Wrath of the Titans Reviews

Let it be known that Wrath of the Titans isn't a good film. Not to say it was the worst or anything, but it had zero energy, and an even less will to continue. Honestly, the correct title of the film should be Limp of the Titans, because everyone - and everything - in the film was tired. No-one's heart was into it, and if it was, it was fueled only by the thought that one day the shooting will be finished and they can all go home... finally. There are major flaws everywhere and I'm going to start on the so-called Wrath: It was nothing. Plastic. A Barbie doll tantrum. Just as loud and powerful as a squeaky gate. The "wrath" was almost comical, almost like Marvel comics. Although I don't usually talk about them in my reviews, but the script was sub-par. It was horrible. Was it only me did it seem too "modern"? I've read about the Greek / Roman mythology and I don't think they spoke like that, but then again this wasn't an official mythology-to-reel transition either. But still, some dignity required. This one has none of that, as gods, demigods and humans all are portrayed as dumb idiotics. Like most films that are heavy on the CGI, effects and all that, this one is quite impressive in that department but almost virtually useless in the others, especially in the writing and in the story. Neither were the least bit entertaining nor convincing. The special effects were quite cool, though, especially in the opening Chimera sequence and in the end with the Resurrection of Kronos. The maze sequence wasn't bad either, reminded me of The Matrix somewhat, but had no charm in it whatsoever.

Performance-wise, Sam Worthington managed to bring a silent dignity to his character, Perseus. By silent I mean mute. It was a performance that Sam can look straight in the eyes of the haters and say "Well, at-least I tried". I've always liked him as an actor and I think he is a worthy actor - Terminator: Salvation, Rogue & Avatar - but if he keeps starring in bad films - this one & Man On a Ledge - he will never become the named actor he so wants to become. Despite an above-average performance, he did provide a likable face to the series and probably the only relatable character. Rosamund Pike was delicious and tasty in her role as Andromeda. In all respects, she basically played the same exasperated - but looking beautiful while doing it - character she played in Doom. Just replace her status from doctor to queen and you got it. Ralph Fiennes wasn't at all convincing in his role as Hades. He played out as a Hollywood stock character and I was expecting him to get blown to bits any second, but of course that didn't happen. Liam Neeson was a complete bad-ass, especially in the last 10 minutes, when he gets 10,000 years younger. By the time of his "Resurrection", the film had limped enough, to the point of being sleepy, and I guess Neeson knew that fact because he then rolls up his sleeve and manages to bring in quite a bit of impressive display that somehow manages, if only for a short period, bring the film to its *true* pace. But alas, that bubble is quickly busted. The rest of the cast were OK, nothing too exceptional, nothing too impressive.

On the whole, Wrath of the Titans is just unbelievable. Apologies, but as much as I enjoy Greek mythology, I couldn't even begin to like this film. It must be by far the least entertaining I've seen so far in this year. But at least the special effects were pretty cool!

"We may not be gods. But we do what people say can't be done, we hope when there isn't any... whatever odds we face, we prevail."

Clash of the Titans was a shocking movie. It was simply terrible. As an adventure movie, it sucked as the characters were bland, and the story was thin. Even as an action film, it was mediocre - the sword fights in particular were shot and edited awfully. I never saw the film in 3D, so I wouldn't know how bad the 3D looked. Now, the director of Battle: Los Angeles (Unlike most movie-goers, I actually don't mind that film), Jonathan Liebesman helms the sequel. Wrath of the Titans is infinitely better than Clash. As a sequel, it doesn't improve or develop the story of this franchise, but the film succeeds on the element that is vital - the visuals. I'll be honest, I dug the hell out of this film, and even if you hated the first movie, I still think you'll enjoy Wrath of the Titans. The positives, in my opinion, outweigh the negatives, which are - surprise, surprise - in the scripting department.



A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus (Sam Worthington) the demigod son of Zeus, is living a peaceful life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius (John Bell). Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the gods and the Titans. Dangerously weakened by humanity's lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus (Liam Neeson), Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Poseidon (Danny Huston). The triumvirate had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the gloomy abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous underworld. Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus' godly son, Ares (Edgar Ramírez), switch loyalty and make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus. The Titans' strength grows stronger as Zeus' remaining godly powers are siphoned, and hell is unleashed on earth. Enlisting the help of the warrior Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), Poseidon's demigod son, Argenor (Toby Kebbell), and fallen god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), Perseus bravely embarks on a treacherous quest into the underworld to rescue Zeus.



Alright, the first film had a bad script, so it's really no surprise that Wrath of the Titans is no different. However, since it's a sequel, I really didn't care. My issue with the first film is that Perseus as a character was never established well, and he never particularly developed over the course of his journey. In Wrath, we can at least suspect that he's developed into a stronger man during his years as a fisherman - weirdly enough, his new haircut really adds to his character, he actually looks like Perseus now. Obviously the stories nothing great, and it plays out like a video game. Still, it allows for the filmmakers set up better action sequences than the first film, and for the first time, we see Zeus in action. My biggest issue with the script is the ending. It felt extremely abrupt and the climax just happened way too quick.

This leads us to the characters. I don't get too upset when the plot is terrible in mindless action movies, but at least give us decent characters. All the new characters introduced are bland as they don't develop in any way, and you don't care about them at all. The same goes with the hero, Perseus. Although he acts like a badass now, we don't care about him, and there's no tension when something dangerous approaches him. The relationship he shares with his son is established briefly, so there's no emotional value there, and the some-what romance he has with Andromeda is also weak. This ain't really a spoiler, but towards the end, Perseus just kisses her - where did this come from? Before the kiss, they never shared any sort of romantic moment, though we could tell that Andromeda had feelings for Perseus. I would've also liked to have seen some form of a relationship between Perseus and Ares - after all they are brothers. The film just spends too much time with its action for there to be any sort of character interplay.



I've always thought Sam Worthington was a great action hero - he's a badass. Being an Aussie myself, his accent doesn't bother as much as most movie-goers, but it's a shame he doesn't have a lot to work with here. His performance as Perseus in Wrath of the Titans has definitely been an improvement over his in Clash of the Titans (it's definitely the haircut), but it's still nothing special. Meanwhile, Rosamund Pike proves she can still bring that badass girl attitude that was so amazing in Die Another Day. Like Worthington, her character's bland, and she doesn't have a lot to do here in terms of acting. But she's still awesome - how she doesn't have more roles in action movies, I'll never know. Liam Neeson finally gets to do more as Zeus, and I actually thought he did well. He's at least trying, and like I said earlier, we get to see him bring the hurt this time during the action scenes. Likewise, Ralph Fiennes also gets a lot more involved in the action, and he brings a convincing performance as well. Bill Nighy has heaps of fun with his role, but his screen time is quite limited.

In terms of action, Wrath of the Titans certainly delivers. This was what I went into this movie for - the action, not the script. Liebesman set up some really breathtaking set-pieces, which surprised me as his last action movie focuses so much on shaky-camera work. But alas, the action was shot perfectly in Wrath of the Titans. Even the sword fights are stunning - I couldn't stand the ones in Clash - and the battle sequence between Perseus and Ares is riveting stuff. The visual effects are top notch as expected - the creation of the monsters is superb. From the Chimera to the Kronus himself, the detail and design of these creatures is to commended. Also, the 3D actually adds to the experience. I was shocked, considering the film was converted in post-production. The film also looks beautiful, with gorgeous production design by Charles Wood, which has been shot with skill by Ben Davis. The score by Javier Navarrete was epic, and praise should be handed to Liebesman for keeping pacing brisk.



I've surprisingly met people who actually liked the first film, and if that's the case with you, then I can't recommend Wrath of the Titans enough to you. Yes, there's been no change with the script, and the characters are bland, but the action has been improved to such an amazing level. I went in for action alone, and I got it. Since the film is paced so well, you're never bored as the characters are always thrown into battle after short moments of conversation. With the 3D working well, and spectacular action set-pieces, Wrath of the Titans should entertain those who don't ask too much from their movies. Bottom line, check your brain at the door and enjoy the ride.

"You will learn someday that being half human, makes you stronger than a god."

Did you see 2010's Clash of the Titans remake? Judging from the film's box office gross of almost $500 million and the strong home video sales, there's a good chance you did. Now here's another question: did you like it? I'm guessing not... Clash of the Titans was a one-off anomaly which did strong business despite being badly-received, and then, a few months later, nobody cared about it any longer. Added to this, the film is notorious for being the poster child of terrible 3-D since it underwent a hasty conversion in post-production. Two years later, the quickie sequel Wrath of the Titans is now upon us, with the folks at Warner Bros. hoping to turn the profitable but unloved first instalment into a money-making franchise. While this is a better film than its rocky predecessor and while it improves the experience in a number of ways, the filmmakers nonetheless failed to take heed of all previous mistakes. Consequently, there's still no reason to care about this series.

Approximately a decade after he defeated the Kraken, demigod Perseus (Worthington) has settled into the peaceful life of a fisherman, raising young son Helius (Bell) following the premature death of his wife. The Age of Gods is coming to an end, though; people have stopped praying, and thus the immortality of the Gods is in danger. Perseus' father Zeus (Neeson) seeks to make peace with his brother Hades (Fiennes), but he's promptly captured by Hades and Ares (Ramírez), who have joined forces to release the leader of the titans, Kronos, and become immortal. Zeus' powers are being sapped in order to free Kronos, and Perseus is compelled back into action when news of this reaches his ears. With demigod Agenor (Kebble) and Queen Andromeda (Pike) by his side, Perseus assembles an army and sets out to both free Zeus and forge a super-weapon able to destroy Kronos.

Keen film-goers will recognise that this is pretty much the same plot as 2011's Immortals. Such familiarity is the least of Wrath of the Titans' problems, though. Dan Mazeau and David Johnson's script is a dangerously dry concoction, ignoring the importance of strong characters in favour of a stripped-down experience devoid of humanity. Critics often overuse the analogy "This movie feels like a video game", but Wrath of the Titans literally does progress like a typical video game - once the set-up is in place, the film follows a very simple, game-like formula: the characters travel to a new location, look around for a little while, and then have a boss battle. Rinse and repeat. In between, we get a further glimpse of what's at stake. This culminates with an ultimate boss battle. The characters remain blank slates throughout all of this, and we are never permitted a chance to get to know them or even understand their motivations. Due to how interchangeable all of the characters are, the ensemble cast is the equivalent of a pack of rice cakes. The dialogue is frequently tin-eared, as well. It's not that the dialogue sticks out as terrible; it's that it's too bland to stick out at all.

Clash of the Titans particularly faltered in its climax, as the Kraken was defeated too quickly and easily. Wrath of the Titans likewise fails on this front. While Kronos' eventual emergence from the bowels of the Earth makes for an awesome reveal, the intimidating monster doesn't do a great deal at all. Instead, he's defeated after barely a few minutes of screen combat. As a result, the ending feels too easy and there's no real tension. As a matter of fact, there's no suspense or tension to any of the proceedings. At the very least, though, the action sequences are often enjoyable and the film maintains a fun matinee vibe throughout. To the credit of director Jonathan Liebesman, the action elements are far more assured here than in Clash of the Titans. Devoid of irritating shaky-cam, the action beats are a highlight, especially with the impressive digital effects. Like its predecessor, Wrath of the Titans was also converted to 3-D in post-production. Surprisingly, the conversion is astonishingly good, generating a strong sense of three-dimensionality. In fact, if you were none the wiser, you could easily believe that it was filmed with 3-D cameras.

In Clash of the Titans, Sam Worthington had trouble settling on an accent for his role of Perseus, as he haphazardly alternated between faux American to mildly British to Australian. Here, the star completely embraced his native Australian accent and made no effort to change his voice. Such a thick Aussie accent sounds out of place in a movie concerned with Greek mythology, but at least he's consistent this time. Unfortunately, though, his performance here as a whole is underwhelming. Worthington displayed immense charisma in 2009's Avatar, but here he seems to be on autopilot. The same can be said for most everyone else in the cast, though Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes do admittedly ooze gravitas as Zeus and Hades (respectively). The only standout is Bill Nighy, but he's criminally underused. Nighy is a hammy delight as Hephaestus, sparking the picture to life with an injection of sorely-needed personality. Alas, he departs the picture after merely a few short scenes, completing wasting a golden opportunity.

It's a seriously flawed movie, but at least Wrath of the Titans is not excruciating. It's forgettable and superficial of course, but it won't make you lose the will to live. In essence, this is just one of those movies that's better seen than heard. In visual terms it's a home run, with luscious CGI and grand set design marvellously selling the illusion of this vast fantasyland. Whenever the characters stop to talk, though, your brain will likely lose interest and switch off, as the picture foregrounds weak actors while utterly wasting the good performers. Just imagine what a picture with eye candy of this magnitude would be like if viewers could become emotionally invested in the characters and their circumstances. Food for thought.

5.5/10