Clash of the Titans

Synopsis: Perseus, son of Zeus, embarks on a dangerous quest to save Andromeda.

Release Date: March 26, 2010     MPAA Rating: PG-13

Genre(s): Action, Fantasy

Film Review

“Your money would be better spent on lottery tickets.” – my unfortunate movie companion to “Clash of the Titans”.

After the above comment I do not think there is any more that needs to be said in regards to the Production of this film. What I have written so far has consumed more time than the film is worth.

This movie cements 3D as a huge joke for the common film. I am still questioning why I was even wearing the glasses because I can only faintly recall anything but a greater depth of field effect. One of the trailers shown looked good in 3D though, but that is off subject. As for the special effects directly, horrible. Now not horrible in the sense that maybe they are trying to throw back to a B or C movie type aesthetic and make the film entertaining in its cheesy renderings of monsters. Nope. These effects were meant to be taken serious and there is no denying the money was spent elsewhere. When Hades (Ralph Fiennes) blows into Argos on his smoke train I had to use all of my energy to keep from laughing because he looked like a wax figurine. Medusa was one of the largest disappointments, in my humble opinion. Her snake body and famous head might as well have been plucked out of a cheap video game. The Kraken is decent but he only fully appears for a short time and it’s at the very end of the film. By then you are experiencing a shock and awe moment so great of just how sad everything has been that came before you are beyond indifferent. You just want to get out of there and go watch anything else.

If you want to avoid seeing poorly done special effects the best resource you have is the editor. Therefore, David Freeman, the editor, was a very important person on this movie. In the few scenes where you get action it is cut so quickly between movements, CGI shots, landscape, etc. that your eyes can barely focus. Let alone decipher what, where, when, who. When you do get a glimpse of the nemesis you realize just why everything is moving so quickly…to avoid you seeing how poorly done are the effects. This aside, the editing still needs to be coherent and help the viewer to make sense of what is occurring on screen. Even if that means you see some shotty work done by another person, as an editor you need to stand up and make a statement as to why things need to be done a certain way. Freeman neglected to do so and the result is a dizzying spell of horrific cutting. But nice cutting on the aerial shots; they were awfully pretty to see after all of the other trash.

On my count I found 4 real action scenes in the entire movie. None of them are exciting. None of them get your heart racing. None of them make you root for the hero to conquer the beast. To sum it up quickly: the action in this movie is lame.

For only the second time in FilmFracture history has a film inspired the possibility of a zero clock rating for Production. Congrats to all involved in the making of this movie.

Cast and Crew

• Director(s): Louis Leterrier
• Producer(s): Travis BeachamPhil HayMatt ManfrediSam Worthington (Perseus)
• Screenwriter(s): Ralph Fiennes (Hades)Liam Neeson (Zeus)
• Story: 
• Cast:  David FreemanPeter Menzies Jr.Martin Laing
• Editor(s): Lindy Hemming
• Cinematographer: Ramin Djawadi
• Production Designer(s): Neil Corbould Special Effects
• Costume Designer: Cinesite
• Casting Director(s): FramestoreCEG MediaThe Moving Picture Company
• Music Score: The Visual Effects Company
• Music Performed By: 
• Country Of Origin: UKUSA