Not your Daddy’s “Clash of the Titians”
(Unplanned pregnancy brings about unintended consequences)

Way back in 1981 when the original “Clash of the Titians” came out my Dad took us kids out to see it. clash of the titans, clash of the titans 2010 Normally that was something my Mom would have done, but Dad really wanted to see this movie about as much as us kids did. Not only was it one of the ancient myths brought to life on the silver screen but it had the stop motion effects that only Ray Harryhausen could do. When I was 12 I loved this movie, not so much as a teen or young adult, but now pushing Methuselah I watched it again when AMC had it on in preparation for the re-make and found that all in all, not so bad.

“Clash of the Titians – 2010″ is not just a re-make of the original, nor is it a re-imagination, it’s it own thing. Although the story is still pretty much the same and the main characters are of course used, that is about where the similarities end. In my opinion the movies are different enough that it would be a fool’s errand to compare the old versus the new.

“Clash” tells the tale of the legendary hero Perseus, bastard son of Zeus, the leader of the Olympian gods and how his dogged perseverance, determination, and iron will ultimately wins the day. Although he is a demi-god (half human, half god) Perseus does not want to live in a lofty white house high above the people of the real world. He may be a demi-god but he was born of a human, raised by humans, and is not afraid of working hard and taking responsibility for his actions. He is a hero in the classical sense of the word.

Meanwhile, the gods are busy with their petty political games, and their newest idea is to remind the mortals that they need to pray to the gods so that the gods may retain their powers. Humans on the other hand have had enough of the gods meddling in their lives. The gods think that by causing famine and other such blights that the people will turn back to them. All it does is get them angrier. When Hades, god of the underworld and brother of Zeus kills Perseus’ family in what boils down to drive-by violence, Perseus wants justice; he wants to make the gods accountable for their actions. Let the carnage begin!

I have to say that I really like this movie, although it had a fair share of special effects and was in 3-D I feel that the story stood on its own without the eye candy. It was masterful cast, costumes were awesome, and the little kid in me thinks that the action figures for this movie would totally rock! More-so if Todd Toys did them, but then what kid could afford them? My only complaint is that there were times when the action happened so fast that it was difficult to tell what was happening until it slowed down or stopped.


Throughout the movie there were are these little things that were going on that reminded me of other movies I really enjoyed. As Perseus and Captain Draco geared up and headed off on the quest to find the Stygian witches in order to learn of a way to kill the Kracken, Perseus picked up the clock-work owl, Bilbo, from a box of disregarded weapons and armor. He holds it up and asks what it is. Draco tells him “Forget it and leave it behind.” Although a nod to the original it was also telling the audience that this was not going to be the “Clash” of yesteryear.

As the adventurers journeyed across the land the camera often paned back and showed you the size and scope of the terrain, epitomizing how small and frail a creature man is; a technique that was used throughout the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. It was powerful in LotR and was just as awe inspiring in “Clash.”

There was also a “Star Wars” vibe happening in “Clash” that I kind of liked. I’m not saying that “Clash” will go on to be part of our culture for the next 40 years (it’s already been around for easily three thousand) but there were some obvious similarities to the two stories, for instance, Perseus’ sword was more like a light saber than I was comfortable with, but thankfully he refused to use it for the most part. Captain Drake was sort of Han Solo-ish, and the djinn who stood two foot taller than everyone else and spoke only djinn was rather reminiscent of a Wookie, but I was OK with that character. Djinn are not a being from Greek mythology, but then again, neither is the Kracken, the creature that the movie revolves around. The kracken is in fact Norse. So I guess if you can swallow down a big bowl of Kracken, take it with a drop of djinn juice. Even the two monster slayer brothers were OK in my book. Yes, they did sort of remind me of the Frogg Brothers from the “Lost Boys,” but even they too had a place in the movie.

I guess that because the story of Perseus is one of the archetypical “Hero’s Journey” that Joseph Campbell, Lord Ragland, Karl Jung, and George Lucas fully embraced we’ll find that we like this movie in spite of what the critics will say (they also hated “Star Wars” when it came out and that did pretty well for itself). The boy of noble birth being raised in secret who one day discovers his identity, is forced to embrace it, confront a power greater than himself, travel through the underworld and emerge reborn and more powerful so that he may take on the final and ultimate evil. That makes for awesome storytelling and one damn good movie!

QtR – Theresa bane, vampirologist and big fan of Clash of the Titians, 2010