The sequel to the 2010 Clash of the Titans was always going to have a tough job winning the movie goers again. The first movie had failed to win a serious audience. There had been questions over the silliness of previous Titan epics in years gone by and whether the ensemble cast could make it work. Add in an abundance of CGi to bring alive a Greek mythological world and the recipe has to be cooked just right. The first director Louis Leterrier didn’t seem to make it click so I went to the follow up; Wrath of the Titans with an element of foreboding. New director at the helm, Jonathan Liebesman, has a short repertoire so it was difficult to gauge what we could expect however I had seen Battle Los Angeles and was impressed how his directing could overcome a stale storyline.
Summarising the experience, Wrath of the Titans is an epic in your face battlefront. The imagery particularly when viewed in its IMAX 3D format is confronting. From the early days of Perseus ‘retiring’ on the beach through to the volcano that comes to life and splatters the warriors with lava it keeps a heady pace. That was one of the aspects that surprised me as the credits rolled that what felt like an intense journey over two hours was only a 99min movie.
The story takes us on a journey as one son betrays his father while another father is inspired by his son to live and conquer. Wrath is a quest to save the world from the apathy and infighting of the gods. It seems to highlight that humans have a deeper potential to succeed because of their need to accept their mortality and the desire to overcome despite this weakness. In one scene Hades says “Maybe I’ll be stronger now that I don’t have the power”.
In this saga Sam Worthington returns to the role of Perseus and brings in some great newcomers to the story in Andromeda played by Rosamund Pike and the superbly played Agenor, Toby Kebbell. Old time gods Zeus, Hades and Poseidon are played respectively by Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and Danny Huston. Worthington does a good job and now sports a rough and tumble hair-do that is a change from the previous Avatar cut. What is interesting in this epic is that he doesn’t hide the Perth accent and you’ll believe that Australians were the real ancestors of Greek mythology.
But the most likeable character you’ll wish had more than his 10min of fame is Hephaestus played by Bill Nighy. This minor god had the ‘luck’ of getting the hand of Aphrodite to stop the other gods fighting over her and he was considered the god of smithing and technology. This last element brings him into our story as the creator of Zeus’ thunderbolt, Poseidon’s trident and Hades fork. It’s through Hephaestus’ knowledge of the labyrinth he had built to protect the hidden underworld prison of Tartarus that we journey with Perseus and crew.
Greek myths were always meant to rattle your bones. Although Greek, I can’t see Aesop’s fables being made into a summer blockbuster movie. To that end the Wrath of the Titans delivers a journey in spectacular fashion both above ground and into the depths of the underworld. If the IMAX experience is in your area then I highly recommend the immersive experience.
4.5 out of 5 popcorns
