Wrath of the Titans (C- or 1.5/4 stars)
12 yrs. or so after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus-the demigod son of Zeus (Sam Worthington) is attempting to live a quieter life as a fisherman & the sole parent to his 10 yr. old son in 'Wrath of the Titans' (follow-up to 2010's Clash of the Titans, & directed by Jonathan Liebesman). His wife, Io (Gemma Arterton), has sadly died in the interim years. Meanwhile, on Olympus, tensions are high as a struggle for supremacy exists btwn. the gods & the Titans. Furthermore, mortals have stopped praying to the gods & this lack of faith is sapping their godly powers.
Their ability to control Tartarus (a cavernous underworld dungeon where the treacherous Titans are imprisoned) is weakening, & things get really dire when Hades (Ralph Fiennes) & Ares (Edgar Ramirez, so good in 'Carlos') agree to a pact with the ferocious Kronos to betray Zeus (Liam Neeson) & Poseidon (Danny Huston) in letting loose the Titans. Perseus is forced back into action to rescue Zeus from Tartarus.
He takes with him Agenor (a fun Toby Kebbell), the half-human son of Poseidon, & Andromeda (now Rosamund Pike, not Alexa Davalos), the princess (now a warrior queen) he saved from the Kraken in the previous installment. In Greek mythology (1981's Clash of the Titans), Perseus & Andromeda were romantically linked. As the film barrels towards its conclusion, Perseus must battle snakes, giants, minotaurs, & all other grotesque creatures; culminating in a huge battle btwn. the monstrous Kronos, Perseus, & Andromeda's loyal legions. Hell in unleashed upon ancient Greece.
Oh, boy. Though I know it was of a poor quality, I kinda liked 2010's behemoth Clash of the Titans. Bad writing, bad dialogue, and all. Now, with 'Wrath of the Titans', it's more of the same. And only 2 films in ... the franchise feels stale, already. The characters are uninteresting. The plot is dumb (raping mythology from the Greek classics). The storytelling lacks vim & vigor. The sword-&-sandal skirmishes lack originality. And the cool special effects are all the film has to offer.
Sam Worthington doesn't bring anything unique to the role of Perseus (no surprise, there). But he doesn't even have comedic timing whenever the script called for it. Furthermore, as written, his Perseus is used as a beat-up toy for many of the monsters. Isn't Persues supposed to be our strong demigod hero? Liam Neeson & Ray Fiennes return as Olympians. It's always cool seeing them onscreen together. They spout their dialogue with fervor. But you know it's sh*t dialogue the whole time they're talking. The only other character of note is Bill Nighy's cheerfully absurd fallen god, Hephaestus.
Though most of the film is a soulless, big budgeted, steaming pile of you-know-what, there is a 20 + minute sequence near the end of the film where Andromeda's army faces off against demonic titans -- and it is magnificent. In all seriousness, I sat with my mouth open at the wonderful effects (where Perseus rides Pegasus towards the enormous fire-wielding Kronos). But that's truly the only thing of any value to mention, here. I walked out of the theater & found that most of the film evaporated from my memory. There's nothing to think about when the sand & blood has left the screen. 'Wrath of the Titans' is not a painful sit. But you'll munch on your popcorn waiting for something worthwhile to tickle that brain. It's an empty spectacle.
Their ability to control Tartarus (a cavernous underworld dungeon where the treacherous Titans are imprisoned) is weakening, & things get really dire when Hades (Ralph Fiennes) & Ares (Edgar Ramirez, so good in 'Carlos') agree to a pact with the ferocious Kronos to betray Zeus (Liam Neeson) & Poseidon (Danny Huston) in letting loose the Titans. Perseus is forced back into action to rescue Zeus from Tartarus.
He takes with him Agenor (a fun Toby Kebbell), the half-human son of Poseidon, & Andromeda (now Rosamund Pike, not Alexa Davalos), the princess (now a warrior queen) he saved from the Kraken in the previous installment. In Greek mythology (1981's Clash of the Titans), Perseus & Andromeda were romantically linked. As the film barrels towards its conclusion, Perseus must battle snakes, giants, minotaurs, & all other grotesque creatures; culminating in a huge battle btwn. the monstrous Kronos, Perseus, & Andromeda's loyal legions. Hell in unleashed upon ancient Greece.
Oh, boy. Though I know it was of a poor quality, I kinda liked 2010's behemoth Clash of the Titans. Bad writing, bad dialogue, and all. Now, with 'Wrath of the Titans', it's more of the same. And only 2 films in ... the franchise feels stale, already. The characters are uninteresting. The plot is dumb (raping mythology from the Greek classics). The storytelling lacks vim & vigor. The sword-&-sandal skirmishes lack originality. And the cool special effects are all the film has to offer.
Sam Worthington doesn't bring anything unique to the role of Perseus (no surprise, there). But he doesn't even have comedic timing whenever the script called for it. Furthermore, as written, his Perseus is used as a beat-up toy for many of the monsters. Isn't Persues supposed to be our strong demigod hero? Liam Neeson & Ray Fiennes return as Olympians. It's always cool seeing them onscreen together. They spout their dialogue with fervor. But you know it's sh*t dialogue the whole time they're talking. The only other character of note is Bill Nighy's cheerfully absurd fallen god, Hephaestus.
Though most of the film is a soulless, big budgeted, steaming pile of you-know-what, there is a 20 + minute sequence near the end of the film where Andromeda's army faces off against demonic titans -- and it is magnificent. In all seriousness, I sat with my mouth open at the wonderful effects (where Perseus rides Pegasus towards the enormous fire-wielding Kronos). But that's truly the only thing of any value to mention, here. I walked out of the theater & found that most of the film evaporated from my memory. There's nothing to think about when the sand & blood has left the screen. 'Wrath of the Titans' is not a painful sit. But you'll munch on your popcorn waiting for something worthwhile to tickle that brain. It's an empty spectacle.