Film Review: Wrath Of The Titans

(Published on Lost In The Multiplex and in Issue 8 of my publication In Retrospect)

Directed by Jonathan Liebesman, Wrath of the Titans follows the demigod son of Zeus, Perseus (Sam Worthington), who must help the Gods restore order and supremacy as, weakened by humanity’s lack of devotion, they struggle to keep control of the imprisoned Titans. When Hades (Ralph Fiennes), along with Zeus’ godly son Ares (Edgar Ramírez), make a deal to capture Zeus (Liam Neeson), Perseus can no longer ignore his true calling. Enlisting the help of the warrior Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), Poseidon’s demigod son Argenor (Toby Kebbell), and fallen god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), Perseus must embark on a treacherous quest into the underworld to rescue Zeus and overthrow the Titans to save mankind.

Rating:

Sequel to the 2010 film Clash of the Titans and set ten years later, Wrath of the Titans sets itself as a tale of epic fantasy that is full of monstrous and terrifying beasts. Unfortunately, it isn’t. With a fairly decent storyline that doesn’t become boring or confusing, the only problem is that we’ve heard and seen this Greek mythological tale so many times before, and unfortunately this most recent franchise just doesn’t stand out enough from the ever-expanding crowd to make a name for itself. With a poor dialogue and fairly stiff acting throughout, the film completely lacks imagination and is underwhelming in most aspects.

Of course, as the film has promoted itself, its highlight is the use of stunning visual effects, which really benefits the film due to its constant use of lightning bolts and scenes full of lava. However, we were supposed to see this at its highest level through the four titans that the film has largely been promoting over the past couple of months. Unlike what was expected, we don’t get to see much of these monsters at all. The main creature, Kronos, the father of Zeus and Hades, is described in Greek legend as the castrator of his father, devourer of his offspring and incestuous and the impregnator of his sister, but we are presented with something very different. That’ll be due to the film’s 12A rating I’m guessing, which is a shame as this only glitters up the end of the world rather than filling us with fear. Not quite a wrath of titans, more like a few slaps across the face whilst we are distracted by too many other, less relevant, storylines and characters.

And then, how can we forget, the unmissable romantic ending. This would have worked really well between the characters of Pike and Worthington as they are both fairly attractive to the other half. Regretfully there was a complete lack of chemistry throughout, even at the point of them kissing. This scene felt like it was forced in rather than worked on, which is another great failure on the director’s behalf.

As for the acting alone, Sam Worthington is brilliant in the film’s lead role. Strong and powerful, his performance as a demigod has been pretty solid throughout the franchise, but he still has so much more to offer and it seems that he just doesn’t want to give the film any effort. He is then followed by an even stronger cast that includes the like of Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson and Danny Houston, all great and powerful actors who on paper are extremely well suited for their characters. Unfortunately, none of them give anything spectacular, either, nothing in the way of what we have seen from them in the Harry Potter and Dark Knight franchises at least. For me, it was Bill Nighy and Toby Kebbell that stood out, livening up the supposedly depressing nature of the universe ending by adding in a bit of humour where it was needed. These two were good because they didn’t take themselves seriously, and that stood out a mile in comparison to everyone else.

There’s not a lot else to be said really. I had hoped I could have recommended this just for the CGI, but I actually enjoyed the first film more, and that says enough itself.