John Berry
4/05/2010
--------This weekend I was able to watch
both versions of Clash of the Titans. First I saw the new version and
then Sunday afternoon I picked up a DVD of the original version. I thought
I owned a copy of the original however I could not find it anywhere
so I was forced to shell out ten bucks for another one. It has been
a while since I last screened the old school Clash of the Titans. My
memories of said movie are much better than the actual movie. I wanted
to say that the special effects were state of the art at the time, however
that would simply be a lie. I mean if you compare these special effects
to say Empire Strikes Back, which came out at about the same time, you
are going to see a huge gap. In the end Clash of the Titans was a B
movie. Yet as a boy I found it so inspiring. So if you have fond memories
of the original Clash of the Titans and have not seen it in a while,
do yourself a favor. Let it lie. Cherish those memories, because if
you see it again, you will be under whelmed.
--------So lets get on to Clash of the Titans 2010. Prior to seeing this movie I had already read a scathing review that informed me this movie was filmed in 2D and then converted in post to 3D. So not wanting to put myself through a crappy 3D rendering I decided to see the movie in 2D. There were scenes in the movie that were probably shot with 3D in mind. You know the standard exploding walls coming at you and what not. I suppose I should probably see it in 3D just to see what a bad 3D movie looks like.
--------This movie is definitely not your fathers Clash of the Titans. In fact I wouldn’t even call it a remake. To me this movie is more of an homage. Many of the most Iconic scenes were in the movie, however the road to those scenes was very different.
--------One thing that was a vast improvement in this version was Olympus. The way they envisioned Olympus was most awesome. In this they paid tribute to the original movie and then expanded upon it in a way that truly added to the godlike feel. Olympus was imagined in such a way that actually made it look like they were a bunch of gods reigning over the Earth. It was really cool.
--------In fact the art direction throughout the film was top notch. All the monsters were re-imagined in was that were a vast improvement over their previous counterparts. Except perhaps the deformed dude who gets his hand cut off. That guy had a cooler look to him back in the day. Of course he is no longer weak sauce clay animation so that is an improvement, however now he is just mutilated by a lightning bolt instead of the hand of Zeus. Before he looked like some kind of devil, now he is just some kind of freaky mutate. Other than that the monsters were improved upon from the witches to the Kraken.
--------I will tell you one thing the original version of Clash of the Titans had that the newer one didn’t, boobs. That’s right there are a couple shots of some really nice boobs in the first version and there are no shots of any boobs in the newer version. I find that to be the opposite of an improvement. Also Bubo the owl gets pwnd in this one. They show him for about one second, but he doesn’t get to do anything. Like I said it is an homage not a remake.
--------I am glad that they chose to make the guys wear shirts in this one. I am sure ancient Greek dudes loved to run around with there chests all oiled up and bare like 300, however I am glad that they chose to go another route with this one. Even the old one had Harry Hamlin running around in nothing but a loin-cloth for the first half of the movie.
--------In closing I would say Clash of the Titans 2010 sits smack dab in the middle of the row for big budget action fan boy movies that are coming out now. It is fun and the graphics are done very well. But that is no longer anything special. Sam Worthington has access to a much cooler set of wings in Avatar. I enjoyed it however I don’t think that I will find my self compelled to watch it again anytime soon. I will definitely not be buying the blue ray, but you should go ahead and see it if you are bored and have an extra ten bucks to throw down.