MikeyB's Movie Night: Clash of the Titans (2010)

Clash of the Titans (2010) - Directed by: Louis Leterrier

Writer: MikeyB

Editor: Pajan

 Growing up, I was lucky enough to have a Dad who loved movies and a Mother who managed a Blockbuster. Every weekend my sister and I were allowed to go to my Mom's store and pick out one movie each. My sister always got something new, but I always stuck to a select group of films that had one thing in common; the masterful work of Ray Harryhausen. My selections were a steadily rotated group of his classic and iconic work: Jason and the Argonauts, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, and Clash of the Titans. Sadly the original Clash has not aged as well as a lot of my childhood favorites. The acting is extremely sub-par, the script could have used a lot more work, and everyone has decidedly 70's hairstyles which date the film badly. Harryhausen's work is still fantastic though and while re-watching it I saw how I enjoyed it: It was just a dumb action movie with cool monsters. I tried to keep that in mind while I watched the remake, and I have to say I enjoyed it.

Perseus is still Zeus' illegitimate son and a demi-god in this version, but is rescued by a fisherman and his wife. The plot is completely different this time around, with the realm of men rebelling against the Gods and causing Zeus to call upon Hades to instill fear into the humans and turn them back to the Gods. After getting Zeus to agree to his plan to let loose the Kraken (i.e. "cool monster") on the city of Argos in 10 days if they do not sacrifice the princess Andromeda, we learn Hades has his own plans. Living in the underworld Hades has learned to draw strength from the fear and anguish of humans and plans to overthrow Zeus with his new found power. He hasn't planned on one thing though. In his initial attack on humanity he ends up killing Perseus' adopted family and now he has sworn vengeance against him. So now Perseus and the last surviving soldiers of Argos must set out in search of a way to kill the Kraken and Hades before the city is destroyed.

  I quite enjoyed this remake; it's just a big dumb movie with really cool monsters, but unlike the original it has good acting and a not too stupid script. Sam Worthington is a great Perseus, and Liam Neeson as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes as Hades are pitch perfect as well. The special effects were extremely detailed and believable, and the Kraken's design is one of the cooler screen creatures I've ever seen. This movie garners a lot of hate but I for one had a lot of fun with it and if you are looking for a fun action packed romp you will too.

Fun Facts from IMDB for Clash of The Titans:

Director Louis Leterrier is a big fan of Clash of the Titans (1981), having watched it in his childhood.

Originally, Stephen Norrington was going to direct the film, but as he hadn't seen the original film he wasn't sure he could make a new yet faithful remake, so in June 2008 he handed the project over to Louis Leterrier.

Director Louis Leterrier frequently requested that Ray Harryhausen, co-producer and visual effects creator of Clash of the Titans (1981), be involved in the film. However, Harryhausen had retired in 1981 and would not be drawn back.

The mechanical owl Bubo from Clash of the Titans (1981) has a cameo as the toy Perseus picks up before he leaves on his quest. According to the filmmakers, the cameo was widely debated as to whether to keep it in the film or not. It was eventually decided to keep it in the film to please the fans of the original film.