Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of fantasy violence and action.
Starring Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson
Directed by Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles, The Killing Room, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning)
With the disappointing 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans behind us, I was hoping the Wrath of the Titans was going to be a colossal improvement.
A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus—the demigod son of Zeus—is attempting to live a quieter life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius. Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the gods and the Titans. Dangerously weakened by humanity’s lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. The triumvirate had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the gloomy abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous underworld. Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus’ godly son, Ares (Edgar Ramírez), switch loyalty and make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus. The Titans’ strength grows stronger as Zeus’ remaining godly powers are siphoned, and hell is unleashed on earth. Enlisting the help of the warrior Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), Poseidon’s demigod son, Argenor (Toby Kebbell), and fallen god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), Perseus bravely embarks on a treacherous quest into the underworld to rescue Zeus, overthrow the Titans and save mankind.
I guess I’ll start with the good…the 3-D effects are better than in 2010’s Clash of the Titans.
Yep that’s it.
The rest of the movie is a series of CGI battle scenes, a below average hero that lacks charisma, and humor and a few middle-aged “gods” in long-haired wigs (Liam Neeson as Zeus, Ralph Fiennes as Hades, Danny Huston as Poseidon) who look like the remnants of a ’80s metal hair band…think ZZ Top meets Van Halen.
Speaking of the cast, I really like Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson, but their performances were flat and uninspired – a total disappointment.
As a kid watching the original, the highlights were the creatures and monsters. And with Perseus fighting a monster every 10-minutes, one would think this movie was a real crowd pleaser. But one would be wrong. The two-headed fire-breathing dragon is the typical cliché, the trio of cyclops is big babies, the minotaur in totally underwhelming and the four-armed creatures look like they could have been extras in a Transformers movie.
I also kept waiting for the big reveal of Kronos. And when he is finally awakened, instead of another Hollywood heavy hitter (I was hoping for an Anthony Hopkins or Ian McKellen), I got a CGI-created, lava-spewing, mountain-sized creature that just keep growling some inaudible phrase. Like the movie, he was a major disappointment.
Director Jonathan Liebesman does an okay job with camera angles and clever shots. The problem lies with what he is shooting and for that I say “Skip It.”
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
There is no sex, nudity or profanity. The movie is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of fantasy violence and action, and some disturbing images.
Conversation Starter:
- What is the relationship between Zeus and Hades like?
- Near the end of the film, what happened between Zeus and Hades?
- What did forgiveness look like for them?
- Read Colossians 3:13 (NLT)
Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
- We all have people who “bug” us, how would you go about making allowance for their faults?
- We all have people who have offended and/or hurt us, how would you go about forgiving them?
- Is there anyone you need to call right now and offer forgiveness?
