‘Titans’ return lacks grandeur

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:18:45 GMT

By Magdiel Castro/Staff Reporter

photo courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures

‘Wrath of the Titans,’ the sequel to the $163-million-making ‘Clash of the Titans,’ features the return of Perseus (Sam Worthington), son of Zeus (Liam Neeson), as he ventures through both the mortal world and the dangerous underworld in an effort to save his father. Zeus has been taken hostage by Ares (Édgar Ramírez), another son of Zeus, and Hades (Ralph Fiennes), god of the underworld. The first film, a remake of the 1981 film, grossed around $493 million worldwide, a more than hefty amount, yet received overwhelmingly negative critic reviews and a rating of 65% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film review aggregator. ‘Wrath of the Titans’ was expected to fare in about the same way, grossing plentifully but failing the critics’ test. This came true when it debuted second only to ‘The Hunger Games’ but racked up a 25%, one-star rating on Rotten Tomatoes (worse than its predecessor). ‘Wrath of the Titans’ begins a decade after the end of ‘Clash of the Titans,’ the defeat of the Kraken. It goes downhill from the get-go. The slightly-less-mediocre special effects, surmounted by 3D effects of the same caliber than that of the first movie shows improvement, albeit rather slowly. However it is not enough to quell the audience’s eyes’ rage. The stale acting, save Sam Worthington, also puts a strain on the movie’s credibility and the audience’s satisfaction. Despite these two major flaws, the movie does at least entertain for its 99 minute duration. Its plot, driven by tragedy and epic battles more than meaningful dialogue or concrete storyline, keeps an audience on edge and rooting for one side, whether it be Perseus’ or not. After the fact, however, a certain kind of "buyer’s remorse" invades the reasonable side of the brain, directly after it realizes that the $11 you’ve just spent has been a waste of 99 long minutes. Just wonder how much homework you could’ve done, how many people in need you could’ve helped, or how many "McDoubles" from the McDonald’s dollar menu you could’ve bought using that money. This all leads us to my final verdict: don’t go. If you have money to blow or way too much free time on your hands, feel free to sacrifice both of these precious resources to watch ‘Wrath of the Titans.’