Clash of the Titans

Clash of the Titans 2010
Director: Louis Leterrier
Writers: Travis Beacham, Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi
Starring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralp Fiennes, Jason Flemyng, Alexa Davalos, Gemma Arterton, Polly Walker, Elizabeth McGovern and Pete Postlethwaite
There are certain films form your childhood that enchant you and stay with you and you always love revisiting them. The original Clash of the Titans is one of those and when I first heard that they were remaking it I thought “how could they”, as this is a venerable classic. But, the more I saw on the film the more intrigued I was by it and when I finally saw the film, I was pleasantly surprised. This is a film that really delivers; it makes a few missteps, but overall is a solid and satisfying fantasy film. Leterrier does a fine job directing and the story and action propels the film really well. Sam Worthington makes a much manlier Perseus than Harry Hamlin ever did. The only drawbacks are the non existent romance between Perseus and Andromeda and the staid score the film possesses. But with those complaints made this film is a resounding success to and improved.
The plot basics are this, it takes place in ancient Greece where a fisherman (Postlethwaite) finds a coffin adrift in the ocean. Inside it he discovers a bay, Perseus and his dead mother. He raises Perseus as his own. Once Perseues reaches adulthood tragedy strikes his adopted family. His family is killed by Hades (Fiennes) and Perseus is taken by soldiers to the king of the land and swears vengeance against Hades. He must save the princess Andromeda (Davalos) by finding the Gorgon Medusa and chopping off her head and use it to defeat the Kraken before she is sacrificed to it. He has many obstacles to overcome including the evil Calibos (Flemyng) to defeat but he has the help of his father Zeus (Neeson) in the upcoming battles.
This is a solid film. The direction by Leterrier is tight. He sets up the action sequences well and he films them all with precision. The best one is the hunt for Medusa, it is miles above the same scene in the original. The script is tight as well too, it moves the story through quickly and there is never a dull moment in the story. Though it is missing the romantic spark that Perseus and Andromeda should have had. The cast does an excellent job. Worthington is an uber macho Perseus which works really well. Neeson and Fiennes as Zeus and Hades are both phenomenal and have the right amount of gravitas to play the roles. Davalos is a fetching Andromeda and Postlethwaite does a fine job with the small amount of screen time he gets. The SFX and CGI effects in the film are great, I loved the Medusa and the Kraken was quite terrifying too, though I still prefer it from the original. The score by Ramin Djawadi was hollow and just was not as whimsical as the original. This is a fine modern retelling of the tale and well worth checking out.
This one gets 4 out of 5