Let's Clash again

First off, it's a terrible title. Not the words per se, as you've got both CLASH and TITANS in it, two bombastic words that just scream action! conflict! No, it's a bad title because there are no actual Titans in it. In either movie, actually. Not to get too Greek here, but the Titans were the guys that Zeus defeated to take over the world. True, the opening narration tells a brief version of this tale, but in whole you don't call a movie Clash of the Titans if no Titans clash in it. It's false advertising.

Aside from that, the movie was awesome.

No truly. I thought this was a bad idea, not just for nostaliga's sake, but because of how many good movies have not been made. They got it right the first time, isn't there something we haven't seen before? But they found a way. While the first was more of an adventure tale, travelling all over ancient Greece, meeting strange people and gathering forces, this version is much more visceral in that they don't care why they are going somewhere, just as long as there's a great action sequence waiting there for them. Despite what the previews would have you believe, this is not a total CGI-fest. There is a lot of it, but it's by sequence. Most of the environments were actual sets, not green screen. While most of the monsters, giant scorpions, Medusa, are CGI, many are done with make up or even puppetry. They all work in their moments and all blend to a larger whole. One of the moments that gave all of us in my group a Whoa moment was done via puppetry, but was cool and creepy.

But in a movie like this, it stands or falls based on characters. You can do disaster porn like 2012 and convince yourself it's about the human story, and that's what they tell the actors, but we all know it isn't. In a hero's quest, you've got to be invested or the struggle doesn't work. Here's where the movie goes from A to B. The supporting cast is amazing. All these soldiers are given these clever lines and quirks and personified by actors who know to make a lot from a little. One veteran delivers one line so well we instantly fall in love with him. So much so that in his next scene, he only gets a reaction shot to the events happening around him and the audience howled with laughter. Were his exit so memorable...but I digress. The same cannot be said of our champion, he who has been chosen to save the city. After a surprisingly effective family montage, ending of course with a “you killed everyone I loved, now you must die” our simple fisherman become a simple warrior. The trouble comes with the actor.

From what I gather, Hollywood banked on the fact that this guy, Sam Worthington, was going to be the next big thing. Minimal research here, but James Cameron picked him to be the lead in a little film called Avatar. Heard of it? From this, he got tapped for Terminator Salvation and our topic du jour. All of these were shot before anyone had even seen his face on the silver screen. In other words, Hollywood decided this guy was going to be the next big star without any input from the paying crowds. How well does this plan work? Ask Josh Hartnett. If you can find him.

The trouble is this: in what we need an action star to be, dear Sam trying-so-hard Worthington is sadly lacking. What do Arnold, Bruce, Statham, Wil Smith have in common? They're cool. And Sam, sadly is not. Execs have never been that great in finding cool, only in honing it. Sam's got the chops, but seems to me he'd be better as a thug than a hero. I can see him standing next to the drug lord. “Mr. Dominic, show him we're serious with our offer.” Stern nod, harsh look, you know he means business. This movie is saved by the strong supporting cast, and great direction from Louis Leterrier, who's fast becoming one of my favorites of the new breed, the post-Bay directors.

I had a great time at Clash. It worked on more levels than I expected. It's turned into one of the highlights of the spring movie season. I could really say best at this point, as the spring season only has three more weeks when Iron Man 2 arrives and brings summer with it, inside the movie houses at least. It was everything it needed to be and nothing it didn't.