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WRATH OF THE TITANS

 

"Clash of the Titans" was to be a revival of the Greek myths of gods and titans warring with each other. The idea was to build upon the interest that "300" stirred a few years back. Since Hollywood has apparently run out of ideas, why not turn to the old stand-bys.

 

Alas, "Clash of the Titans" was a monumental mess with technology problems arising from the last minute decision to convert the 2D film to the more profitable 3D format. The result was a muted darkish film that looked like failing senior project in film school. BUT... it made money.

 

And money is what it's all about. So Warner Bros decided to make a sequel and this time, shoot it in 3D. The result is "Wrath of the Titans" with Perseus once again kicking everybody's butt; keep in mind that in myth, Perseus is responsible for killing Medusa and little else. Yes, he used the head to turn a few enemies to stone but most of them were demigods like himself.

If you are not familiar with the Titans, there were twelve initial Titans. Oceanus, Hyperion, Coeus, Cronus, Crius, Iapetus, Mnemosyne, Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea and Themis. All were born to Gaia (Mother Earth) and Uranus (the sky). Cronus was the father to Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter, and Chiron. With the exception of Chiron (who was a Centaur) the others formed half of the Olympians [the rest were Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus and Hermes]. When Zeus got tired of his father, he led the Olympians in the War of the Gods which lasted ten years. The Olympians won and Cronus was imprisoned in Tartarus - a place in the underworld where Hades ruled.

 

According to Greek mythology, that was the end of Cronus. Aha, but in director Jonathan Liebesman's version, Cronus and Hades make a deal in which Hades (Ralph Fiennes) will help Cronus escape to destroy the world. Hades, as you recall, was cast to the Underworld by Zeus (Liam Neeson). [According to Greek mythology Posiedon, Zeus and Hades drew lots and Hades chose the Underworld to rule the dead.] Hades is joined in his efforts by Ares (Edgar Ramirez) the god of war.

 

Zeus hears about the plan and immediately runs to Perseus (Sam Worthington) to ask for his help. Yes, once again the King of the gods seeks the help of his demigod son for help.

 

Perseus, in the meantime, has a son of his own named Helius (John Bell) who has aspirations to be a kick-ass demigod homself one day. [According to Greek Mythology, Helius was in fact a second generation Titan as he was actually the son of Titans Hyperion and Theia.] But Perseus just want his son to grow to be a fine upstanding human. So initially he refuses to help untill he hears that Zeus has been captured by Hades and Ares and being held in the Underworld to face his death.

So armed with a sword Perseus, once again, sets out to save the world and his father. Of course, he must first go on quests to find another demigod to help him - his cousin Agenor (Toby Kebbell) who is Posiedon son. [According to Greek mythology, Agenor is merely a footnote attributed with the Phoenicians and little else.]

 

He is then quickly reunited with Andromeda (this time played by Rosamund Pike) who has become a full fledged warrior princess. [According to Greek mythology Andromeda was basically a priness hottie.] Together the three of them set out on... another quest. This time to find the cyclopes that made the weapons for Zeus, Poseidon and Hades.

 

They do and... do I have to go any further? The story is completely contrived and convoluted - especially of you are a fan of traditional Greek mythology. Dangerous creatures are amazingly easy to dispatch and minor creatures - like the Pegasus - practically indestructible.

 

True, the technical aspects are superior to "The Clash of the Titans", but keep in mind that even in the title we get less than advertised; since the only Titan in this film is Cronus who flings molten rock at everyone. [In greek mythology Cronus used a sickle as his main weapon.] Uh... what happened to the other Titans? Never mind because the entire Greek mythology is bastardized and ruined.

 

Greek myths have endured for thousands of years whether they are based on fact or purely fantasy. But the fact is left as they were written, the stories are very interesting and exciting - they don't need to be doctored and manipulated.

 

"Wrath of the Titans" is a major disappointment. Though the technical problems were resolved, we are left with a totally trashed story that either proves the 35-year old director Jonathan Liebesman, doesn't know his Greek mythology or doesn't care and is willing to ruin it for everyone else.   -- GEOFF BURTON

 

GEOFF BURTON

 

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