VOD Spotlight: Sam Worthington takes on the gods in “Clash of the Titans”

By Karl J. Paloucek

Movie remakes can be a crapshoot. Not all are Psycho-clone disasters, but just announcing the do-over of a popular film can abrade the nerves of the original’s fans and set a wave of sentiment against the new project from the start. In such circumstances, the best thing a filmmaker can do is to make it his or her own and pursue the vision in a totally new way. That’s the good news about director Louis Leterrier’s Clash of the Titans — though telling essentially the same story, it bears little resemblance in tone, pace or color to its predecessor.

Sam Worthington (Avatar) is Perseus, who is seemingly helpless to save his family when Hades (Ralph Fiennes), the god of the underworld, comes to take vengeance against his brother Zeus (Liam Neeson) by destroying the city of Argos. Facing near-certain destruction, Perseus volunteers to lead a mission to defeat Hades before the bitter god can unleash his leviathan, the Kraken, on Argos and overthrow Zeus, releasing hell on Earth.

First, this isn’t the Titans from decades ago. It’s not a charming, romantic film about the gods of old and a hero determined to save a princess from doom. This is a darker, more desperate telling of a man who wants to defeat the prideful gods who have become callous and even injurious to the plight of humanity. In a none-too-subtle tongue-in-cheek moment early in the film, Leterrier points out the difference when Perseus picks up the mechanical owl, Bubo, from the original Titans and, asking his comrade Draco (Mads Mikkelson) what it is, receives an amusing answer: “Leave it.”

As the hero, Sam Worthington is adequate for the role, though it may still be a little too close to his work in Avatar to judge it fairly — the characters are really pretty similar. His Perseus is a harder, more single-minded and more cynical adversary than we’ve seen on film before, at first rejecting all the help his true father, Zeus, attempts to bestow upon him.

But like the film from which it takes its cues, this movie is about the visuals and the world they help create. From the giant scorpions to the unfathomably huge Kraken, this is a creepy world that effects master Ray Harryhausen could only have imagined. True, the slick production lacks that Harryhausen charm, but all of the onscreen visuals serve the story well. (One exception: the asp-haired Medusa’s face should have been a bit closer to hideous.)

Clash of the Titans may not be to the taste of the original’s audience, but this is a film made for the young moviegoers of today. It’s potentially more frightening for younger viewers, but it’s an ideal bit of fun for the 12-year-old or the 12-year-old in you.

“Clash of the Titans” is now showing on Video On Demand. Check your cable system for availability.

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© 2010 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Legendary Pictures. Credit: Jay Maidment