plus 3, Movie Review: Clash of the Titans (2010) - Rope of Silicon

Movie Review: Clash of the Titans (2010) - Rope of Silicon
'Clash' of the '80s movie encores - LoHud.com
Movie review: `Clash of the Titans' updates `80s camp ... - Washington Examiner
Movie review: Jet Li adds dramatic footwork to action ... - Republic

Movie Review: Clash of the Titans (2010) - Rope of Silicon

Posted: 01 Apr 2010 12:14 AM PDT

As someone that once loved the original 1981 Ray Harryhausen-produced Clash of the Titans, I now look back fondly at that picture, but recognize it as a silly (nearly) 30-year-old epic romance. I can only look back with nostalgia and fond memories. I imagine Louis Leterrier's Clash of the Titans remake will make a similar impression on the youth of today, though this is a much more rock 'em-sock 'em telling of the original story, but still just as silly. Boasting updated effects, gooier scorpion deaths and an even larger monster from the deep, this remake places action first, story second and characters last. Yet the story itself is fun enough that I was able to have a good time.

In comparing this one to the first film, the biggest difference is the motivation of the lead character Perseus (Sam Worthington), a demigod born of Zeus. In the original, the journey he follows comes as a result of his love for Andromeda as the Gods have called for her sacrifice in order to save the city of Jobba. The remake follows a similar journey, but Perseus is spurred on following the death of his adoptive family at the hands of the Gods. Here his goal is to save the city of Argos and do so as a man, ignoring his godly bloodlines, proving men don't need the Gods to be great.

"Clash of the Titans" is a Warner Bros. release, directed by Louis Leterrier and is rated PG-13 for fantasy action violence, some frightening images and brief sensuality. The running time is 1 hour 50 minutes

The cast includes Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton, Mads Mikkelsen, Alexa Davalos, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Danny Huston, Luke Evans and Nicholas Hoult.

For more information on this film including pictures, trailers and a detailed synopsis choose from the following menu.

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Like the original film, Perseus and his fellow journeymen do battle with giant scorpions, receive guidance from the blind witches, travel to the Underworld and face off with the evil Medussa. It's the same story with a bit of a twist and as such I enjoyed it just as I did the original. It's a CGI-filled epic, loaded with monsters and a ridiculous romantic bend, and the story holds this foolishness together long enough for the film to be enjoyable as the diversion it's meant to be.

Scripted by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi (the duo behind the abysmal Aeon Flux) along with Travis Beacham the film runs on thin threads woven by the original scripter Beverley Cross. While the story is not exactly the same, the diversions are mere formalities and Leterrier's ability to film action as he did in Transporter 2 and The Incredible Hulk remains.

Leading that action is Sam Worthington, with a domestic film career that hasn't done much to show us his ability to act in a dramatic role, but with Terminator Salvation, Avatar and now Clash of the Titans under his belt I would say his ability to act against a green screen has been proven. Whether he can turn this current career of corny speeches, a couple of grumbles and a wave of the sword into anything will be tested soon enough in John Madden's The Debt and Last Night opposite Keira Knightley. He doesn't appear to be of the no-brains-and-all-brawn action star niche so his likelihood of being typecast doesn't seem immediately possible, but there's no real way to gauge his talent when all we've really seen of him is a talent for chopping up CG creatures and robots to this point.

Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace) plays the soft spoken Io, something of a guide to the group as she has been watching over Perseus all his life. Also among Perseus's traveling band, Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) plays the gruff Argos military leader Draco with the unique charisma we've come to expect from Mikkelsen and Nicholas Hoult (About a Boy and A Single Man) plays the young warrior Eusebios, which reminded me a lot of the timid yet confident performance of Garrett Hedlund in Troy as Achilles's cousin Patroclus.

On Mount Olympus two names stand out, Liam Neeson is commanding as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes plays his scorned brother Hades, channeling his performance as the whispering menace Voldemort in the Harry Potter franchise, only this time with a lot more hair — and it works.

The marketing team at Warner Bros. has pretty much ruined any surprise the CG monsters have to offer, short of actually giving a full reveal of Medusa's face (at least to my knowledge). They've even gone so far as to completely reveal the monstrous Kraken, the titan that serves as the film's massive finale. It's a blunder if there ever was one, hurting the chances to offer the audience any form of awe-inspired surprises. Next is the post-production 2D-to-3D conversion, a weak money grab that is evident in every scene. Some scenes, for that matter, can be watched without the glasses entirely with slight edge blurring where a faint hint of depth would otherwise be seen amidst the brightened image to offset the dimming of the polarized 3D glasses.

I would never recommend anyone see this film in the converted 3D as it is only a reason for greedy theater owners and the studio to take a larger bite out of your wallet and offer little to nothing in return. However, I would say anyone looking for a goofy good time at the theater with a big effects driven monster movie this one satisfies on that front. This is the rock 'n' roll battle of men and Gods, and up until the ridiculous final romantic drum beat, it serves as such.

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'Clash' of the '80s movie encores - LoHud.com

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 11:24 PM PDT

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In addition to "The Karate Kid," Belgrad, 44, and Columbia co-president Matt Tolmach, 45, are developing sequels and reboots to such 1980s properties as "Ghostbusters," "21 Jump Street" and "The Smurfs."

20th Century Fox will release a feature film based on the '80s action-adventure TV series "The A-Team" this summer.

"Grown-ups are always looking for movies they could share with their kids," Belgrad adds.

With "The Karate Kid," he notes, Will Smith took that idea a step further, suggesting remaking one of his favorite childhood movies with his 11-year-old son, Jaden, starring.

The new "Karate Kid," due in June, shifts the action to Beijing, attempting to add a dash of culture clash to the familiar story.

Other remakes and sequels, like "Clash of the Titans" and "Tron: Legacy," bring modern technology to movies that time has dated.

"('Tron' director) Steve Lisberger told me that we've made the movie that people think they remember seeing when they were 8 years old," says "Tron: Legacy" director Joseph Kosinski. "The original pushed the envelope in a way that we can't do. But we can take things that have been simmering in people's minds for 25 years and bring them to life."

Kosinski shot "Tron: Legacy" entirely in 3-D. Warner Bros. converted "Clash of the Titans" to 3-D after the fact, hoping to cash in on the "Avatar"-fueled mania for the format.

Others are taking a stab at modern relevance with their films.

Michael Douglas' Gordon Gekko has been refashioned as an antihero, warning business leaders of impending doom in "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps."

The "Red Dawn" remake has the Chinese, not the Soviets, invading America.

"Hot Tub Time Machine" star and '80s icon John Cusack would be just as happy to consign the whole decade to the attic.

"I remember it being a kind of forced Prozac happy time without the Prozac," Cusack says. "We were sort of like optimism by martial law. There were jumbotrons of Ronald Reagan everywhere. There were Dr. Pepper people dancing. There was this militant patriotism, nationalism, faux spirituality to it. I look back on it as an intense, dark decade."

Maybe next time, he could set the hot tub to the '60s.

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Movie review: `Clash of the Titans' updates `80s camp ... - Washington Examiner

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 01:51 PM PDT

Who wants to be a god, anyway?

That's the principle twist inserted into the new "Clash of the Titans," a remake of the sometimes fondly recalled, technologically dated 1981 film about the fury of the gods of Mount Olympus and the rise of the young, earthly demigod Perseus.

This time, Perseus (Sam Worthington) bears a distaste for his godlike nature: He just wants to be a regular dude and do normal guy stuff — like ride his winged horse Pegasus on the beach.

It's perhaps a fitting updating of the film for an era marked by distrust for political leaders and Internet-empowered masses. Now, even the gods are spurned in their own movie: Deity is so out.

On Mount Olympus, that golden round table in the clouds, Zeus (Liam Neeson, in the part played by Laurence Olivier in the original) is angry at an ungrateful mankind and lets loose his brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes) to destroy the city of Argos.

As a new citizen of Argos, Perseus (the son of Zeus) doesn't much like this. He embarks on the familiar journey (particularly familiar for those who saw the recent, bouncier teen version "Percy Jackson & the Olympians") in defeating a number of mythical creatures, including a serpentine Medusa and the sea monster Kraken — which, rest assured, is eventually released.

Directed by Louis Leterrier (2008's "The Incredible Hulk"), "The Clash of the Titans" will likely lure moviegoers chiefly by its digital effects (which are largely quite good but forgettable) and its promise of 3-D spectacle (which disappoints altogether).

Like several blockbusters being released now in the post-"Avatar" environment, "Clash of the Titans" was made in 2-D but converted to 3-D in post-production. Audiences will hardly notice any increased depth. Though this is preferable to the distraction of most 3-D, it's surely not worth the hike in ticket price.

Worthington, the Australian actor who stared in "Avatar," knows a little something about 3-D. Here, he trades aqua blue-colored skin for an equally artificial bronze spray tan in the mold of "300" torsos.

Worthington was largely eclipsed by the surrounding effects of "Avatar"; it's an interesting irony that few would be able to name the star of the biggest box-office grosser of all-time. In "Titans," his presence is more explicit but also less substantial.

With a crew cut atop his almost perfectly spherical head, Worthington grits his way through the film and does plenty of dramatic leaping while brandishing a sword. But he doesn't supply the charisma that the movie needs and the whole thing feels like a joyless slog.

Fiennes's appearances provide a jolt. Arriving always with his head curiously fixed within a cloud of swirling black smog, he knows how to make an entrance. His part is surely the best in the movie and he's clearly having fun. He hisses in a horse whisper: "What could be more beautiful than death?"

But that's not nearly enough to engender the kind of fondness people feel for the original "Clash of the Titans," campy though it is.

"Clash of the Titans," a Warner Bros. Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for fantasy action violence, some frightening images and brief sensuality. Running time: 106 minutes. Two stars out of four.

___

Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:

G — General audiences. All ages admitted.

PG — Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 — Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

R — Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 — No one under 17 admitted.

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Movie review: Jet Li adds dramatic footwork to action ... - Republic

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 01:59 PM PDT

Jet Li still is fearless, still a hero, but he's showing new and richer acting moves in "The Warlords," his latest Chinese historical epic that teams him to good effect with fellow Asian superstars Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro.

In "Fearless" and especially "Hero," Li already had proven he's more than just an action master, and "The Warlords" gives him the chance to play both sides of the fence — not only the unadulterated idol, but also the hero after he's been corrupted by ambition, envy and more than a trace of megalomania.

The U.S. release of "The Warlords" is choppy from some inelegant editing to trim the film from its two-hour-plus running time for Asian markets, and director Peter Chan handles epic battles and mass slaughter far more artfully than quiet human drama.

Between its often spectacular action sequences, "The Warlords" lapses into some prolonged and hokey rants about brotherhood, duty, expediency and honor. While Li, Lau and Kaneshiro bring warmth, humor and pathos to their roles as blood brothers bound for tragedy, they're better to watch in action or when quietly brooding than when pontificating on what they owe to one another and the warriors they lead.

Set in the mid-19th century, "The Warlords" casts Li as General Pang, who somewhat ignobly survives a massacre of his entire army by Taiping Rebellion forces. Falling in with a village of bandits, Pang forges a deep friendship with the gang's leaders, Er Hu (Lau) and Wu Yang (Kaneshiro).

Their bond deepens in encounters with armed oppressors, the three men swearing a fraternal oath that runs deeper than blood. (They pledge their loyalty with an act of barbarity that acclimates viewers to startling brutality to come; "The Warlords" adheres without compromise to a crusader code that's not for the squeamish.)

Pang inspires Er Hu and Wu Yang to join the Qing Dynasty forces battling Taiping soldiers. Years of savage combat, terrible privation and underdog glory follow, the three heroes' bond strengthened by the enemy blood they shed but also strained by the clash of Pang's mercilessness and Er Hu's compassion, with Wu Yang torn between.

Then, of course, there's a woman. Pang falls for Er Hu's mate Lian (Xu Jinglei), the love triangle adding friction and provoking an act of domestic violence more disturbing than any of the skewering, butchering and maiming in the battle scenes.

Chan orchestrates the action on a colossal scale, and it's real in-the-trenches stuff — nasty, ruthless, cruel — a bloodthirsty counterpoint to the ballet of warfare in Li's "Hero" or Kaneshiro and Lau's "House of Flying Daggers," both from director Zhang Yimou.

As the trials and differences of our three main men swell to overly operatic proportions, the toll of war on the masses escalates, as well.

Chan opens the film with an impressive "Gone With the Wind" shot of a battlefield stacked with corpses. He tops himself late in the film with an even ghastlier aftermath of extermination, a scene to sap the fighting spirit of the fiercest soldier.

Though reveling in battle from a cinematic perspective, "The Warlords" really is an anti-war film.

"The Warlords," a Magnolia Pictures release, is rated R for sequences of strong violence. Running time: 110 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

___

Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:

G — General audiences. All ages admitted.

PG — Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 — Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

R — Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 — No one under 17 admitted.