Though the movie was critically panned when it got here out in 2012 — sure, it solely has a 26% approval ranking on Rotten Tomatoes — Jonathan Liebesman’s peplum flick “Wrath of the Titans” is attracting a big viewers on Netflix. “Wrath of the Titans” is a sequel to Louis Leterrier’s 2010’s ugly-ass 3D movie “Conflict of the Titans,” itself a high-octane remake of the glittering 1981 fantasy epic directed by Desmond Davis and starring Harry Hamlin.
All three movies concern the adventures of the Greek hero Perseus, performed by Sam Worthington within the remakes. In “Conflict of the Titans,” Perseus’ adventures include a few of what you keep in mind from finding out Greek mythology in elementary faculty. He’s the illegitimate son of Zeus, born to the human girl Danae. He grows up, raised by fishermen, within the metropolis of Argos. When he turns 18, the king and queen of Argos have waged a conflict on the gods, inciting their wrath. Hades (Ralph Fiennes) seems to the court docket and says that they must sacrifice the princess Andromeda (Alexa Davolos) or else he’ll unleash the Kraken, an enormous sea monster. Liam Neeson performs Zeus, and Perseus fights Medusa. Gemma Arterton performs Io, and there are small roles for Mads Mikkelsen, Nicholas Hoult, Pete Postlethwaite, and Jason Flemyng.
The movie is horrible, but it surely remodeled $493 million on the field workplace (!), that means a sequel was inevitable. The sequel extrapolated from Greek delusion and issues a weird wrinkle: the gods are dropping their powers as a result of human beings have stopped praying to them. One would possibly assume that religion was straightforward to return by in a universe with Krakens, gorgons, and gods showing in particular person, however by no means thoughts. Hades and Ares (Édgar Ramírez) staff as much as steal Zeus’ thunderbolt and … properly, the plot continues apace.
It is all very witless.
Wrath of the Titans is absolute nonsense
The plot, to get again to it, is extra paying homage to a fetch-quest online game than something one would possibly encounter in historic texts. Perseus, now 10 years older, is instructed by Zeus that if the gods lose their powers, then the partitions of Tartarus will fall, unleashing the Titan Kronos, a creature so highly effective it will probably destroy the world and topple Mount Olympus. Hades and Ares have made a take care of Kronos; as soon as he breaks free, they’re going to get to stay immortal in alternate for the ability they’ll siphon from Zeus’ physique. Perseus must face Kronos himself. His purpose is to assemble the Spear of Trium, a weapon product of Zeus’ thunderbolt, Hades’ pitchfork, and Poseidon’s trident. It isn’t far more subtle than retrieving the Grasp Sword in “The Legend of Zelda.”
Andromeda is again, now performed by Rosamund Pike. Danny Huston performs Poseidon, and Billy Nighy performs Hephaestus. There are cyclopes, the Minotaur, and different godly beings as properly.
The movie is muddy, visually vague, and the motion is basically generic. The “Titans” remakes had been clearly made within the wake of the success of Zack Snyder’s “300,” and it bears the identical ultra-stylized, ultra-masculine trappings of that movie. Worst of all, it would not appear to be saying a lot. There’s a imprecise theme pertaining to the operate of religion in an evolving world, but it surely’s not likely explored. It is also an illogical theme in a world the place the gods are very actual and show their direct affect on the human world every day.
Sam Worthing has accrued a nasty popularity for enjoying thick-headed motion heroes in movies like “Terminator: Salvation” and the “Avatar” motion pictures. Worthington is definitely a succesful performer who took on many motion/style movies that did not demand a lot of him. The “Titans” movies solely required him to be powerful and taciturn.
Plainly it was sufficient to earn “Wrath” $302 million on the field workplace and a brand new life on streaming, although. So what do critics know?
