Liam Neeson dons his ZZ Top beard again and Sam Worthington, compared to his last outing in Titans, sports some new locks. The sequel to the financially successful Clash of the Titans is now landing on big screens around the world and is it any good?
Perseus (Worthington) goes on an excursion to find his father Zeus (Neeson) who’s been imprisoned by Ares, Perseus’s brother and Hades, Zeus brother. But as most things go with these family disagreements, things get quickly blown out of proportion and Perseus finds himself having a few arguments with a family of Cyclops, a Minotaur, a Chimera and a bunch of other mythological bad asses. And he has to dispose of all these problems quite quickly before old man Kronos gets enough power from the imprisoned Zeus, and yes, you’ve guessed it…destroy the world. And yes…that destruction will come in 3D.
Speaking of the 3D, the original 2010 Clash of the Titans has been the shining example of how not to do 3D conversions. Most people learn by their mistakes, so you’d expect Wrath to be shot in 3D. Well…nope. It’s another conversion job. Before you start rioting and scratching out each others eyes (a bit extreme I know) the conversion job this time, is better. Not hugely better or anything, but just enough to be passable. Is it worth the extra cash at the box office? Definitely not.
Sam Worthington is donning the worst haircut since Tom Hanks in the Da Vinci code, but thankfully his performance is watchable and the Avatar star does have a solid presence, particularly when he’s swinging swords and tridents around the place. Neeson isn’t exactly bad, but his ZZ Top beard is laughable and at times he’s a little bit cringe worthy. In contrast his on screen brother, played by Ralph Fiennes is quite the character with a dark and foreboding presence. That said, at times it sounds and looks like he’s doing a General Zod impression. Speaking of impressions, Bill Nighy attempts a split personality kinda thing, reminiscent of Gollum. Alas, it doesn’t exactly work and he proves more annoying than anything else.
Now, it’s not all bad. The set pieces, while short lived are rather fantastic and the the visual effects themselves are entirely convincing and at times have an almost Harryhausen quality about them, in a digital form. The Chimera and Cyclops are particularly well done and do a good job of transporting you into the world of the Gods.Unfortunately spectacular effects and set pieces cannot save what is ultimately a clunky and scattered experience.
Overall, Wrath of the Titans is just about watchable and while it may well do as a Saturday night popcorn movie, the Gods haven’t looked to kindly on this one!
