Wrath of the Titans

Reviews from the Dark Side presents
Wrath of the Titans

Released March 30, 2012. Now on DVD

Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, and Sam Worthington reprise their roles as Zeus, Hades, and Perseus respectively in Wrath of the Titans. Wrath is the sequel to the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans. Like that film, this one can also be viewed in 3D. Clash had mixed critical acclaim. Wrath has had less than that so I approached the movie with some reluctance since I wasn't a huge fan of the Clash remake (still better than the cheesy original though).

The story starts a decade after Clash ends. Perseus is making a living as a fisherman. He has a son, Helius, and his wife, Io, has died. His father, Zeus, comes to him yet again requesting his son's aid in a new war that is soon to erupt. Due to the lack of faith humans have in the Gods, their power is fading. In fact, it's fading so much that the Titans are threatening to escape their underworld prison in Tartarus to exact vengeance on man and God alike. Perseus decides to sit this battle out preferring to stay with his son. Zeus travels to the underworld with his brother, Poseidon, to meet their other brother, Hades, and Zeus's son, Ares (God of War) to form a battle strategy. Hades and Ares betray Zeus and Poseidon when the God of the Underworld orders his minions to attack. Poseidon escapes gravely injured while Zeus is captured. Hades has no love for his brother due to his banishment to the underworld to stand guard over the Titans. Ares is jealous that Zeus has given more affection to his half mortal son, Perseus, than he has given to him, his Godly son. Hades and Ares have made a bargain with Kronos, leader of the Titans (and Zeus', Hades', and Poseidon's father). In exchange for providing Zeus so Kronos can drain his power, Hades and Ares will be granted immortality. Perseus is drawn back into the fight when a chimera is released from the Underworld to wreak havoc on his village. With Perseus engaged, it is a race against time for he and his allies (The winged horse, Pegasus, Queen Andromeda, Agenor (demigod son of Poseidon), and the fallen god, Hephaestus) to gain entrance to Tartarus, free Zeus before his power is fully drained, and assemble the triam (Zeus' Thunderbolt, Poseidon's Trident, and Hades' pitchfork) to defeat Kronos.

Let me be among the minority of critics that liked this movie. It was much better than the Clash remake in my opinion. Seeing this movie in 3D is worth the price as great care was given to the 3D effects. This is 3D that you feel you can actually reach out and touch. Kronos emerging as a gargantuan smoke monster is tremendous CGI. Yes, the dialog at times makes you think, "oh, please!" I'm no historian, but I don't know if the ancient Greeks said "You've gotta me kiddin' me!" The Gods in this movie also look and feel like Gods unlike the ones we saw in "Immortals" a couple of months ago. At least I can say the "Wrath" Gods remained fully clothed instead of appearing like an advertisement for This Week In Bondage as they did in "Immortals." Is this a great movie? No. But, it is an entertaining one. This is a special effects bonanza. The story is decent enough but my high rating is due more to film's incredible look.

The Dark Lord of the Sith says:

***1/4 stars. By comparison I would have given the "Clash" remake 2 stars and its predecessor 1.

Ratings Legend
Zero *= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!
1 *= Fuggedaboutit! 2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special
3 *= Good viewing. Much better than a poke in the eye.
4 *= Great. Could possibly foot the price of a non-Matinee.
5 *= Pure eye candy. Hall of Fame material here.