Fantasy Flix: July 2011

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Clash of the Titans (2010)

The mortal son of the god Zeus embarks on a perilous journey to stop the underworld and its minions from spreading their evil to Earth as well as the heavens.

I doubt You really need more of a synopsis than that. Everyone knows clash of the titans.

Director: Louis Leterrier

Writers: Travis Beacham Phil Hay

Does this movie look awesome? Absolutely. Is it Good? Well, yea, it's not bad. It's difficult to overcome the childhood nostalgia of a movie you grew up with and love like the original Clash of the Titans, but I quite enjoyed this movie. It did a pretty damn good job of updating the original and still keep with the the general feel of the original.

There's not a whole lot more I can say about this movie that I didn't already say before, but I'll give it a shot. First, the movie looks and sounds fantastic. The special effects are outstanding.

The story fairly follows the original. You have the Medusa, the Kraken, the scorpions, etc. You even have Bobo, well.. sorta.

The acting is good. Liam Neeson is always terrific. Say what you will about Sam Worthington, but I quite like him. He doesn't have the greatest range in the world, but what he does, he does well. Ralph Fiennes is another terrific actor.

There is also plenty of eye candy in this movie with the absolutely gorgeous Gemma Arterton, and almost as stunning Alexa Davalos. Unfortunately this is no longer the early eighties so we don't get any PG rated nudity in this one.

I highly recommend this film as well as the original. Get over your childhood nostalgia and give this one a try. It won't ever replace the original and it will always be there to enjoy.

The Cast

Sam Worthington ... Perseus

Gemma Arterton ... Io

Alexa Davalos ... Andromeda

Ralph Fiennes ... Hades

Jason Flemyng ... Calibos / Acrisius

Liam Neeson ... Zeus

Mads Mikkelsen ... Draco

Tine Stapelfeldt ... Danae

Luke Evans ... Apollo

Izabella Miko ... Athena

Hans Matheson ... Ixas

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Clash of the Titans (1981)

Director: Desmond Davis

Writer: Beverley Cross

Perseus is the favored son of the god Zeus, but he has unwittingly ticked off the sea goddess Thetis. Just to make things worse, Perseus falls in love with the lovely Princess Andromeda, who used to be engated to Thetis's son. Son Perseus is off on one quest after another, with Zeus helping, Thetis hindering, and lots of innocent bystanders getting stabbed, drowned, and squished.

There's not a whole lot I can say about the orignal Clash of the Titans. This was THE movie for me as a very young child. I saw it in the theater (yes, I'm old), and then I saw it hundreds of times at home. I recently rewatched it for this post and for me it really holds up.

I loved this movie then, and I still love it. Although, I don't remember the "princess" at all, lol. I remember the Pegasus, the scorpions, Medusa, and Bobo, but I don't really remember her. Now, however, I noticed her alot. She's gorgeous. Unfortunately, you don't get to see enough of her.

Yes, the special effects are horribly outdated. But I think it gives it charm. They actually did a fantastic job for 1981. There's not alot of action per say, but when there is it's pretty good. The Medusa scene is a classic.

All of the cast is fantastic and we even get to see a brief pre PG-13, PG rated nudity. If you haven't seen this classic film and only seen the 2010 version, I highly recommend you give this a try. Remember it's from 1981 and enjoy.

Speaking of which. I can't talk about this film without recognizing the 2010 version. I saw the new Clash in the theaters when it was out and I haven't seen it since. I plan on covering it soon, hopefully next. It is, as you would expect, full of modern fantastic special effects and visuals. I do remember enjoying it, but I'll talk about that more when I cover it.

Highly recommended.