Wrath of the Titans (2012)- review

Running Time: 99 mins
Directed By: Jonathan Liebesman
Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy, Danny Huston, Toby Kebbell, Edgar Ramirez
Screenplay: Dan Mazeau, David Johnson, Steven Knight
UK Release Date: 30th March 2012

Quick Plot: With the war between gods and Titans continuing, Perseus the son of Zeus, must join with other half Gods to free his father and save the gods from the prison of Tartarus.

Review: With the amount of money it made, it was no surprise that a sequel to Clash of the Titans was knocked up. Obviously, the Clash makers wanted the same result and have secured this by introducing a few new cast members, adding curly hair to Perseus, oh, and producing some out of this world, glorious CGI and 3D.

Set a few years after Sam Worthington's legendary defeat of the Kraken, Perseus declines his father's offer to live with the Gods and remains on earth as a human. With his wife killed off before Wrath begins, Perseus struggles as a fisherman and a single father, refusing to pray for help from his relatives. Neeson's Zeus quickly enters asking for help from his son as the God's immortality is at risk. Confusion arises within the first ten minutes over the array of different accents. Perseus Australian, his boy British and everyone else either British and/or American. The confusion is forgotten soon after with a small Perseus vs. fire breathing demon battle, which sets the pace of the film; bewilderment, among a blend of careless dialogue followed by extreme CGI Titan fights.

Killing off the delightful and forever charming Gemma Arterton in the first, consequently brings Rosamund Pike as the female focus for Wrath, to create an appealing, attractive likeness to the male implied genre. Pike, like Arterton in Clash of the Titans, does all she can with the material she's been given, but she's not used to her best ability causing her performance to lack engagement. Having a small soft spot for aussie Sam Worthington, I will watch him in any film, but his passion for Wrath of the Titans isn't nearly as exciting as his enthusiasm must have been for Avatar, causing Perseus second time round to feel a lot like the first time. Clearly, Toby Kebbell is used to add a bit of comedy and like the rest of the cast, delivers the fun he can but his appearance and the use of jokes feels like Agenor was created with Russell Brand in mind.

Yet with the mess of the script and the absence of anything exciting, the effects are completely exhilarating. Many people were disappointed with both the film and 3D conversion in the first film, but this time round the 3D is something to enjoy. With fire, Cyclops’ and spears being thrown right into your face; Wrath of the Titans is worth the 3D. Personally, it’s one of the best 3D film’s I’ve ever seen.

Though visually and technologically the film is and will be a financial success, there is nothing mentally engaging.

2/5