As a child I loved mythology of all kinds. I read it all the time and I credit the stories of Perseus, Hercules and all the Gods of Olympus with giving me a passion for comics. Their exploits were amazing and I simply could not get enough.
I would love to say I knew where I was when I saw Clash of the Titans for the first time but I honestly dont remember. What I do know is that this masterpiece is firmly etched in my mind as a personal favorite.
Perseus the hero goes on a quest to save his love and defeat the Kraken (borrowed from Norse mythology) so that he may not munch on the love of his life Andromeda. Throughout his journey he faces peril of all kinds on his trusty steed Pegasus and accompanied by a group of monster fodder soldiers along with Bubo, a totally off the wall mechanical owl who is arguably the most iconic creature of the whole show. Perseus faces the Stygian witches, Medusa, giant scorpions, Kalibos, and a couple of two headed dogs for good measure.
This was the last film done by legendary special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen (quick fact: The restaurant in Monsters Inc. is named Harryhausen's after him) and it is a masterpiece of stop-motion animation. The designs are fantastic (if now a little dated)and you can see the care that went into making it.
The performances are pretty good with Harry Hamlin in the role of Perseus. I get the feeling he was supposed to be kind of an "it" guy at the time, but I havent seen him in much else beyond TV. Burgess Meredith acts as Perseus' corner man (see what I did there?) and the likes of Laurence Olivier, Ursula Andress and Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagal to you younger lot) inhabit the hallowed halls of Olympus.
This flick is nostalgic no question. I love it now because I loved it when I was young. It isnt going to hold to the cynical viewer all keen on CGI and modern filmmaking. It is a fun movie, a movie you can laugh at, cheer with, and enjoy.
On April 2 a remake of Clash of the Titans was unleashed upon the world. I was excited for this movie. The cast seemed amazing, the story was well known. What would the new Kraken look like? How would Perseus save his love Andromeda?
As it turns out the remake is the pissy and brooding younger sibling of the original. Dark and forboding it likely spent its formative stages locking itself in its room listening to emo music to get good a ready to make the world feel its angst.
Perseus is now an adopted fisherman whose family gets killed by Hades and he wants revenge for such a transgression. The quest remains much the same as the first film only this time it is motivated by the need for blood vengeance instead of love. Who needs romance anyway? Romance is for losers! Well what it does is make Perseus a self-righteous jerk who is willing to get a number of people killed to meet his need for blood. Yes, he will save Argos in the process but that isnt really important to him.
Neither is Andromeda. Apparently a girl cant even get a date as a princess anymore, even when she is offering a kingdom! Perseus simply blows her off to go on to further adventures... if the box office warrants it.
This movie is so dark it actually made me laugh. This years Pegasus now comes as a sleek black model! OOOOH! Now I dont have to feel all inspired and happy with the white version. White horses are so, so, heroic... ewwww... *sigh* And poor Bubo is used as a single visual gag and then literally tossed aside. I get it, this is not the old Clash of the Titans! But here is the problem... I LIKE the old Clash. It was fun and romantic and cool. It was also colourful! This movie looks like it was dragged through the ashes of the underworld before being put on the reel.
I did enjoy the fight scenes. They were well staged and exciting. I liked a lot of the cookie cutter characters whom you never really get to know but each have their own charisma. The effects and creature designs were... OK. Its funny how state of the art CGI has somehow made movies less creative with the designs. The Kraken looked like a seafood platter come to life, like a hermit crab and a giant squid had an illicit affair and now junior is trying to find his place in this world. Just like every other major character here. I could swear as a squinted at the screen I could just make out earbuds and hear the distant riffs of Fallout Boy as the Kraken descended upon Argos.
If this were not a remake I dont think I would be as critical. My biggest problem is that it took all the fun out of it! How am I supposed to cheer for Perseus when he is such a self-centred doorknob for most of the film? It was worth seeing once... not sure I'll be picking it up when it comes to Blu-Ray though...
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