Many Hollywood sequels are created just to squeeze every possible dollar out of movie-goers, and, in turn, end up being horrible movies all around. Wrath of the Titans falls into this category in every possible way. With his sequel to the 2010 film Clash of the Titans, director Jonathan Lieberman attempts to use historical, mythological figures in an awful and unconvincing plot, littered with excessive action and mediocre CGI. The superior cast fails to bring any redeeming qualities to the terrible plot. Wrath of the Titans is based on a premise created by Hollywood and fails to set any sense of reality.
The film is set ten years after Clash of the Titans, where we find Perseus (Sam Worthington), half-god, half-human, has chosen to live his life as a human. His wife, Io, has since passed, and he is raising his ten-year-old son, Helius (John Bell), as a fisherman. Perseus’ father, Zeus (Liam Neeson), visits him and states his need for help: the Greek citizens are no longer praying to the gods, and the gods are losing their power. Once the gods’ powers are gone, they will die. Perseus initially declines his father’s request to help, and Zeus tells Perseus that being a half-god makes him stronger, not weaker.
Zeus then travels to the underworld with one of his brothers, Poseidon (Danny Huston), and another one of his sons, Ares (Edgar Ramirez) to seek the help of Zeus’ other brother, Hades (Ralph Fiennes). Once in the underworld, Ares reveals that he has joined sides with Hades, because he is jealous Perseus has always been Zeus’ favorite son. Hades declines Zeus’ request for help and instead tells Zeus he and Ares created a deal with their father, Kronos, a Titan whom the three brothers had overthrown long ago. The gods would receive immortality in exchange for Kronos’ taking the last of Zeus’ power. Poseidon is able to escape the underworld and informs Perseus that his father is captured. Perseus then decides to rescue his father and save the world from a living hell, quite literally. Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike) serves as Perseus’ new love interest, and she, along with a few other new characters, helps Perseus on his journey to save his father.
While the plot of Clash of the Titans was drawn from an actual, mythological story of ancient Greece, it still fails acknowledge the reality of that culture, which would never have allowed a tale of the gods’ losing their power. The overarching premise is, therefore, pretty inconceivable (and probably would have been inconceivable to people who lived in ancient times).
The screenplay focuses way too much on fighting and barely allows the audience to digest one scene before it’s already halfway through the next action sequence. The cinematography is extremely choppy, and the CGI is only mediocre, compared with other action movies. While many phenomenal actors were cast in the film (Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes), their unfortunate portrayals of Greek gods were unconvincing and half hearted, making it seem like they only starred in the movie to earn extra money.
If you enjoy watching people fight off a ton of CGI objects being blown up, terrible plot lines, and superb actors in some of their worst roles, then this movie is for you. Otherwise, save your money and wait to see a better action movie.
Grade: F
Rated: PG-13 (for intense sequences of fantasy violence and action)
Wrath of the Titans opens nationwide on March 30, 2012.
We want to hear your thoughts on this topic!
Write a comment below or submit an article to Hypable.