Clash of the Titans - Movie Review

Clash of the Titans is one of our favorite movies from the 80s - sure, scoff if you want, cheesy as it is with it's dull Harry Hamlin and the scenery-chewing Olivier and the not-as-crude-as-you'd-think special effects work by the great Ray Harryhausen but it's great entertainment. But it's not a sacred work so we were looking forward to the remake with up-to-date effects and a crop of the latest stars that'll be forgotten in 10 years hence. (Okay, except for Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes, you won't hear from any of these people again in a few years. All right, I'll maybe include Mads Mikkelson, the Bond baddie in Casino Royal but with a name like that, I don't really think so.)

We weren't disappointed. We opted for the 2D version for the usual reason - the 3D effect is a distraction rather than an enhancement to the story - and it was great fun. With the state of digital effects, it seems anything that can be imagined can be put onscreen. Sam Worthington is a poor man's light-weight Russell Crowe. A very poor man and very light weight. He's merely okay. Neeson and Fiennes collect their paycheck and Neeson bellows the best line of the movie with great gusto. The Kraken? Meh. Kinda busy with all the stuff going on and an odd looking mouth. Sort of short and stubby, really, with lots of teeth. But the movie retains the charm of the original and while it doesn't strictly adhere to its mythological source, so what? We had fun and munched through a tub of popcorn and afterwards we thought we'd had a pretty good time.