Apr/102
Clash of the Titans
CLASH OF THE TITANS asks the question, can you do a sword and sandals Greek myths movie and it not be corny. The answer is no. Now when it comes to corny movies, there is good and bad corn. The CLASH remake is somewhere in the middle. The CG animation is amazing, but the giant scorpions seem silly and the Kraken overdone. Despite all the money which is on the screen, any story with gods in shimmery white togas feels like a B movie. None of the characters’ experiences are grounded in reality which make the story feel silly, fun, but silly. As always, my mantra is that to be effective, action must be grounded in emotion. The screenwriters understood that, but they followed a kitchen sink approach. Perseus wants to kill Hades for killing his family. His anger spills over to all the gods. Then he finds out that Zeus is his father and that he is a demi-god. Perseus fights his place in the world – he doesn’t want to be a hero or a god, just avenge his family. All of this plays out against a backdrop of gods versus man. Men are turning their backs on the gods, but the gods need their prayers to survive. To teach them a lesson the gods attack. Finally Hades is trying to usurp his brother Zeus. Oh and there’s also a saintly princess in peril. Whew that is a lot going on.
I think that movie stays in B territory because of the gods versus man theme is too cerebral and not emotional. If the majority of the movie took place on Mount Olympus and we got to know and like all the gods, the danger Hades poses would feel more visceral. Perseus’ quest for vengeance is emotional, but it gets muddled with his discovery he is Zeus’ son. He goes from fisherman to hero too quickly. Even though he is fighting had his friends are dying, his victories feel too easy. He never questions what he is doing or doubts that he can accomplish his goal. Moments of doubt or seeing any emotions from him at all would go a long way to elevate the story. The most powerful moment in the movie is his grief when Io is dying. I wish we had seen more glimpses of what was going on beneath his steely exterior.
There’s nothing wrong with making a corny, campy movie if you know that’s what you’re doing. CLASH takes itself a bit too seriously and ends up being silly. The audience is not sure if the filmmakers are in on the joke. For my part, my favorite retelling of the Greek myths is the HERCULES television series from the ‘90s. It was self-aware, funny with great action. You can’t beat Aphrodite depicted as a California surfer girl.