I consider the original 1981 Clash of the Titans is a classic. A pure Ray Harryhausen special effects classic. As a kid, what more could you ask for than a movie about fantastical mythological beasts, Greek gods, and a good story. As an adult looking back, the cast was a nice who’s who — Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress (best Aphrodite ever — va va va voom), and Burgess freakin’ Meredith. The story tells a classic tale of a man (demigod really) in love with a woman, and he goes to the Underworld and back to save her.
Which leads me to why I didn’t like the 2010 remake as much. Again, I don’t mind remakes, as it’s okay to experiment and take a different perspective on a story. Life is short, and you never know if the end-product is going to be better or worse. In the remake starring Sam Worthington, the background love story was replaced with a revenge story between Perseus and the Gods. This sort of reminded me of the God of War storyline from the PS3 videogame franchise. In this film, everyone seemed to have a problem with their pantheon of gods, and Perseus specifically wanted revenge on Hades, and Zeus to a lesser degree. I couldn’t get into it. I like a good revenge story, but I didn’t buy this one.
Of course, who cares what I think. Hollywood is working on a 2012 sequel — Wrath of the Titans.
Clash of the Titans (2010)