Wrath of the Titans (2012)

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

Let me start this right off the bat and tell you it's better than Clash of the Titans(Even though that's not saying much)However, Wrath of the Titans supplies enough action set pieces, that you have a good enough flick that you should check out this weekend. The plot is very simple, it's set 10 years after the events of the first film where Perseus and his son fish for a living. Hades and Zeus' son Ares trick Zeus and capture him. Now, the titans are getting stronger while Zeus is getting weaker. Perseus has to go to hell to save his father. There are some pretty cool monsters in this film, like the demons Makhai and the scene with Kronos is AMAZING. If you're looking for a good time this weekend and go into this movie with an open mind. Then you will definitely have a good time watching Wrath of the Titans. 8/10

Fmovies: Thinking of going to see Wrath of the Titans? In 3d? Save yourself some pocket money and do the following instead: lie on the ground and pour a mixture of soil and skittles slowly into your eyes whilst mumbling the names of Greek Gods. This will have the same entertainment value as the film, and a considerably better plot.

Having seen the remake of the original, I went into Wrath of the Titans with my expectation level pretty low. Five minutes in, I quickly lowered it further. Ten minutes in... I buried my expectation level under my seat and stomped it into the ground - hard. But however low I set the bar, the film went lower. It's unimaginably dire.

There's simply nothing redeemable about the film at all. Even the impressive effects are ruined by awful direction that renders them no more engaging than watching a ten year old playing video games through a kaleidoscope.

Everyone involved in making Wrath of the Titans should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves; and to be fair Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes clearly are as they show it on screen. They both look embarrassed to be a part of it. I'm embarrassed that I bore witness to it. Please don't be a statistic and join us. There's nothing to see here - move along, move along.

The Gods indeed deserved better than the 2010 remake of 'Clash of the Titans', a wholly ill-conceived attempt at revisiting the campy Ray Harryhausen sword-and-sorcery epic that instead replaced the original's stop-motion visual effects with second-rate CG effects. And certainly, the producers seemed to have heeded the call with this sequel, retaining the fine cast from the original- Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes- while opting for fresh writers and a new director.

It's still as important however to keep your hopes down for 'Wrath of the Titans', especially for those expecting a sweeping mythological epic. Taking over the reins from French director Louis Leterrier is Johnathan Liebesman, and going by his previous works- 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning" and "Battle: Los Angeles"- the man is at best an efficient but uninspired director who pays more attention to visceral pleasures than to anything resembling depth.

That is certainly true of his work here, which vastly improves the action sequences of the original but little else. As if singularly devoting his time to create mind-numbing big-budget sequences, Liebesman invests little in the story and in his characters- God, demi-god and human alike. Both are mechanical at best and engineered with a specific purpose of taking his viewer from one jaw-dropping sequence to another, never mind the inconsistencies or the leaps of logic along the way.

So despite the exposition, the plot of the entire movie can be summed up in a one line- to save Zeus (Neeson) from his conniving brother Hades (Fiennes) and jealous son Aroes (Edgar Ramirez), the demi-god Perseus (Worthington) leaps back into full battle mode since retiring ten years ago to a quiet life in a small fishing village. Before facing the worst of them all, Perseus will have to go up against a host of hideous- looking monsters- a fiery-mouthed Chimera with two heads at the front and a snake's head at its tail; a trio of towering Cyclops giants; a Minotaur; and a band of half-man, half-rock soldiers with four arms and two bodies that twist around on a pair of legs.

There's no denying that the creatures this time are much more inventive, and the action sequences choreographed much more skilfully, adding up to a much more thrilling time than what its predecessor offered. Saving the best for last, Liebesman also crafts an epic finale with a gigantic lava-spewing monster known as the Kronos that also involves a whole legion led by warrior-queen Princess Andromeda (Rosamund Pike). The victory call at the end may be a tad overdone, but the climax alone is worth the price of admission and surprisingly impressive even in post- converted 3D.

Pity then that the rest of the movie often pales in comparison- and perhaps the most jarring of all is the poorly defined interfamilial conflict between Zeus, Hades and Aroes. Screenwriters Dan Mazeau and David Leslie Johnson (working off a story that's also credited to Greg Berlanti) give Aroes little motivation behind his father's betrayal other than his envy of Perseus, nor do they manage the sibling tension between Zeus and Hades convincingly. Worse still, they try to turn Hades into a less straightforward character by casting him as a reluctant pawn in Aroes' scheme midway into the movie, and the subsequent reconciliation between Zeus and Hades is laughable even with the considerable acting talents of Neeson and Fiennes.

Certainly, both thespians are well aware o

Wrath of the Titans fmovies. Although Clash of the Titans was universally dismissed as an overwhelming disappointment – and featured the worst post-converted 3D ever – it raked in the big bucks and a sequel was naturally green-lit by Warner Bros. With a new director (Battle LA's Jonathan Liebesman replacing Louis Leterrier) and an extra $25m to toy with, Wrath was given the opportunity to learn from its predecessor's mistakes. Alas, this loud and sporadically entertaining mess largely fails to deliver; Sam Worthington's acting again doesn't cut the mustard, the action is well-choreographed but repetitive, and the CGI remains below par considering the dosh thrown at it. However, it's the lack of imagination and unpredictability in the plot department that truly stifles the proceedings. If you get to the end of the first act and don't already know how the rest of the movie is going to play out, you're probably sleeping. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes spice things up as Zeus and Hades respectively, and Toby Kebbell's comic sidekick is a successful ploy to inject the humour sorely missing from Clash, but it's not enough to make this misfire recommendable.

All right, I agree with most people when they say 2010's Clash of the Titans was not a great movie, but I didn't hate it. I didn't walk out of the theater with a feeling like "OMG, that movie kicked ass!". It was OK, I thought the film had pacing issues and the 3D was, well... about as bad and pointless as people made it out to be. So is the sequel, Wrath of the Titans, an improvement?

I'm happy to report that yes, Wrath of the Titans is better. It's not a great film by any means, it is flawed, but if you're looking for 99 simple minutes to kill by looking at some pretty darn impressive action sequences, then you are in luck. Also, if you thought the 3D in Clash was bad, that's not the case with Wrath. Don't expect anything along the lines of Avatar, but I gotta say, the 3D was used pretty nicely and didn't come off as a total gimmick.

My biggest issue with the film, however, is one that I had with the previous film. The film sometimes feels a bit slow and that it takes a while to get started, and there's not really much investment in the story or the characters. Some of the characters are mostly there to provide comic relief, but even that is very hit-or-miss. For the most part, Sam Worthington played his role pretty good, a fine example of under-rated acting. It's nothing great, but it's far from abysmal. Liam Neeson was also rather enjoyable to watch, but hey, it's Liam Neeson. Everybody else isn't particularly interesting, but they're not unforgivably boring or useless. There's also a small romance in the film between Worthington and a female side character, but it comes off as pointless and un-needed. I just don't see why the majority of popcorn action flicks require a relationship when we go to see explosions and amazing special effects, it's just not necessary.

Flaws aside, I enjoyed Wrath of the Titans. I am aware of the hate that this movie is receiving and I can understand some of the quibbles that one may have against it, but hey, at least it's better than it's predecessor.

I'm one of the 3% of the population of Americans that actually enjoyed the 2010 remake of "Clash of the Titans". It wasn't a masterpiece, in fact, I wouldn't even call it good. But there was a charming simplicity to it all. It involved generic characters getting from Point A to Point B in an hour and a half. Sure, it was plagued with problems, but for me, it's a serious guilty pleasure. But that's another review for another time.

The most glaring problem with "Wrath" is that it's essentially the same thing as the first one, with a few tweaks here and there. Sam Worthington plays Perseus. He's strong, powerful, and dull as a rock. It's just Worthington's generic, bland good guy. He's not a terrible role model, he's just not that particularly engaging. The only character that's more boring is Queen Andromeda, played by Rosamund Pike. These two characters share such an awful, contrived romance that it makes Anakin and Padme from the Star Wars prequels look like Romeo and Juliet.

But, as I said before, this sequel is merely a re-tread of the first movie. Sure, the first one was predictable, but at least it gave us a bit of time to know each of the characters. Here, there's no development because they just assumed you know these characters because you watch the first movie. That's a problem I find many sequels running into, and here, it really weakens it.

The special effects here are used in a way that makes me want to sterilize the people who came up with them. The filmmakers operate under the impression that if you throw a ton of special effects onto the screen, it will give your audience something to look at. The problem with that logic is that the factors of character development and motivation are canceled out by the pointless action sequences to such a degree that the audience becomes bored by these fight scenes. The special effects don't dazzle audience members like they did in the past when they're used in such a repetitive fashion.

With really bad movies like this, when all hope is lost, I try to focus on the positive aspects of the film. And there are a few good things found here. Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, and Bill Nighy are pretty entertaining as the gods of Mt. Olympus, and I do like that there is some, though not a lot, of development with these guys. The movie sort of touches on the messed up issues of family in Greek mythology, and it was interesting. Whenever I found myself watching Sam Worthington and his band of bland beatniks (try saying that five times fast), I was wishing that I could be watching Liam Neeson and the others, because they were interesting! Unfortunately, not even the awesome acting of Liam Neeson can save this stinker, kind of how Optimus Prime couldn't save the "Transformers" sequels.

Final verdict: If you're a fan of rich cinematic genius like Citizen Kane or 12 Angry Men, this is not your kind of movie. It's too long, too forced, and too choppily edited. I'll admit, there were people in the theater that watched it and seemed to get really invested, and if you think you can, go ahead and watch it. For me, there were just too many things that didn't add up for me to enjoy this one. I don't regret seeing it, but repeat viewings are not in my future.