Avatar's legacy, unfortunately, isn't going to be well written scripts and deeply explored narratives - it's going to be blockbusters dunked by the ankles in CGI with '3D' blushing on the posters – so, if anything, a Clash of the Titans remake was inevitable. The success of James Cameron's eye popping yet brain numbing epic showed how much money can be made from a 3D feature, as millions flock to the cinema for the triptych of dimensions, almost wiping the value of illegal or otherwise home downloads into Hades. This makes Hollywood very happy indeed, so expect 3D epics to saturate cinemas everywhere for the foreseeable. Despite this writer's cynicism however, Clash of the Titans is prime remake fodder with today's technical advances and despite some almost stupendous oversights it's actually pretty enjoyable. The original amazed generations when its stop-motion monsters jerked onto screens in 1981 with iconic scenes that still pervade the memory and manage the occasional knowing nod in popular culture. But, despite my initial anticipation, I almost walked out of the cinema before the 20 minute mark, preparing to flail my arms and declare the attempt a heresy. Basically, if your idea of a good film is well-judged central performances and sharp dialogue, then COTT will have you writhing in your seat in utter disgust. The well respected Pete Postlethwaite, who plays protagonist Perseus's father, almost undoes his career with a performance that could stink up a canine halitosis convention, while the usually sturdy Liam Neeson approaches the character of Zeus, that is Greek mythology's supreme being and father of all mankind, with all the pomp and majesty of an avuncular Da in shiny clobber. The movie's plot stays more or less along the lines of its predecessors, with Sam Worthington's reluctant demi-god Perseus charged with stopping the imminent arrival of the Kracken at the behest of Zeus, who is fed up with mankind having a pop at him every time something goes wrong in their lives. Perseus is joined by a ramshackle rabble of soldiers in his hunt to discover how to defeat the Kracken before it arrives and tears the Greek city Argos a new one and is helped along the way by demi-god Io, played by the almost impossibly gorgeous Gemma Arterton. Arterton in fact deserves special mention for not only being aesthetically riveting but for far outshining everyone, including a dull Sam Worthington, with a delicate and charismatic depiction. After the first 20 minutes, where the film's inadequacies are most evident, the action and adventure aspects take over and decadent CGI whirrs into action with stupendous fanfare. Ever larger monsters emerge and are subsequently slain as the pace quickens, clunky dialogue becomes less noticeable and we approach a monumental climax that is splendidly executed and an arresting sight to behold in the cinema. My main gripe though is that Clash of the Titans could have been so much more. The original Greek tales are rich in human stories on mortality and morality that are simply ignored in favour of ever bigger monsters. Ok, so Clash of the Titan's was never going to be a gritty insightful drama but with a bit of care and a cursory plundering of the original texts it could have been a great movie instead of just a brainless thrill ride.
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