Review: Wrath of the Titans

PLOT: Years after his adventures in CLASH OF THE TITANS, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is once again pressed into battle, with him being forced to rescue his father- the God Zeus (Liam Neeson) who’s been imprisoned by his rogue son Ares (Edgar Ramirez) the God of War, and his brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes)- God of the underworld. He teams up with Poseidon’s half-human son, Agenor (Toby Kebbell), and Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike) to save Zeus before an even more powerful, evil force can be released.

REVIEW: A lot of people rolled their eyes when it was announced that the CLASH OF THE TITANS reboot would be getting a sequel. Given that the last instalment made half a billion dollars worldwide, it probably shouldn’t have taken anyone by surprise. Given the last film’s tepid reception from fans, WRATH OF THE TITANS has been given an overhaul, with a new director, Jonathan Liebesman (BATTLE: LOS ANGELES), at the helm.

So how is WRATH? Well, I think it’ll please the audience it was designed for. It’s an action-heavy ride, loaded with eye candy. The CGI is good, the 3D is more than decent (it helps that this wasn’t a post-conversion), and the production values are high. But, like the first film, dramatically it’s inert. After a while, the action got to be numbing, and while I wouldn’t say it was a film I had any major dislike for, it wasn’t enough to really get me going.

Essentially, it’s the first film all over again, but a little more streamlined. At ninety-nine minutes (with credits) WRATH jumps right into the action, with the premise being set within minutes. Sam Worthington is once again a game Perseus, with him seemingly at ease- especially being able to use his natural Australian accent. He gets more of a chance to show off his physicality in the part, thanks to a few decent scraps with Edgar Ramirez, as his villainous half brother. Ramirez for his part kind of phones it in- not that he had much to work with, with the script being of the “connect the dots” variety. Too bad though, as CARLOS proved Ramirez is a major talent.

Toby Kebbell, as the requisite sidekick lightens things up a bit. Kebbell, who I’ve liked ever since ROCK-N-ROLLA, is always interesting to watch, and he’s fun in his part- as Poseidon’s neglected offspring. The gorgeous Rosamund Pike replaces Alexa Davalos as Andromeda, with her character having been reinvented as a warrior queen. This isn’t the only thing that’s different, with baddie Ralph Fiennes adopting a much lower-key persona as Hades, and Pegasus the horse, now being black as opposed to white ( *correction, Pegasus WAS black in the last film. I was mistaken. He was white in the ’81 version ). Perhaps this is a reflection on the darker tone- with WRATH being more of a rock-em-sock-em type flick than the first film- with at times seemed to adopt a deliberately cheesy approach. Of course, Liam Neeson is back as Zeus, but like the first film, his screen time is limited, so don’t expect too much.

If you happened to like the other film, or you generally tend to go for these types of films, you’ll probably enjoy WRATH and for what it is, it’s not bad. However, it’s empty spectacle, and it’s the type of film that goes in one ear and comes out the other. It’s the kind of film you’ll be mildly amused by, but it’s also a bit boring with the action scenes being repetitive, and absolutely nothing outside of the ordinary being added to the genre. It’s OK, but not more than that.