Clash of the Titans 2010 Version Reviewed
 Alex Gomez - PVNN
April 14, 2010
| | Clash of the Titans Directed by Louis Leterrier, Warner Brothers Studio | |
If you know anything about Greek mythology, you know that the Gods created humanity in their own image: arrogant, petty, selfish and self-interested, narrow-minded, angry, murderous, prone to making war against each other and vain.
All of these traits are embodied, both by gods and men, in the 2010 film Clash of the Titans. The only thing I can remember about the 1983 version were the unconvincing special effects, and Harry Hamlin's big eighties hair. Sam Worthington plays Perseus, in the 2010 version, with a military haircut. As far as I know, the military cut didn't exist in ancient Greece, but since the film is intended as a fantasy, I'll let that slide. Perhaps Sam just didn't have time to grow it after filming Avatar.
One thing I won't let slide: when Perseus and his adoptive family are sailing toward the statue of Zeus near the beginning of the film, he asks his father, Spyros (Pete Postlehwaite), whether he should turn on the boat's motor (!) But that is a minor slip-up in a movie that was otherwise enormously entertaining, so I'll let that slide too.
Hades (Ralph Fiennes), the god of the underworld, is upset by the fact that soldiers from Argos destroy the great statue of Zeus and their king Kepheus (Vincent Regan) and their queen Cassiopeia (Polly Walker) compare themselves and their daughter, Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) to gods.
He has risen from the ocean by this point, causing the vessel of Perseus's family to sink and drown, and Perseus himself to survive alone on a piece of driftwood, only to be gathered up by the offending soldiers and be taken back with them to Argos.
Hades threatens the king and queen with the destruction of their reign by invoking the Kraken (on the orders of Zeus), the monstrous creature that destroyed his parents, the Titans. Here I had to pause and think, isn't Poseidon the god of the sea? Wouldn't he be the one to summon the sea-monster, named in the original movie as the Kraken (which, by the way, isn't from Greek mythology but from its Norse counterpart)? I'll let these things slide as well.
I enjoyed this film for its action, scenery, fearsome monsters (including giant scorpions, Medusa, Quaron, who paddles the ferry to the underworld, the furies, the Djinn, who are actually from Arab mythology and are otherwise known as Genies, but in this film are desert spirits who come to the aid of Perseus, and Pegasus, the ultimate flying horse, who, rather than white, is painted black in this movie.) I also liked the inclusion of Io (Gemma Arterton), a woman whose resistance to the come-on of a god left her ageless, and watching over Perseus his entire life Not only is she beautiful, but also brave in that she accompanies Perseus and his cohorts all the way to the underworld and back.
My favourite thing about the movie is the honour that Perseus lives by. When his father Zeus (Liam Neeson) tries to convince him to enter Olympus and take his rightful place amongst the gods, he replies that he would rather die in the mud with his men, and that men do battle against each other for human reasons, and are willing to sacrifice themselves for each other and not for the gods.
Hopefully kids will learn something about honour from Clash of the Titans (2010), something they are evidently not taught in school.
 Alex Gomez is an award-winning writer. he's written numerous short stories, hundreds of non-fiction articles and two serious novels. Writing makes him happy and nothing can kill him now.
Click HERE to read more articles by Alex Gomez. |
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