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April 7, 2010

'Clash of the Titans' lacks appeal on all levels

By STEVE OUELLETTE, Movie Review

Greek mythology is making a surprising comeback in America's pop culture, thanks to books and movies like the "Percy Jackson" series.

"Clash of the Titans" aims to cash in on that trend — while simultaneously doing everything it can to end it.

A remake of 1981's cheesy, stop-motion action, pseudo cult classic, the new "Clash of the Titans" is bigger and louder than the original — but every bit as dumb.

The movie has a couple of interesting action scenes — I really liked the one with the scorpions — but overall, it's sluggish, earnest, peppered with some truly terrible dialogue and full of forgettable cardboard characters.

Chief among these is Sam Worthington ("Avatar") as the Greek hero Perseus, son of a human woman and the god Zeus.

Sporting a Marine crew cut just like those worn by, um, the ancient Greeks, Worthington also uses an accent that is "¦ I don't know. Maybe Scottish? He makes for a stubborn and generally leaden action hero.

Perseus leads a plucky band of expendable warriors in a quest to "¦ I'm not really sure. Something about defeating the god of the underworld, showing up his dad, saving a beautiful princess and overcoming the unbeatable Kraken (yes, the same monster from "Pirates of the Caribbean").

Liam Neeson essentially phones it in as Zeus, while an unrecognizable Ralph Fiennes chews up a lot of scenery as Hades. Both will try to have this entry expunged from their IMDB pages.

The movie has nothing in the way of character development, and the action and effects are nowhere near good enough to make up for the film's flaws.

One other note: According to all reports, "Clash of the Titans" is NOT a movie to watch in 3D, if it becomes available that way (it did not open in 3D in Plattsburgh). The film was not made in 3D, but with the popularity of "Avatar," the filmmakers haphazardly added three-dimensional effects with terrible results.

Rental Recommendation: "Remember the Titans" is one of the better football movies ever made. Grade: A-.

Contact Steve Ouellette at: ouellette1918@gmail.com

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