LINK: Read Steve Salle's review of 'Clash of the Titans'
Krakens and Medusas and giant scorpions, oh my!
All are things that Perseus, the demi-god who resides on Earth at the time, fights as the Greek gods' wrath begins to unfold upon mankind because of its boastful and blasphemous ways.
In "Clash of the Titans," Zeus (Liam Neeson), the creator of mankind, is becoming increasingly frustrated by his creations' vanity and insolence against him and the other gods, yet doesn't want to punish people for it because he loves mankind. Hades (Ralph Fiennes), however, Zeus' brother from the Underworld, doesn't hesitate in killing a few humans here and there in Zeus' name.
Enter Perseus (Sam Worthington), the son of Zeus. Grief-stricken by his recent loss and hating the gods for it, he is dragged into the city of Argos by soldiers and into a feast for the returning soldiers, thrown by King Kepheus (Vincent Regan) and Queen Cassiopeia (Polly Walker). The city's queen and king announce the toppling of Zeus' statue by the seaside a victory for mankind and compare themselves -- and their daughter, Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) -- to the beauty and majesty of the gods.
Hades arrives and, in a fury, destroys the remaining soldiers and kills Queen Cassopeia for her blasphemy. Afterward, he tells the people that in 10 days, for Argos' vanity, the Kraken, an enormous, emotionless sea monster that Hades sired, will be released upon the people -- unless, of course, the Princess Andromeda is sacrificed. Hades then turns to Perseus and declares, before vanishing, that Perseus is a demi-god.
And that is when the adventure starts.
Really, I'm a sucker for anything relating to Greek or Roman mythology, and "Clash of the Titans" is a great Greek mythology-inspired movie. The graphics were astounding, especially in 3-D -- everything looked amazing, most notably, the Kraken. The reason many moviegoers will see this film is just for the Kraken shown on the trailers, and I will tell you one thing, it doesn't disappoint. The Kraken was truly awe-inspiring in its size and perplexity; the design and take was something that I hadn't seen done before.
Medusa (Natalia Vadionova) had to be my absolute favorite though. Her insane laughs and giggles while she stalked out the guys in her lair was realistic, and her design, likewise, was incredibly detailed and believable. And trust me, it's frightening when the guys glance at her and she turns on them. If you go see it, you'll understand what I mean.
There were a few gripes I have with the movie. For one, there was Medusa's story line, which turned her from an amorous priestess of Athena's temple to someone you could possibly feel sympathy for. For another, there was the whole thing with Io (Gemma Arterton), Perseus' female companion. If you know anything about Greek mythology, you'd know that in the mythology, Perseus later marries Andromeda, the princess of Argos. The fact that somehow Io is thrown in there and cast in a romantic-interest light kind of messes things up.
Maybe they'll plan to fix that in "Clash of the Titans II."
Charlie Anderson is a junior at Christian Heritage High School who enjoys the rain, funny movies and the French language. E-mail her at charliesaurus@gmail.com.
Comments