Clash of the Titans

Clash of the Titans! Mankind is fed up with the gods treatment of them and wages war on Mt. Olympus. Zeus strikes back by unleashing Hades creations. The only hope for man against Hades and his giant beast, the Cracken is a demi-god named Persius, the half-man half-god son of Zeus.

This is a remake of the 1981 film that was full of Ray Harryhausen's classic creatures and stop-motion animation. I'm a little offended such a big creature classic is kicking off the awesome Summer movie season in late March, but oh well I guess it only extends that fun time of year. So, besides loving Ray Harryhausen's animation and being very scared of Medusa, I don't remember too much from the original movie. This version does a good job of updating what I remember being fun about the original; the various beasts and creatures, fun action and fantastical worlds (Although some animation/vfx/film buffs are offended Ray Harryhausen's work is being updated, especially Medusa, I think an update was in order with today's technology). The visual effects of the Cracken are really quite awesome and a lot of fun to watch, the climax is a lot of eye candy. Although I will say I feel like the orginal version's Medusa was a little more frightening, maybe the memory of it has been embelished over time. That said the new Medusa is pretty scary as well, and a fun sequence, she's just not quite as grotesque.

Where the new version fails to upgrade from the original is character development and story. The lead character, Persius is never quite likeable enough. I feel like they could've thrown in a few more scenes or dialogue that would endear the audience to him a little more and make us really root for him. Another issue I had is the way they set up Persius', his crew and their humanity-saving journey. It seemed they didn't emphasize the importance of what they were undertaking until they were halfway into their adventure. I also believe they cut out a few creature encounters from the original, which I remember liking a lot about the original; each new creature they encountered became increasingly difficult to defeat and stranger with each one. They just could have increased the "swash-buckling" feel of it. And lastly the Pegasus seemed almost completely waisted until the end of the film, they missed chances for a great love/hate, comedic dynamic with Pegasus and Persius, as well as some fun action sequence possibilities. But that said, it's a fun time at the movies and great visual effects eye candy on the big screen. For sure see it if you liked the original or love special fx, if not go ahead and Redbox it.

**1/2 out of 4 (PG-13 for violence and creature mayhem)