Review: ‘Clash of the Titans’

clash-titans-poster Movie:Clash of the Titans’ in 3D
In Theaters: April 2, 2010
Director: Louis Leterrier
Length: 118 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for fantasy action violence, some frightening images and brief sensuality.
Gecko Rating: 2 Gecko

Film Gecko welcomes guest reviewer David G. Kindervater, who offers up his thoughts on ‘Clash of the Titans.’ I saw the movie on Friday and completely agree with his assessment, right down to adjusting my glasses because the 3D format seemed “off.” David writes…

I wanted to love “Clash of the Titans.” And I really tried during the nearly two hours I was held captive during a pre-release screening of this 1981 cult classic remake. The impressive previews sucked me in, I must admit. But it fell short of expectations. I don’t know whether it was the constant barrage of goofy dialogue or cheesy mythological storytelling, but there were times I just simply lost interest. Even the signature command “Release the Kraken!” merely cracked (kraked) me up.

Even more disappointing to me — and distracting, and thus overshadowing some decent battle sequences — was having to watch this thing in 3D. All fired up after seeing ‘A Christmas Carol,’ ‘Avatar,’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ three gems in 3D (especially ‘Avatar’), I found myself adjusting my glasses, rubbing my eyes and wondering if it was my fault. It wasn’t. ‘Clash’ creators decided to jump on the 3D bandwagon and fell miserably short in comparison by giving this thing a late “treatment” that just gave me a headache. Or a chuckle (again). There were times Zeus (Liam Neeson) looked like a cardboard cut out in his glowing tin suit.

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In case you have no idea what’s going on here, ‘Clash of the Titans’ pits men against kings and kings against gods. But the war between the gods themselves could destroy the entire world. Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing left to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus and unleash hell on earth.

Perseus sets off on a perilous journey deep into forbidden worlds, leading a daring band of warriors, including Draco (Mads Mikkelsen), an experienced soldier who encourages the defiant Perseus to make use of his god-given abilities. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, they will only survive if Perseus can accept his power as a god, defy his fate and create his own destiny.

‘Clash’ is by no means a complete disaster. So if you must see it, save yourself the annoyance — and a few extra bucks — by seeing it in 2D.

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Images: Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.

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