I kid you not: the trials of Odysseus (or Ulysses, depending upon one’s preference) were one of my first loves in all of storytelling.
It was fifth grade. Our teacher had ordered up this filmstrip series (ask your grandparents, kids) based entirely on Homer’s The Odyssey. Over the course of several days, the audience was enthralled with one adventure after another of the Greek king of Ithaca trying to make his way back home against the machinations of some vengeful gods. Complete with narration, music, and sound effects, these stories truly taught that young version of myself of the power of mythology and what great mythmaking could and should be like. This experience eventually pushed me to discover Bulfinch’s Mythology – along with several other collections – and even had me taking what few mythology courses I could in college.
So it’s easy to imagine that this interest would inspire me to check out any film classics that dealt with these tales. While there are a great many flicks associated with the adventures of Hercules (heck, there’s even been a long-lasting television series or two), none of them really won me over as creative influences tended to push these various yarns more for camp than authenticity. 1963’s Jason And The Argonauts – a classic in its own right – resonated much more, even with its obviously dated effects and some unimaginative casting choices. 1997’s television miniseries event The Odyssey – a favorite of mine – sidestepped a good degree of spectacle by delivering an adaptation that felt more grounded in human characters facing extraordinary circumstances. Zack Snyder’s wholly theatrical interpretation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel 300 was a feast for the eyes, indeed, and I think it embraced both visuals and characterization to the benefit of the widest audience possible.
Of course, I was a (somewhat) child of the 1980’s, so I was more than aware of 1981’s Clash Of The Titans which was directed by Desmond Davis for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Respectably lavish by standards of its day, the big screen incarnation is best remembered for being special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen’s last hurrah; and I dare you to find a finer example of stop motion effects work incorporating with live action photography. While I thought the picture good, there was still a heavy dose of cheesery incorporated to the storytelling, almost as if even the makers felt it necessary to remind audiences that all of this was based on myth rather than reality. Some sequences felt more akin to a live action cartoon, so I had some quibbles with the way the source material was mildly disrespected. A great film, I still held out hope that someday someone would pick Odysseus up, dust him off, and give it something a bit more intellectually intense.
Flash forward to 2010: Warner Bros., director Louis Letterier, and producer Basil Iwanyk (along with others) picked up that option with their bold remake of the much beloved Clash Of The Titans. Actor Sam Worthington was cast in the role of Perseus, son of Zeus, and this star-studded affair also included such marquee names of Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Mads Mikkelsen, Liam Cunningham, and Gemma Arterton. Certainly – one would assume – such a production would make use of the best special effects along with the best production techniques to finally serve up a stunning version that would shake the very rafters of even Olympus itself … well, if Olympus had rafters, that is. (It’s all stone and clouds, I believe.)
Indeed, I suspected that the gods would be pleased.
Sadly, I wasn’t.
It was fifth grade. Our teacher had ordered up this filmstrip series (ask your grandparents, kids) based entirely on Homer’s The Odyssey. Over the course of several days, the audience was enthralled with one adventure after another of the Greek king of Ithaca trying to make his way back home against the machinations of some vengeful gods. Complete with narration, music, and sound effects, these stories truly taught that young version of myself of the power of mythology and what great mythmaking could and should be like. This experience eventually pushed me to discover Bulfinch’s Mythology – along with several other collections – and even had me taking what few mythology courses I could in college.
So it’s easy to imagine that this interest would inspire me to check out any film classics that dealt with these tales. While there are a great many flicks associated with the adventures of Hercules (heck, there’s even been a long-lasting television series or two), none of them really won me over as creative influences tended to push these various yarns more for camp than authenticity. 1963’s Jason And The Argonauts – a classic in its own right – resonated much more, even with its obviously dated effects and some unimaginative casting choices. 1997’s television miniseries event The Odyssey – a favorite of mine – sidestepped a good degree of spectacle by delivering an adaptation that felt more grounded in human characters facing extraordinary circumstances. Zack Snyder’s wholly theatrical interpretation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel 300 was a feast for the eyes, indeed, and I think it embraced both visuals and characterization to the benefit of the widest audience possible.
Of course, I was a (somewhat) child of the 1980’s, so I was more than aware of 1981’s Clash Of The Titans which was directed by Desmond Davis for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Respectably lavish by standards of its day, the big screen incarnation is best remembered for being special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen’s last hurrah; and I dare you to find a finer example of stop motion effects work incorporating with live action photography. While I thought the picture good, there was still a heavy dose of cheesery incorporated to the storytelling, almost as if even the makers felt it necessary to remind audiences that all of this was based on myth rather than reality. Some sequences felt more akin to a live action cartoon, so I had some quibbles with the way the source material was mildly disrespected. A great film, I still held out hope that someday someone would pick Odysseus up, dust him off, and give it something a bit more intellectually intense.
Flash forward to 2010: Warner Bros., director Louis Letterier, and producer Basil Iwanyk (along with others) picked up that option with their bold remake of the much beloved Clash Of The Titans. Actor Sam Worthington was cast in the role of Perseus, son of Zeus, and this star-studded affair also included such marquee names of Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Mads Mikkelsen, Liam Cunningham, and Gemma Arterton. Certainly – one would assume – such a production would make use of the best special effects along with the best production techniques to finally serve up a stunning version that would shake the very rafters of even Olympus itself … well, if Olympus had rafters, that is. (It’s all stone and clouds, I believe.)
Indeed, I suspected that the gods would be pleased.
Sadly, I wasn’t.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Perseus, a demigod and the son of Zeus, battles the minions of Hades and the Underworld in order to stop them from conquering Olympus and Earth.”
I think far too often that fans of specific genres accept that whatever current treatise is being served up is the best they’re ever gonna get.
In fact, I’ve long debated online with readers and the like how critics praise each and every subsequent Marvel release as being ‘the best ever.’ How is that even possible? With well over two dozen titles in existence, any reasonable person could accept that not each and every flick is going to top the previous installment. At some point, something inferior – maybe it’s something as simple as an unengaging premise or a miscast actor or actress – gets into that studio’s seemingly endless stream of entertainment, and it spoils the load. Of course, that doesn’t mean the storytellers won’t find their way again: it’s merely a reflection that quality – by its very nature – isn’t always additive. Occasionally, missteps or miscalculations are made, requiring audiences to at least temper their expectations to reality.
In my humble opinion, this has long been the problem when it comes to Hollywood studios adapting the works of Greek, Roman, Norse, or any other mythology to the silver screen: it’s incredibly difficult to bridge that gap between worlds of the mortal and the immortal. The representation of these existential juggernauts – temperamental folks like Zeus, Gaia, Hercules, Poseidon, etc. – relies typically on finding a narrative equilibrium between human performance and special effects, and that’s a difficult proposition. How much of either is too much? How much of either is too little? Will audiences suspend their disbelief when, say, the God of Thunder is given a decidedly human face, size, and shape? Or will they turn away in laughter? Or disgust? Or disdain?
In order to accept these tales on screen, viewers have had to come to peace with the fact that there may be no happy consensus amongst ‘the best possible approach,’ and this is what I mean when I say that we’ve likely had to compromise with the experience. What I perceive to be godlike – or Godlike – may not necessarily be that which the director, producer, and technicians were able to render. To some degree, I suspect this complexity is why there really haven’t been all that many attempts: after all, when there is no universal acceptance of what some hierarchical beyond looks like, how can we convince ticket buyers around the world that this one is good enough?
In part, this is why I know I struggled to enjoy so much of 2010’s Clash Of The Titans. Far too much of its ethereal substance failed to resonate, so I struggled to make sense of anyone’s plight – mortal and immortal.
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Perseus, a demigod and the son of Zeus, battles the minions of Hades and the Underworld in order to stop them from conquering Olympus and Earth.”
I think far too often that fans of specific genres accept that whatever current treatise is being served up is the best they’re ever gonna get.
In fact, I’ve long debated online with readers and the like how critics praise each and every subsequent Marvel release as being ‘the best ever.’ How is that even possible? With well over two dozen titles in existence, any reasonable person could accept that not each and every flick is going to top the previous installment. At some point, something inferior – maybe it’s something as simple as an unengaging premise or a miscast actor or actress – gets into that studio’s seemingly endless stream of entertainment, and it spoils the load. Of course, that doesn’t mean the storytellers won’t find their way again: it’s merely a reflection that quality – by its very nature – isn’t always additive. Occasionally, missteps or miscalculations are made, requiring audiences to at least temper their expectations to reality.
In my humble opinion, this has long been the problem when it comes to Hollywood studios adapting the works of Greek, Roman, Norse, or any other mythology to the silver screen: it’s incredibly difficult to bridge that gap between worlds of the mortal and the immortal. The representation of these existential juggernauts – temperamental folks like Zeus, Gaia, Hercules, Poseidon, etc. – relies typically on finding a narrative equilibrium between human performance and special effects, and that’s a difficult proposition. How much of either is too much? How much of either is too little? Will audiences suspend their disbelief when, say, the God of Thunder is given a decidedly human face, size, and shape? Or will they turn away in laughter? Or disgust? Or disdain?
In order to accept these tales on screen, viewers have had to come to peace with the fact that there may be no happy consensus amongst ‘the best possible approach,’ and this is what I mean when I say that we’ve likely had to compromise with the experience. What I perceive to be godlike – or Godlike – may not necessarily be that which the director, producer, and technicians were able to render. To some degree, I suspect this complexity is why there really haven’t been all that many attempts: after all, when there is no universal acceptance of what some hierarchical beyond looks like, how can we convince ticket buyers around the world that this one is good enough?
In part, this is why I know I struggled to enjoy so much of 2010’s Clash Of The Titans. Far too much of its ethereal substance failed to resonate, so I struggled to make sense of anyone’s plight – mortal and immortal.
Rescued shortly after birth by a lowly fisherman, young Perseus – the demi-god son of Zeus (played by Liam Neeson) and the human Danae – grows into a young man (Sam Worthington) who longs for nothing more than life on the sea and the love of his adoptive parents. But the gods can be vengeful creatures as one knows, and Hades (Ralph Fiennes) – in the first step of his grand scheme to seize Olympus from his brother’s rule – unleashes the Furies and a violent blast that leads to the death of Perseus’s family. When the god promises even more wrath with the release of the mighty Kraken upon the people of Argos unless they sacrifice Princess Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) ceremonially in ten days, the demi-god finds himself conscripted into service by King Kepheus (Vincent Regan) under command of his general Draco (Mads Mikkelsen). Together, they’re off to see the Stygian Witches who know of the only way to kill the Kraken to stave off mankind’s probable extinction.
As is fairly typical when Hollywood seeks to adapt such intricate tales, Clash winds up working fast and loose with scraps of the legend as written. For example, the infant Perseus is found floating at sea with his deceased mother in the film when – according to the myth – they were both were taken in after washing ashore by a fisherman who ultimately raised the boy into manhood. The script here rather conveniently removes Danae from the equation, seemingly swinging the door wide open for Perseus’ established love interest of Andromeda. However, for reasons I never quite understood, the screenwriters felt it necessary to pluck another player from mythology – Io (Gemma Atherton) – and insert her into the film as a kinda/sorta guardian angel joining our hero on his quest. To complicate matters even more, they chose to make her Perseus’ source of affection, essentially sidelining Andromeda to little more than a passing infatuation who just kinda/sorta happens to intertwine with the demi-god’s desire to one-up the gods and live his life as a mortal. Perseus and Io’s relationship ends up feeling more contrivance than anything else, and even mortals deserve better.
Though I don’t usually get too deeply into casting choices, I’d be remiss if I didn’t sound off on what I felt was a critical misstep: the hiring of Worthington as Clash’s lead.
As a critic, it’s often hard to discern why an actor plays a role a certain way because I’m not privy to any behind-the-scenes information the talent might have been provided by the director, producers, screenwriters, or even peers. Fundamentally, I’m tasked with working entirely with what’s onscreen to inform my opinion of the role; and in that respect Worthington never quite scores any emotional center. The first act, he handles the duties of being torn over the loss of his Earthbound family along with being drafted to serve the people of Argos just fine; and yet his desire to extract punishment on the immortals pretty much disappears as the film progresses. Oh, it comes up in dialogue here and there, but given the fact that his seemingly godlike abilities – fast with a sword without any training as well as mixing it up physically despite seemingly only ever schooled in anything but fishing – I tend to think that no screenwriter, director, or producer really put much thought into the steps necessary for his hero’s arc to make literal sense. Instead, he’s a demi-god, so let’s just let him do this demi-goddery when the time comes.
Furthermore, I hate to point out that – ahem – Worthington was entirely too old to play the part as written and as conceived in mythology.
As best as I can ascertain from the screen material, Perseus – at the time of this adventure – should be in his early 20’s, and I would think that he probably would’ve been a bit younger in the original myth, though that’s something that’s always open to conjecture. According to the best guess I can make based on information available online, Worthington was thirty-three years old at the time of Clash’s production; and – no insult intended – he looks a bit older to these wizened eyes. Clearly, he doesn’t have a young man’s face, and there are even a few wrinkle lines on his forehead. Consequently, the emotional ‘beats’ of these early scenes – the death of his parents, his time in the Argos court, etc. – don’t resemble anything authentic. Indeed, the man delivers much his dialogue with the learned patience of a thirty-year-old actor, robbing most of the scenes of their relevance.
I suspect many might be able to overlook the aesthetic inconsistency by saying that Perseus was justly filled with anger and perhaps it was this anger that had him rushing into adulthood. Still, the story goes to great lengths to portray him as being somewhat young and somewhat impressionable – certainly, if he’s led the hard life on the sea, I can understand the maturity of his physique but not his mind. However, Worthington spends the remainder of the film delivering his lines in an almost hard-boiled Schwarzenegger cadence; and that, my friends, is not the stuff of mythology in any way. It's the Hollywoodization of such grand storytelling; and, yes, it helped sink the whole affair in much the same way Hades had no trouble tossing Spyros’ fishing boat to the bottom of the deep blue sea.
As is fairly typical when Hollywood seeks to adapt such intricate tales, Clash winds up working fast and loose with scraps of the legend as written. For example, the infant Perseus is found floating at sea with his deceased mother in the film when – according to the myth – they were both were taken in after washing ashore by a fisherman who ultimately raised the boy into manhood. The script here rather conveniently removes Danae from the equation, seemingly swinging the door wide open for Perseus’ established love interest of Andromeda. However, for reasons I never quite understood, the screenwriters felt it necessary to pluck another player from mythology – Io (Gemma Atherton) – and insert her into the film as a kinda/sorta guardian angel joining our hero on his quest. To complicate matters even more, they chose to make her Perseus’ source of affection, essentially sidelining Andromeda to little more than a passing infatuation who just kinda/sorta happens to intertwine with the demi-god’s desire to one-up the gods and live his life as a mortal. Perseus and Io’s relationship ends up feeling more contrivance than anything else, and even mortals deserve better.
Though I don’t usually get too deeply into casting choices, I’d be remiss if I didn’t sound off on what I felt was a critical misstep: the hiring of Worthington as Clash’s lead.
As a critic, it’s often hard to discern why an actor plays a role a certain way because I’m not privy to any behind-the-scenes information the talent might have been provided by the director, producers, screenwriters, or even peers. Fundamentally, I’m tasked with working entirely with what’s onscreen to inform my opinion of the role; and in that respect Worthington never quite scores any emotional center. The first act, he handles the duties of being torn over the loss of his Earthbound family along with being drafted to serve the people of Argos just fine; and yet his desire to extract punishment on the immortals pretty much disappears as the film progresses. Oh, it comes up in dialogue here and there, but given the fact that his seemingly godlike abilities – fast with a sword without any training as well as mixing it up physically despite seemingly only ever schooled in anything but fishing – I tend to think that no screenwriter, director, or producer really put much thought into the steps necessary for his hero’s arc to make literal sense. Instead, he’s a demi-god, so let’s just let him do this demi-goddery when the time comes.
Furthermore, I hate to point out that – ahem – Worthington was entirely too old to play the part as written and as conceived in mythology.
As best as I can ascertain from the screen material, Perseus – at the time of this adventure – should be in his early 20’s, and I would think that he probably would’ve been a bit younger in the original myth, though that’s something that’s always open to conjecture. According to the best guess I can make based on information available online, Worthington was thirty-three years old at the time of Clash’s production; and – no insult intended – he looks a bit older to these wizened eyes. Clearly, he doesn’t have a young man’s face, and there are even a few wrinkle lines on his forehead. Consequently, the emotional ‘beats’ of these early scenes – the death of his parents, his time in the Argos court, etc. – don’t resemble anything authentic. Indeed, the man delivers much his dialogue with the learned patience of a thirty-year-old actor, robbing most of the scenes of their relevance.
I suspect many might be able to overlook the aesthetic inconsistency by saying that Perseus was justly filled with anger and perhaps it was this anger that had him rushing into adulthood. Still, the story goes to great lengths to portray him as being somewhat young and somewhat impressionable – certainly, if he’s led the hard life on the sea, I can understand the maturity of his physique but not his mind. However, Worthington spends the remainder of the film delivering his lines in an almost hard-boiled Schwarzenegger cadence; and that, my friends, is not the stuff of mythology in any way. It's the Hollywoodization of such grand storytelling; and, yes, it helped sink the whole affair in much the same way Hades had no trouble tossing Spyros’ fishing boat to the bottom of the deep blue sea.
Similarly, these gods as portrayed by some of the screens critical favorites are – sigh – far too passé far too much of the time. When I think of gods, I don’t imagine earthly men and women with impressive accents merely delivering sentences in a manner that makes them sound affluent; instead, I really needed someone – anyone – in this pantheon to accept the fact that they were created to be bigger-than-frigging-life itself. This lot was far too comfortable just being divine and expended too little effort showing me what divinity looked like, what being a god felt like. The only one who seems to understand that a vast degree of theatricality would be required to portray a deity was Fiennes – his Hades has some wonderful Shakespearean moments – but the fact that he’s surrounded by chosen ones just waxing eloquently but not putting their backs into any of it a real, real disappointment.
Normally, I don’t break up the review with even a mention of a production’s special features because they’re not part of the theatrical experience, but I’m making an exception here just to clarify a point I raised above. Remember what I said about the difficulty between establishing the respective worlds of men and gods, about how challenging that can be to convey in a relatable fashion? Well, the disc includes some deleted scenes and an alternate ending that I believe would have made this production a vastly more impressive engagement. Even in their unfinished format here, there’s enough present to show that far more thought went into exploring the shenanigans of the gods on Mount Olympus, one aspect I felt was in far too short supply knowing what I do about mythology. Perhaps I might’ve been among the few and the proud who would’ve embraced a longer and more storied cut; but without seeing what could have been I guess we’ll never know.
Clash Of The Titans (2010) was produced by Warner Bros., Legendary Entertainment, Thunder Road Pictures, The Zanuck Company, and Moving Picture Company (MPC). DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Arrow Films. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I thought that the provided sights-and-sounds to what’s reported as a 4K upgrade were nothing short of phenomenal … if not godlike. (snicker snicker) Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? The disc boasts a handful of behind-the-scenes shorts, along with the usual trailer, an alternate ending, and some deleted scenes.
Alas, only Mildly Recommended.
As one might imagine, it pains me to only have to give a modest nod to the world of mythology, but 2010’s Clash Of The Titans just didn’t feel all that titanic. Granted, Letterier sprinkles his Adventure/Fantasy with some good-looking talent, and he definitely paces them respectably through some equally good-looking set pieces. A great deal of the action feels like it was constructed around and for these sequences, giving the picture a deeply and obviously formulaic rhythm. In fact, I’d agree with anyone who suggested that the cinematic treatment so far as visuals go has never been better. Still, far too much of the work revolves around Worthington’s lackluster performance – and a curiously disaffecting hero’s journey that never makes sense – so I’ll continue to hold out hope that, eventually, the material gets another big attempt to raise Heaven and Earth the way stories of gods and men deserve.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arrow Films provided me with a complimentary 4K copy of Clash Of The Titans (as part of their ‘When Titans Ruled The Earth’ Collection) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
Normally, I don’t break up the review with even a mention of a production’s special features because they’re not part of the theatrical experience, but I’m making an exception here just to clarify a point I raised above. Remember what I said about the difficulty between establishing the respective worlds of men and gods, about how challenging that can be to convey in a relatable fashion? Well, the disc includes some deleted scenes and an alternate ending that I believe would have made this production a vastly more impressive engagement. Even in their unfinished format here, there’s enough present to show that far more thought went into exploring the shenanigans of the gods on Mount Olympus, one aspect I felt was in far too short supply knowing what I do about mythology. Perhaps I might’ve been among the few and the proud who would’ve embraced a longer and more storied cut; but without seeing what could have been I guess we’ll never know.
Clash Of The Titans (2010) was produced by Warner Bros., Legendary Entertainment, Thunder Road Pictures, The Zanuck Company, and Moving Picture Company (MPC). DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Arrow Films. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I thought that the provided sights-and-sounds to what’s reported as a 4K upgrade were nothing short of phenomenal … if not godlike. (snicker snicker) Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? The disc boasts a handful of behind-the-scenes shorts, along with the usual trailer, an alternate ending, and some deleted scenes.
Alas, only Mildly Recommended.
As one might imagine, it pains me to only have to give a modest nod to the world of mythology, but 2010’s Clash Of The Titans just didn’t feel all that titanic. Granted, Letterier sprinkles his Adventure/Fantasy with some good-looking talent, and he definitely paces them respectably through some equally good-looking set pieces. A great deal of the action feels like it was constructed around and for these sequences, giving the picture a deeply and obviously formulaic rhythm. In fact, I’d agree with anyone who suggested that the cinematic treatment so far as visuals go has never been better. Still, far too much of the work revolves around Worthington’s lackluster performance – and a curiously disaffecting hero’s journey that never makes sense – so I’ll continue to hold out hope that, eventually, the material gets another big attempt to raise Heaven and Earth the way stories of gods and men deserve.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arrow Films provided me with a complimentary 4K copy of Clash Of The Titans (as part of their ‘When Titans Ruled The Earth’ Collection) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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