Available now from Arrow Video as part of the When Titans Ruled the Earth box set.
Perseus must decide which side he wants to join in the battle between humans and gods.
Written by Travis Beacham, Phil Hay, and Matt Manfredi, based on the 1981 script by Beverley Cross, and directed by Louis Leterrier, this newer version of Clash of the Titans seemed to be most packaging over content back when it came out in 2010, easily pushed aside for other films coming out at the time (yes, even though it made a bundle at the box office internationally). For a lot of folks, their first experience with it was on television and then not much else. For others, it was a lot more than shiny CGI and muscular men with pretty ladies. There is something here, a decent retelling of a known story, one that yes makes use of pretty people to tell its story and has a lot of CGI, but there is much more here. It might not be the best story of the old Greek gods, but it is entertainment and, in this case, like with many films, that is all that is needed really. This version is written and directed for the action, and it works decently well this way.
The cast here is as shiny as the film. That saying that it’s a lot of big names, muscular and/or pretty people, working against green screen and cg beasties forcing them to make the most of their script and directions. And do not get this wrong, this cast is fun too. The list of actors here is absolutely stacked with Sam Worthington in the lead of Perseus, Liam Neeson as Zeus, Ralph Fiennes as Hades, Gemma Arterton as Io, and so many more. How many? Well, every single role seems to be played by a known name, including (on top of the above) Jason Flemyng, Alexa Davalos, Mads Mikkelsen, Izabella Miko, Liam Cunningham, Luke Evans, Nicholas Hoult, etc. This cast is stacked! And most of them do decent to great work depending on the part each of them has and how well they work with so much computer-generated images. This did come out during the era where Hollywood was trying to make Sam Worthington into an action star which sometimes worked, sometimes didn’t and here it seems to be right in the middle with his performance mostly working but needing a bit more nuance and emotion. Stealing more than a few scenes is the always great Gemma Arterton as Io. She’s the lady balancing out the crew of men, doing a lot of the story exposition, yet coming off more fitting for the quest than almost anyone else.
Playing a few characters, sort of, is CGI which is used for some backgrounds but mainly and more obviously for the beasties. Yep, calling them the beasties as they are somewhat adorable to this kaiju-loving heart. The CG work is good and has aged decently well surprisingly. The Kraken is interesting here and in your face clearly designed to grab at you and make you recoil in the theater. At homes, this effect is a bit lost, but the effects look decent to this day. Similarly, can be said about Medusa who is decently well done here. Of course, those who loved the stop motion animation of previous similar films will not be all that happy with these effects, but taken on their own, they work decently still over a decade later.
This new release of Clash of the Titans (2010) comes in a package with its sequel Wrath of the Titans from Arrow Video in a new 4K edition that looks and sounds stunningly great on this reviewer’s home cinema. Of course, set-ups vary, but overall, the new transfer looks great for both films. The extras on this set are plentiful with so many, it’s difficult to watch them all. But! Don’t you worry, some of us are a bit nuts and have watched all of them. Favorites here are “Actors and their Stunts”, “Prepare for the Kraken”, and the alternate ending and deleted scenes. This disc is a fun watch.