The promotion machine is churning at full speed for "Wrath of the Titans," with the release of the first trailer, a new banner, and poster that all went up on the net in the past couple of days. All we can hope is that this movie is better than the first one and filmmakers actually filmed "Wrath" in 3D instead of post-converting it. The sequel does appear to have a lot more going for it than "Clash of the Titans" did.
"Wrath of the Titans" takes place 10 years after the first film. Farmer Perseus is living a quiet life with his 10-year old son. The gods and the titans are back at war with each other, with the gods losing because of man's faltering belief. The titans are led by Kronos, the father of Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. Kronos makes a deal with Zeus's other son Ares, who kidnaps his father and imprisons him.
Perseus will not stand for this. He embarks on an invasion of the underworld to rescue his father with the help of Queen Andromeda, Poseidon's demigod son Argenor, and fallen god Hephaestus. Along the way he must battle the Minotaur, Chimera, Makhai, and Kronos himself.
My biggest problem with the remake of "Clash of the Titans" was that it strayed from the original Greek story entirely too much. There's no romance between Perseus and Andromeda in the film, which is a major part of the original story and movie. The idea of Pegasus being black instead of white was another senseless change. Perseus is also changed from a man driven by the love of a woman to a whiny kid who's mad at the gods of Olympus.
I have a feeling I'm going to be a little more forgiving with "Wrath of the Titans" than I was with the remake of the original film. The 1981 version of "Clash of the Titans " spurred my love for Greek mythology, so I hold it in high regard. I know it's not completely faithful to the original myths, but it seemed to have more respect for the source material than the remake did.
"Wrath" is completely fabricated and not really based on any real Greek myth, so it won't feel like it's being irreverent like "Clash." I have no preconceived expectations as to what to expect of the story. The movie is just using the characters from Greek mythology and making up new adventures that feature them. I'm all right with that, much the same way I have no problem with the "Percy Jackson" books or movie .
I sincerely hope that "Wrath of the Titans" is filmed in 3D. "Clash of the Titans" was post-converted and didn't have much depth. It was also a mess because the 3D and action clashed with each other. 3D doesn't work very well with heavy action sequences where there's a lot going on. Then again, I would prefer no films be made in 3D at all.
Jonathan Liebesman ("Battle: Los Angeles") is directing "Wrath of the Titans." It stars Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Sam Worthington, Bill Nighy, Rosamund Pike, Toby Kebbell, and Danny Huston. It's set for release on March 30 through Warner Bros. Pictures.
For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:
30 Days of Night: Dark Days Blu-ray and DVD Review
Interview with Swamp Thing Creator and Comic Book Artist Bernie WrightsonEric Shirey is the founder and former editor of Rondo Award nominated movie news websites MovieGeekFeed.com and TheSpectralRealm.com. His work has been featured on Yahoo!, DC Comics, StarWars.com, and other entertainment websites. Eric has interviewed and worked with actors like Harrison Ford, Brooke Shields, Gerard Butler, Brendan Fraser, Selena Gomez, and many more.
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