Our verdict: wait to see Louis Leterrier’s Clash of the Titans on DVD

02 April 2010

Gerard Wood

The original Clash of the Titans (1981) was produced by legendary special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen who pioneered the technique of stop motion animation, and today the movie is considered by many to be the perfect example of  that technique. If you’ve recently watched Harryhausen's movie however, you probably agree that it was overdue for a remake: in the age of Avatar, the effects are no longer special and yet, when all is said and done, they really are the best thing about it. Even so, almost thirty years on, the original Clash of the Titans is remembered with affection by many.

Which is far more than Louis Leterrier can expect for his 2010 remake, which will fade quickly from memory due to Warner Bros.' greedy and short-sighted decision to rush through a conversion to 3D that leaves everything to be desired.

There’s no doubt that it was a commercial decision by the Studio in the wake of Avatar’s unprecedented success, rather than a creative decision by the director. It was made only a few months before the scheduled release of the movie and the conversion was rushed to meet the release date. It’s simply not possible to achieve the awe-inspiring experience of Avatar, which took years of production, in just two months. As Avatar director James Cameron recently observed, this is not the way to make movies in 3D: shooting a movie in 3D is a creative decision that must be made before production commences, and if conversion does take place, it cannot be rushed without the risk of creating “an inferior product” that will “work against the adoption of 3D”.

While there really is no risk now to the adoption of 3D, Leterrier's Clash of the Titans has done nothing whatsoever to promote the technology or experience. Compared to Avatar and How To Train Your Dragon, both of which were natively authored in 3D, the conversion of Clash of the Titans is extremely poor and the end result is disappointing. The picture is frequently blurry and in places, especially around heads, the depth of the image is noticeably distorted as if the shape has simply been stretched or layered through superimposing another image. How Warner Bros. thought they could get away with such slapdash work when comparison to Avatar was inevitable is beyond me. I guess they're counting on making a quick buck.

The real disappointment however is that Leterrier’s remake would actually be a fairly decent 2D action adventure. The creature effects are excellent and (notwithstanding the comments about the poor 3D) the film looks great. Unlike Avatar, which is worth paying to see at the cinema multiple times rather than waiting for the 2D DVD (which is bound to be inferior to the big screen experience), Clash of the Titans might actually be better on DVD.

At the heart of Leterrier’s retelling of the myth of Perseus is a war for independence between mankind and the gods, and a war in heaven between Zeus (Liam Neeson) and his brother Hades, Lord of the Underworld (Ralph Fiennes). Hades convinces Zeus to allow him to unloose the Kraken to punish men for their blasphemous rebellion, but it is a trick: while Zeus needs mankind’s love and prayers to give him strength, Hades needs only their fear, and fear is what the Kraken does best. As Zeus weakens, Hades grows in strength. The story follows the adventures of Perseus, a demi-god son of Zeus by the mortal woman Danae. In Letterier’s version Danae is the wife of Acrisius, King of Argos, who turns against Zeus for the violation of his wife. Acrisius murders his wife (naturally!) and casts her and the infant Perseus out to sea, where the child is found by a simple fisherman, Spyros. The boy grows up happily, ignorant of his heritage, until his adopted family is killed by Hades. Perseus’ heart is set on vengeance and he sets out on an adventure to find a way to destroy the Kraken and defeat Hades.

The direction by Leterrier and screenplay by Travis Beacham, Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi give us a great story without requiring too much of the actors. Liam Neeson as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes as Hades bring their considerable presence to the screen, Gemma Arterton as Io is strikingly radiant and Sam Worthington as Perseus scowls and growls and generally fills the screen with his undeniable physical presence. The standout performance however is Mads Mikkelsen as Draco, a soldier of Argos and Perseus’ companion; Mikkelsen brings a quiet depth and charisma to all that he does.

Louis Leterrier’s Clash of the Titans could have been one of this year’s outstanding big budget adventure films, but greed put an end to that through a misguided and poorly executed conversion to 3D. Still, I’ll give it another go on DVD before I make a final judgement.

And it's head and shoulders above that recent travesty also based on Greek mythology, the irredeemably awful Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

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