Wrath of the Titans is a better movie than its weak originator, the 2010 Clash of the Titans, but that’s not to say it’s a better movie in the grand scheme of things. While it’s a better sequel the movie is still flat and plays so much with Greek mythology you’d find more accuracy in Percy Jackson. Wrath of the Titans should appease fans disappointed by Immortals, but you’ll still be surprised at how little you remember when it hits DVD.
Perseus (Sam Worthington), demi-god of Olympus, has settled down and enjoys time with his young son. When gods Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Ares (Edgar Ramirez) kidnap Zeus (Liam Neeson) in a bid to unleash the titans, specifically Kronos, it’ll be up to Perseus to take up the mantle and save humanity.
The biggest issue with Clash of the Titans was the complete lack of actual Titans and if any good comes out of this film it’s that Titans are actually clashing! The special effects are still great and Kronos looks great. The sets are noticeably epic and there’s a lot less dialogue and long debating sessions between the gods in comparison to this film. In many ways though that takes out some of the good stuff from the original, namely that the gods enjoyed toying with the lives of the humans which we don’t get here.
The cast is comprised of a lot of adequate actors, not great but not terrible, simply adequate. Worthington continues to cement himself as the Australian Arnold Schwarzenegger and by that I mean he’s a great action star but you wouldn’t want to see him in a dramatic movie. Worthington conveys all the machismo you’d expect from Perseus and thank you to the screenwriter for lessening all of the “I’m going to do this…as a man” moments Perseus had in the first film. Neeson and Fiennes are also good as the gods with the addition of Edgar Ramirez as the angry Ares. Rosamund Pike is a kick-ass action heroine but sadly she’s got little characterization, merely continuing where Alexa Davalos left off in playing the character that acts tough but is in distress more often than not. Bill Nighy is the sole scene stealer as Hephaestus but he’s not given nearly enough.
Wrath of the Titans continues to suffer from the same problems as its predecessor, it’s all glitz and no substance; which is fine but the script is far too weak leaving the action to dominate almost 90% of the film. The Zeus in peril story is laughably contrived and many scenes are just redone scenes from Clash. The characters go to almost the exact same sets, they all have the exact same problems, and at the end the gods apparently walk away never to be seen again? The ending is either a veiled anti-religious message…or piss poor storytelling and I’m going with the latter.
Wrath of the Titans should have been renamed “Someone has Daddy Issues” as that becomes the big “climax” of the movie and it’s not enough to sustain the audience’s attention. The action looks great, but the movie is just as bland and lifeless as the original. A DVD rental and not much else.
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