Clash of the Titans

It has been far too long. I apologize. It's a shame really as I have watched and enjoyed so many movies within the past six months, particularly from home. I don't get out to the theater as often as I once did. I now try to hit the theater, maybe...twice a month if I can. So, thinking the other day, I decided that not only will I write about movies I watch in the theater, but movies I watch at home on DVD, Netflix streaming, or cable. I will definitely try to keep up as movies are my thing and I watch a lot....

Clash of the Titans - I watched this in the theater yesterday. It had been a few weeks since I had been to the theater and I wanted a good entertaining movie to enjoy my popcorn with. Clash of the Titans is a remake of the classic 1981 movie starring Harry Hamlin, Lawrence Olivier, and the incomparable Burgess Meredith (Rocky's Mickey). I have not watched the original in close to 20 some odd years. All I remember of the original is Pegasus, the Stygian witches, Medusa, and the Kraken.

This remake contains all the aforementioned. In this remake, mankind wishes to test its strength and starts a war with the gods. Zues releases Hades upon mankind who gives the humans ten days to sacrifice a princess or the Kraken will be released destroying all. As a big fan of the original, I was disappointed with this remake. It seems the filmmakers thought process went something like this: let's take an actor, Sam Worthington, from one of the biggest blockbuster movies of all time - Avatar. Let's get him to share some screen time with some acting heavyweights, let's see, Pete Postlethwaite (The Usual Suspects), Liam Neeson (Star Wars), Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List - starring Liam Neeson as well), and Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale). Let's add them all together in a remake of a classic - we'll pump up the special effects and we'll make a ton of money!!! How can you go wrong? This movie has all the right ingredients....

Well, again, I was disappointed. I was disappointed because this movie felt rushed, there were way too many plotholes, and no character development. Examples:

Perseus (Sam Worthington's character) claims he never had a reason to pick up a sword before. Mikkelsen's character, a seasoned war soldier, decides to test Perseus skills - Perseus not only beats Mikkelsen's character, but expertly and deftly disarms him. Interesting for someone who never picked up a sword before....

When Pegasus is introduced, we are told that no man has ever ridden him before. Later in the movie, Pegasus just shows up and allows Perseus to ride him.

The Stygian witches are reduced to a footnote in this remake.

Who the hell were the characters who were covered in what looked like tree bark???

The more I think about it, the more I can come up with to negatively criticize the movie. Don't get me wrong, the movie does have some great special effects (the Scorpions, the Kraken), the story is very interesting, but when you have the acting muscle this movie has in a remake of a classic, I expect a little better than this. It's disappointing because this movie could have been so much more....

My suggestion, wait for this movie to come out on cable. Better yet, watch the orginal - remember, the original was made in 1981, so you must make allowances for the special effects.