So I was actually looking forward to this movie based on the trailer and the recent special effects failures of this year, so I was expecting this one to pull it all together and be a great movie. It also opened in many theaters with a midnight premiere and made a big splash at the box office taking in the top spot this past weekend with $61 million.
The movie is directed by Louis Leterrier, director of The Incredible Hulk and Transporter 2, and follows the Greek myths surrounding most prominently the story of Perseus and is a remake of the classic 1981 film of the same name. This story follows Persues, Sam Worthington, and his quest to avenge his family’s death by defeating the Cracken and therefore defeating the gods in their power struggle to dominate the mortals of the world. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes also star as Zues and Hades in the movie.
Unfortunately, I had already seen and disliked Percy Jackson; The Lightning Thief which was basically a watered down child version of Clash of the Titans. So the plot felt very similar and had the same type of epic quest where everything just falls into place at the right time and the characters never seem to make the wrong decision which makes for an epic quest however it sort of removes the suspense since we all knew it was going to work out. The movie was a lot longer than it needed to be and really didn’t need to include all of the perils that they faced. Since this movie was basically all about the effects, the screenwriters obviously felt that they didn’t really need much dialogue in the movie.
The movie was very obviously anchored around it’s special effects and it was at least entertaining to watch how they decided to go about with the different characters. Unfortunately, some of the effects just came out looking cheap and laughable, most specifically the sparking suit worn by Zues and everything that Hades does. Some of the other effects were pretty cool, such as the Pegasus and the Cracken. It was very apparent that different elements had different effects teams as some were really smooth and believable and others were not. I’m undecided on the Medusa since she was just basically a large snake with a human head. The camera angles were shot trying to give the movie an epic feel and the film quality was nice. I did really like the sound mixing, it was really great and spot on. The sound of the final battle was just awesome and fit perfectly with the action.
The performances were mediocre but didn’t really take away from the movie since again, there wasn’t much dialogue. Sam Worthington proves that he is a master at giving meaningful stares and can furrow his brow like no other. He does tend to over-act a bit. Ralph Fiennes was just not believable as Hades and I really just wanted him to clear his throat and speak up so I could hear him. Liam Neeson does a good job as Zues, but when doesn’t Liam Neeson do a great job?
Overall, it really wasn’t that great. I was really expecting an awesome ground breaking movie but was sadly disappointed. It had some truly funny parts and some hints of good effects, but for the most part the movie just seemed to drag on endlessly with no end in sight. I think the movie would have been much better in a rated R version. There was definitely more violence and action than Percy Jackson but the Greek Myths are all about sex and violence. This was also my first 3D movie and this movie has not made me a fan of the 3D revolution. I would probably recommend this to rent when it comes out to rent. “I’ve only known one great man, my father. Now I know four, and a woman, and whatever the hell you are”.
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