseus well, even looking convincing on his winged-horse friend, Pegasus, a flying horse which is famous in Greek mythology. His veteran co-stars Neeson and Fiennes paled in comparison, not giving much depth to their respective characters, which was probably due to the poor script.

Although this movie did not make me jump out of my seat, it provided a great insight towards the minds of Gods and how they work although only through myths. And if you are a fan of Greek mythology, do not miss the chance to watch this movie.