Film Review: CLASH OF THE TITANS (2010)

Director: Louis Leterrier
Running time: 102 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy
UK release date 2nd April 2010

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 20th February 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

As this film was released in 3D I had no interest in seeing it when it was released, I’m not a fan of paying extra for something that adds very little to the film and usually gives me a headache. Although, I believe, it made a bit of money, it was not critically well received. Well, I don’t always agree with them, but on this occasion I’m here to tell you I have to agree with the critics. But more of my thoughts later, here’s a brief summary first (summary haters and those who don’t wish to know anything about the plot please fend off those giant scorpions while I write the next paragraph).

The gods live on mount Olympus and feed off the worship of the humans below. Unfortunately the humans are getting restless and don’t feel the love any more. The leader of the gods, Zeus, isn’t too happy about this and when his brother, Hades comes to him with a plan, he listens. Hades wants to teach the humans a lesson by releasing the Kraken, a giant sea monster, on them. Meanwhile back with the humans, a young man, a son of Zeus called Perseus is chosen to find a way to defeat the Kraken. A band of men go with him and one woman, Io, who proves to be of great help to Perseus. They must first find three witches who hold the secret to destroying the Kraken… I think you get the drift. There’s also the story of how the gods are trying to stab each other in the back going on, but I think there’s enough there to give you the gist.

This is a very well made film, you can tell they had a pretty large budget to make this one. There is quite a lot of CGI and it is all of high quality. The trouble is, it did tend to detract from the story by making the visuals more important and not progressing the story in places. Decent performances all round; Sam Worthington was good as Perseus, although I felt he was a little too subdued for the role. Liam Neeson donned the sparkly armour and did a good job as Zeus, Ralph Fiennes was the best of the bunch (IMO) as Hades, you got two for the price of one with Jason Flemyng as Calibos/Acrisius and Gemma Arterton did a decent job as Io.

I felt the plot was a little over complicated, there were lots of sub-plots going on and I could feel it getting a little confusing at times. Although the visuals were great, again, they didn’t really add a great deal (for me). Over all, although it’s not going to win any prises, it’s entertaining enough, a good one for a wet Sunday afternoon on the TV but I wouldn’t pay to see it in the cinema.

My score: 5.2/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0800320/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/clash_of_the_titans_2010/
Official Site: http://clash-of-the-titans.warnerbros.com/dvd/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2626946073/

Film Review: PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME (2010)

Director: Mike Newell
Running time: 116 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

UK Release date: 21st May 2010

Watched at the cinema Saturday 22nd May 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

As a player of the original video game, back when computers were clunky and slow, I was quite interested to see how the Prince has evolved. I wasn’t disappointed; a lot of the moves and mythology from the original game survives in this film. Obviously the graphics are much better, and the film isn’t too bad either.

Dastan is an orphaned street urchin when he is taken in and adopted by King Sharaman, who has seen something he likes in the boy. He grows up alongside the kings’ two natural sons, Tus and Garsiv who treat him as an equal even though he will never inherit the throne. The king’s brother, Nizam is with the three brothers when they approach a city that the king has told them not to take. Nizam tells the brothers that a spy has found evidence that the city is making weapons for the Persia’s enemies. They take the city and Dastan comes into possession of a mysterious dagger that everyone seems interested in. Princess Tamina, who rules the city, also wants the dagger, but to protect it. The king comes to the city and is murdered, seemingly by Dastan. Fleeing for his life, he takes Tamina with him. That night, he discovers the dagger’s secret, it can turn back time, but only the person holding the dagger is aware of it. This makes the dagger a very powerful weapon. It will only work for one minute though before the sand is all used up. The magical sand is hidden below the city and if it is released, it will destroy the world. Can Dastan discover who really murdered the king, and can he and Tamina keep it safe from those who would use it for evil? Well, since I don’t want to spoil the ending, I’m not going to tell you right now.

As with previous Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer productions, I’m thinking of the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ films, there plenty of swashbuckling action. It’s a very well made film, as you’d expect with some very good special effects. Decent performances from all of the main cast, Jake Gyllenhaal as Dastan, Gemma Arterton as Tamina, Ben Kingsley as Nizam, Alfred Molina as Sheik Amar, Steve Toussaint as Seso, Toby Kebbell as Garsiv, Richard Coyle as Tus and Ronald Pickup as King Sharaman.

A special mention for Alfred Molina as Sheik Amar, his comic role reminded slightly me of Robert Newton as Long John Silver. There was plenty of action, although I felt the ploy of running and jumping over rooftops was a little over used. Over all a very entertaining film with some great action and a pretty reasonable story, a great one to take the kids to! Recommended.

My score: 7.0/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0473075/
Official Site: http://adisney.go.com/disneypictures/princeofpersia/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi3849520153/