Cast:
Zeus: Liam Neeson
Hades: Ralph Fiennes
Ares: Edgar Ramirez
Agenor: Toby Kebbell
Andromeda: Rosamund Pike
Spoiler Free Plot Synopsis:
When we last left Perseus he was preparing to lay down his weapons and embrace the life of a simple fisherman. Ten years later we find Perseus (Worthington) raising his son Helius and trying to live a normal life or as normal as can be for a demigod. Perseus’s peaceful existence is interrupted by Zeus (Neeson) who calls upon Perseus to wield a sword once more against the Titans who were imprisoned by the gods and are on the verge of escaping their prison. Perseus must not only contend with the Titans but with Hades (Fiennes) and Ares (Ramirez).
Kick Ass Moment:
My Take:
In 1981 Ray Harryhausen amazed audiences with his amazing special effects to deliver a vision of Greek mythology that many deemed a classic. Fast forward 29 years and we got a very solid remake that sadly was ruined by post production 3D effects but was enjoyable nonetheless. Two years Jonathan Liebesman gives what I can only deem as a poor man’s God of War interpretation. Wrath of the Titans had some incredible visuals and substantially better 3D but lacked the level of story polish seen in the first film. I was saddened to see a story that for all intents and purposes seemed thrown together with minimal thought. It almost felt like the director wanted to accelerate the action in the film to hide the flaws of the story. Those of you that know the story of Perseus know that one film was enough to tell the tale. Wrath of the Titans was Hollywood cash grab in every sense of the word. The loss of Gemma Arterton’s Io was told in all of three seconds which was a huge plot hole. She was immortal in Clash of the Titans and died but was brought back by Zeus at the end. Did she lose her immortality? Was she ill? Did she die while giving birth to the son of a demigod?All valid and simple questions that could have been in answered in 5-10 minutes of opening the film. Gemma Arterton was not the only missing member of the original cast as Alexa Davalos was also absent and replaced by Rosamund Pike as Andromeda. While Ms. Pike is a solid actress I got the feeling that she watched some Xena episodes and read some Wonder Woman comics to prepare for her role as Andromeda. Striking visual effects could not disguise the poor dialogue from Worthington nor the poor comic relief of Toby Kebbell’s Agenor. If you ever wanted to know what God of War would like on film then this was a close as you’re going to get. Sadly that wasn’t complimentary.
Recommendation:
Initially I went into this film excited at seeing the story continue but with a heavy heart I must recommend that you pass on this film. While I am a huge fan of mindless action I just felt let down with the acting and overall pacing of the story. Neeson and Fiennes are masters of their craft but could not salvage this sadly unnecessary sequel.
Related articles
- 1st Impression: Wrath of The Titans [Feature Trailer] (mytakeradio.com)
- My Take On: The Search For Tobin Frost (mytakeradio.com)
I guess that once gow releases its own movie, its gonna be somehow similar to wrath of the titans.