What’s it About?
Perseus braves the treacherous underworld to rescue his father, Zeus, captured by his son, Ares, and brother Hades who unleash the ancient Titans upon the world.
“Wrath of the Titans”
Directed by Jonathan Liebesman
By Vic
I must commend director Jonathan Liebesman for delivering a quick, fun and frivolous mythology based action film that indeed entertains in that weird “I’m not expecting Ben Hur” kind of way. I was actually prepping to write a really ass chewing review for this film. But I must admit (maybe it could have been that I had a belly full of delicious Italian food when I saw this) I rather enjoyed the movie for what it was. I have always been a big fan of the first Charles Schneer / Ray Harryhausen “Clash of Titans” film and the re-make was really kinda “meh” for me so under that umbrella I had figured it wouldn’t be too hard to continue the crap-fest they started with the re-make.
“Wrath” suffers from having a bit of a tired and hokey Father/Son premise (Perseus now has a tyke of his own) but it makes up for it in quick execution, awesome visual effects and action, action, action. Oh and Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes are in it so that is always a plus even when other characters could be predictably dull. The movie overall is overtly polished and very easy to watch while turning off the gray matter for an hour and a half. That sort of works in it’s favor. Considering that “Clash” was a bit shaky and over frenetic in it’s action and the CGI was relatively hit or miss.
Not so with “Wrath.” The film’s CGI and action set pieces are leaps and bounds better than the first installment. Most notably during the Chimera battle and the resurrection of Cronos. Be warned though, there are some fast cuts used here and there but they do not entirely detract from the overall experience. Hades’ underworld is impressive to behold and the Cyclops sequence is pretty harrowing.
Sam Worthington is quite like-able, more believable and better settled in as Perseus even though his delivery at times still feels kind of stilted. He excels during the action scenes, though, which is what really counts, I suppose. He jumps, ducks, rolls and cries aloud with a very capable energy not seen as much anymore with other CGI drenched fantasy films. As I mentioned before, Neeson and Fiennes are great to watch and I even enjoyed how they relished their roles. Especially after Zeus exclaims to his brother, Hades: “Let’s have some fun!”
The beautiful Rosamund Pike (Jack Reacher, Die Another Day) as Andromeda is pretty hardcore during the battles sequences and very sexy in the more quieter scenes when she plays the brave and stout leader of her army or against even Worthington. Agenor, played tongue in cheek by Toby Kebbell, is the cliched comedy relief but he never goes too way over the top and is quite entertaining and precise. Bill Nighy as Hephaestus steals some scenes away from the rest of the cast. His turn in this film is refreshing. All in all the cast endures and they make the best with what is given to them in this bear bones adventure.
“Wrath of the Titans” is a quick, explosive and action filled fantasy film that never makes any qualms about it being just a visual treat as opposed to being a Shakespearean play. It is very disposable and probably not very memorable but it’s loud, dumb fun. Enjoy it for what it is, folks and I think you’ll have a diverting and entertaining time watching some cool action packed CGI goofiness.
VIC'S MOVIE DEN 
I can use some “loud, dumb fun” on occasion. I’ll definitely keep this one in mind! Thanks for the coolness, Vic!
Loud, dumb fun is not so bad every once in a while, right Bill? Glad you liked the post, man! Thanks for stopping by. Always appreciated!
Indeed! Have a great weekend!
Good review Vic. Better than the first, but I don’t really think that’s saying all that much to begin with.
Thanks Dan! Yeah, gotta agree, this was tons better than the first but still not flawless in any respect. Glad you stopped in, man! Glad you liked the review.
I think this about sums up my feelings about the film as well. It’s a lot of dumb fun, but definitely better than the first one. Great review, man!
Sounds like we see pretty much eye to eye on this one!
Glad you liked the review, Billy! Thanks for checking in, man. Always appreciated.
When this movie was released the reviews were fairly harsh but I like your take on it. Good review Vic.
Yeah, the critics bashed it quite good, didn’t they? Even despite the movie being so much better than the first. I suppose they saw just more of the same (and they are somewhat right) and didn’t care for it.
Glad you liked my take on the movie. Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate it.
I love Greek mythology and I’m dying for someone to make a good film around these characters! This is better than the first though, definitely.
Yeah, I’m waiting for that perfect Greek mythology adventure film as well. It would be so sweet, no?
Thank you for checking in. I really appreciate it!
Fighting was fun, the rest was pathetic 😀
Agreed, the fighting and battles were neat but not much else really mattered, I suppose.
Thanks for stopping in, Tim! 🙂
I liked this film. I liked the original. Well the remake specifically. I never saw the original. But I would never look for any sort of major movie qualities out of this. Did I enjoy myself? Yes. In that case, movie did it’s job!
I agree the film did it’s job on my end as well. You gotta check out the original Harryhausen movie! Good stuff. I think you’ll dig it, big time.
Thanks for stopping by, Eric. Always appreciated, man!
Entertaining read. Personally, I hated this movie!
Ha! Yeah, I know a few people who loathed this entry. We are all waiting for that perfect mythology flick, aren’t we? Glad you at least enjoyed the review! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Entertaining movie, to be sure! Perfect with a cold Coke and bowl of popcorn. I too think it is better than the Clash remake… that one just lacked heart. At least here they could attempt something original without having to fall under the “remake” category. The original is, of course, still a masterpiece.
Exactly! I watched this after stuffing my face with Italian food and afterwards I had a huge bowl of Doritos and Ginger Ale. Um, then some popcorn and nuts and so on. WOTT is indeed full of some fun action moments and it is what it is and very perfect with junk food 🙂
The original is of course still amazing to watch. One of my fav Harryhausen films. Always have fun whenever I re-visit it. Thanks for stopping by and checking out the review. I appreciate it!
Greta review Vic, I thought Wrath of the Titans was really good. Great action film with some awesome special effects, a great film to enjoy with some popcorn! Ok, the story might not be up to that much, but it was still fairly good. Thought the effects in this film were also a lot better than the first remake.
Glad you liked the review, Paul. W of the T isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but you can’t deny the cool action and FX. It makes it diverting enough even for the most jaded of fantasy film fans.
Thanks for stopping by, Paul, I appreciate it, man!
I actually liked the first one (remake) better than this. The Minotaur scene had so many cuts in it, I couldn’t make head or tails of what the Labyrinth looked like or the creature. The mission wasn’t nearly as defined in this one. I found this film to be mostly forgettable – and I keep mixing it up with the Conan remake which was also mediocre in my book – the plot seemed too similar to Conan and Thor. The only part in ‘Clash’ that I didn’t like the CGI was the Medusa battle near the end. Like you said, some parts looked great, others looked flawed. I did like the Cronos scene in Wrath, it was spectacular.
Yeah, I’ve had a few people tell me they enjoyed Clash a bit better. Haven’t seen the Conan remake yet but heard it was pretty mediocre like you mentioned.
Neither one of these Titan films are movies I may re-visit often in the future anyway. They are forgettable. I have so much respect for the Harryhausen fantasy movies and these 2 recent entries in no way can live up to that legacy but I found this one entertaining enough for 90 minutes.
Now, I want to re-watch that Labyrinth scene to better understand your take on what didn’t work regarding the editing.
Thanks for stopping by, Michael! Always appreciated, bro. Enjoy your weekend!