No, not the old one, the new one. Made it's way to post and our tiny theater, so of course I had to watch it. Had to see how Hollywood was reinterpreting a campy classic in the days of modern special effects. So, here for your reading amusement: Clash of the Titans. Discuss, discuss.
So, if you've never seen the original (which means you've never had a mythology unit ever, because CotT and/or Jason and the Argonauts are shown by every teacher I've ever had teaching mythology), the story follows Perseus, one of many sons of Zeus roaming the world in ancient Greece. Perseus is drawn into events in Argos, a city defying the gods and proclaiming themselves as superior. What follows are Perseus' adventures fighting a series of fantastic beasts, saving the day, all that sort of stuff.
The animation was VERY well done. It didn't cut around all jerkily (which was also very nice in the fight sequences). You had good suspense shots leading up to the appearance of any particular monster, then clear shots of the creature themselves. Was very pleased with how things were animated. Not over done or over-emphasized. You could look at the interaction between hero and creature and feel like it wasn't totally out of place. I particularly liked Medusa. Nicely done.
Character development? Ha ha, yeah right. Let's face it - it's mythology. Even more so, it's Hollywood's version of mythology. There isn't any character development. Heroes aren't supposed to go on soul searching quests; they go on monster-killing quests. Zeus will always be a womanizing, flawed ruler; Hades will always be bitter. There are deeper discussions in the original myths, but don't look for it in a 2 hr Hollywood production. It's a Saturday afternoon popcorn flick - just sit back and enjoy the adventure.
Dialogue? Writing? Not great. Andromeda is really a forgettable character, which is sad, considering in the mythology and in the 1981 movie, Perseus's love for her is supposed to be driving him on this quest, to save her from the sacrifice. They kinda skipped over that part in this version and went for a thin revenge plot instead. Still, Io was well written as a character, so that was a welcome relief. Also, the movie's transitions weren't great. Yes, the whole purpose of the movie is Perseus fighting one monster after another before finally fighting the Kraken and saving Argos. Still, the transitions between the monster sequences could have been smoother. You found yourself looking for when he'd encounter the next critter. "C'mon enough with the talking, just get to the monsters"
The acting was good, though. A very nice cast, even in smaller roles. C'mon, Pete Postlethwaite was there, and he was killed off in the first few minutes of the movie! Too bad they weren't given better lines to work with.
Did have a few outright gripes. For starters, the other 10 Olympians are really almost ignored totally. Seemed a waste to me. As always, mythology is played fast-and-loose with by Hollywood. Djinn's are from Arabic mythology, for example, and the Kraken is a Norse beastie (of course, that gripe also includes the 1981 movie too). And Io is one of Jupiter's many conquests and has nothing whatsoever to do with Perseus (though I did like that they included a good female lead, since they wrote out Athena's involvement in the whole story). In the original myths, Perseus is a bit darker, too - there is a lot of discussion of fate, etc. since he was destined to kill Acrisius (his grandfather in the myths, not his mother's husband like in the movie). All of that is skipped over here in place of the god vs man debate. Anyway, if I was to list all the mythological inconsistencies here, I'd have a doctoral thesis, so I will sum it up by saying: if you want the actual mythology, read the stories; if you want an enjoyable CGI-heavy adventure flick, here you go.
Several purely random comments:
So, if you've never seen the original (which means you've never had a mythology unit ever, because CotT and/or Jason and the Argonauts are shown by every teacher I've ever had teaching mythology), the story follows Perseus, one of many sons of Zeus roaming the world in ancient Greece. Perseus is drawn into events in Argos, a city defying the gods and proclaiming themselves as superior. What follows are Perseus' adventures fighting a series of fantastic beasts, saving the day, all that sort of stuff.
The animation was VERY well done. It didn't cut around all jerkily (which was also very nice in the fight sequences). You had good suspense shots leading up to the appearance of any particular monster, then clear shots of the creature themselves. Was very pleased with how things were animated. Not over done or over-emphasized. You could look at the interaction between hero and creature and feel like it wasn't totally out of place. I particularly liked Medusa. Nicely done.
Character development? Ha ha, yeah right. Let's face it - it's mythology. Even more so, it's Hollywood's version of mythology. There isn't any character development. Heroes aren't supposed to go on soul searching quests; they go on monster-killing quests. Zeus will always be a womanizing, flawed ruler; Hades will always be bitter. There are deeper discussions in the original myths, but don't look for it in a 2 hr Hollywood production. It's a Saturday afternoon popcorn flick - just sit back and enjoy the adventure.
Dialogue? Writing? Not great. Andromeda is really a forgettable character, which is sad, considering in the mythology and in the 1981 movie, Perseus's love for her is supposed to be driving him on this quest, to save her from the sacrifice. They kinda skipped over that part in this version and went for a thin revenge plot instead. Still, Io was well written as a character, so that was a welcome relief. Also, the movie's transitions weren't great. Yes, the whole purpose of the movie is Perseus fighting one monster after another before finally fighting the Kraken and saving Argos. Still, the transitions between the monster sequences could have been smoother. You found yourself looking for when he'd encounter the next critter. "C'mon enough with the talking, just get to the monsters"
The acting was good, though. A very nice cast, even in smaller roles. C'mon, Pete Postlethwaite was there, and he was killed off in the first few minutes of the movie! Too bad they weren't given better lines to work with.
Did have a few outright gripes. For starters, the other 10 Olympians are really almost ignored totally. Seemed a waste to me. As always, mythology is played fast-and-loose with by Hollywood. Djinn's are from Arabic mythology, for example, and the Kraken is a Norse beastie (of course, that gripe also includes the 1981 movie too). And Io is one of Jupiter's many conquests and has nothing whatsoever to do with Perseus (though I did like that they included a good female lead, since they wrote out Athena's involvement in the whole story). In the original myths, Perseus is a bit darker, too - there is a lot of discussion of fate, etc. since he was destined to kill Acrisius (his grandfather in the myths, not his mother's husband like in the movie). All of that is skipped over here in place of the god vs man debate. Anyway, if I was to list all the mythological inconsistencies here, I'd have a doctoral thesis, so I will sum it up by saying: if you want the actual mythology, read the stories; if you want an enjoyable CGI-heavy adventure flick, here you go.
Several purely random comments:
- The two hunters reminded me of the two pixies from Willow. Don't know why - a combination of coloring, costuming, slightly comic relief... Or maybe it's just me. There's a lot of things that are, I'm coming to realize.
- Also possibly just me, this had the BEST reference to the original in a remade movie that I've seen in ages! Without giving it away, it concerns Bubo, the iconic owl from the first version. I laughed out loud in the theater. I think I was the only one who did, but I found it hysterical!
- The young soldier in their party is the kid from About a Boy (and Keen Eddie, if you watched that as well). Eight years later and having hit puberty, I didn't recognize him, just that nagging "you look familiar." Hate that feeling! I should know!
- Another one I didn't recognize was Polly Walker as Cassiopeia. Another one that I haven't seen in a role in several years, but what I have seen her in, I watch ALL the time (Patriot Games and a Poirot episode). Can't believe I missed that one.
- One I DID catch though was a brief appearance on Olympus by Alexander Siddig, better known as Dr Bashir on DS9. Don't blink - you'll miss it.
- Pegasus should be white. Always.
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