All these Greek mythology movies are starting to give me a headache. Immortals? Percy Jackson? Blank of the Titans? All of their stories are starting to merge together and we forget who stars in who and which Gods are in which. Wrath of the Titans is the sequel to Clash of the Titans from about two years ago and follows the story of the demigod Perseus (Sam Worthington). He’s somewhat of a God now himself after defeating the Kraken in converted 3D. You should know what to expect from this series and they don’t hide it in the trailers: Greek Gods, Enormous Monsters, and Explosions. If that’s what you want, Wrath of the Titans will quench your thirst.
There’s really no point into going into the story…it’s basically the same storyline as the last one. The Gods believe it’s the end of days and Perseus must save the day because for some reason being half human is better than being full God. This time, instead of the Kraken, the big boss at the end is Kronos, the father of Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. He’s trapped in the constructed prison of Tartarus located in the underworld where a bunch of these other demons are being released from. Demons like Chimera, a double headed fire-breathing dog-like thing or another and Makhai, a sword-wielding siamese mutant that takes the term eyes in the back of my head one step further.
The monsters of Wrath of the Titans (the true stars)
They keep the Greek mythology to a minimum here including only a handful of Gods: Zeus (Liam Neeson), Hades (Ralph Fiennes), Poseidon (Danny Huston), and Ares (Édgar Ramírez). They lay on the mythological explanations pretty thick making sure they all keep referring to each other as “my brother” or “my son” so you don’t get confused with who is who. I really enjoy the mythology so I was pretty disappointed that they limited it so much. Our two new characters are another demigod Agenor (Toby Kebbell) who is the son of Poseidon, and Hephaestus, the fallen God who forged all of the God’s bad ass weaponry like Zeus’ lightning bolt, Hades’ spear, and Poseidon’s trident. Bill Nighy did a terrific job playing Hephaestus as a lunatic talking to an owl but Toby Kebbell didn’t quite sell me the overused funny/clever liar/thief that the crusading party can’t trust but has to trust because otherwise the movie wouldn’t move on.
The motley crew of Wrath of the Titans (all typical roles represented)
If you haven’t guessed, there’s a journey involved into the great unknown. Stuff happens that sets them back and I guess we’re supposed to believe that they won’t succeed? Come on, you’ve seen this movie before…the non important people in the group die but they get there just in time but it’s not just in time, they’re a little late but they figure something out and change plans for a last ditch effort and then a whole lot of people have to die until the final plan is done and then Perseus rides on his Pegasus and saves the day once again and and and you get the idea. This movie did have one of the coolest labyrinth scenes though. Whenever I see a maze, I want it to move and interact like it did in this film. And of course, with a labyrinth comes a minotaur so they threw that in but I was they didn’t because it was just more monster filler.
SPECIAL EFFECTS! LIGHTNING LAZERS ZOOM!
Everything you expect going into this film is what you get on screen. The main point is that they didn’t mess it up. The story is just good enough to keep your attention span for the length of the movie and the big explosions and gruesome monsters are enough to enjoy the visuals. The 3D is actually pretty playful and fun in this one leaning more towards the gimmicky side than the layered immersion side. There are no “wow” or “awe” scenes in this one, just more of the same grunting action that you got from the original. All the characters are interchangeable and none of them really developed but who cares? The audience just wants to see big monster carnage, right? There are already talks for a third installment but I can’t fathom what they’d do next…they’d have to use their God powers to keep me coming back…or just make another monster a little bigger than the last one that moves a little faster. Why do big beasts always move in slow mo?
Man on a Ledge is some of the most ridiculous fun you’ll have in a theater. It’s stupid. It’s implausible. But it’s fun. With a title like Man on a Ledge, you should know what you’re getting yourself into and by 10 minutes in, you’re there – on the ledge…with the man. The plot is dumb, the characters are foolish, and the whole scenario is played out. But it’s fun. There are laughs, there’s some action, there’s some suspense, and a bit of sex appeal thrown in there as well. You’ll get your money’s worth but you should probably save your money.
The Debt is a true thriller – it will keep you perched on the edge of your seat or makes you sink back into your chair as you feel the actors’ emotions and director’s message. This is yet another remake (but you probably haven’t seen the original which is an Israeli film from only 4 years ago). The director, John Madden, takes his artistic license and switches things a bit to make the story appeal to a much broader audience while keeping the same chilling undertones. The movie follows three Mossad secret agents who share a deep secret. The movie goes back and forth in time giving you hints and pieces of stories allowing you to try and figure out what actually happened. There’s action, there’s thought-provoking scenarios but foremost, there’s unbelievable tension.
Here’s the gist of it: Clash of the Titans follows a demigod (half man/half god) named Perseusas as he fulfils his fate to bring in the new era of man and replace the rule of the Gods. Man was created by Zeus and man’s prayers fuel the God’s immortality. However, Man started to grow tired of the Gods and started to turn on them. Hades, Zeus’s bitter brother, decides to use this opportunity to overthrow his brother and take power over both Gods and Man through his pet monster called the Kraken. Long story short (the movie is 2 hours long), this is yet another one guy goes on a journey, meets people along the way, finds himself, and saves the world movie. The visuals are pretty poor, the acting is blah, and the music is mundane. It definitely should not be in 3D, but more on that later…
