I love springtime. It means sunshine, warmer weather, leaves on the trees, and above all else, the start of the movie blockbuster season.
I qualify "Clash of the Titans" as the start of this season. It's the first big effects movie of 2010, and it's one heck of a ride.
While this movie is also playing in 3D, I opted for the 2D version for a few reasons. One, I don't think that every movie needs to be made in 3D. I don't need to see Krakken tentacles lash out at me while I'm enjoying my pretzel bites. The second reason I opted for the 2D version is because it was less expensive. I think it's a cheap ploy by the movie industry to charge more for 3D films. And third, I heard that the effects for this film were totally shit in 3D, so I didn't want to waste the money.
But I digress.
Like I said, this movie is one heck of a ride. I found it to be wildly entertaining, and that's not just because every man was pretty much wearing a short dress (I swear, you could tell what someone had for breakfast in some scenes, if you know what I mean).
The story revolves around Perseus, played by the oh-so-delicious Sam Worthington, who is a bastard son of Zeus, raised by a fisherman and his wife who are later killed by Hades. Now, Hades (played by Ralph Fiennes), really wants to get back at Zeus (played by Liam Neeson) for sticking him in the Underworld all those years ago. He plans on doing it by scaring the men of Earth shitless so that they pray to him instead of Zeus, thus making Hades stronger. The Krakken comes into play because Hades tells the kingdom of Argos that if they don't sacrifice their princess to the Krakken then the kingdom will be destroyed. And it falls to Perseus to save the kingdom even though all he wants to do is kill Hades. It's all quite confusing and the film doesn't do the greatest job at explaining things. I was glad to have read the Percy Jackson series because it gave me a "background" in Greek mythology that I otherwise would have lacked.
I never saw the original "Clash of the Titans" in it's entirety so I can't comment on how the two compare. The only thing I can say is that I enjoy Sam Worthington much more than Harry Hamlin. Oh, and there's a mechanical owl in the film for about 10 seconds and that's it.
There was action galore, a black Pegasus, giant scorpions, two crazy hunters, the villain from "Casino Royale", the chick from "Quantum of Solace", a confrontation in Medusa's lair, and a guy that looked like he was made out of driftwood with blue LED lights for eyes. And let's put it this way: it's not going to win any Oscars for acting, writing, or directing, but the most entertaining films usually don't.
So on the CWeave scale of 1 to 10, I give this film a 7. I'll probably own it when it comes out, and since honesty is the best policy, I've got to admit that I would watch Sam Worthington do just about anything. Even if his acting is a bit stiff...
Showing posts with label Greek Mythology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Greek Mythology. Show all posts
Monday, April 5, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
"Percy Jackson and the Olympians - The Lightening Thief" in theaters
I was in Florida this past weekend, visiting my sister when I went to see this movie. First off, I'd like to say that I am in love with this book series. The author, Rick Riordan, works Greek mythology into present day life with such ease and believability, not to mention a very sharp wit that all ages can enjoy. So, needless to say, I was pumped about going to see this movie.
As a film, I enjoyed it immensely. There were good action sequences, it was quite humorous, and also heart-warming. However, it differed radically from the book. For one, two main characters were left out, which makes doing any sequels a bit troublesome, as one of these characters is quite important in the later novels.
Percy was played by Logan Lerman, who, as my sister pointed out, looks, talks, and has the mannerisms of Zac Efron 3 years ago. And ever since she said that, that's all I can think of when I look at him. However, Logan did an admirable job. It was clear that he spent a lot of time training with weapons, and the chemistry between him, Annabeth, and Grover was good. What he did lack was the sense of humor that is so evident in the books. In the film, pretty much all of the funny lines were given to Grover. Brandon T. Jackson (i.e. Alpa Chino from "Tropic Thunder"), did a great job as Grover, and his comedic timing was spot on.
Annabeth had a certain air of smugness and self-righteousness about her that Percy chipped away at throughout the film, which is generally how it went in the books. And just like the book, the filmmakers didn't give you any sort of release for all of that sexual tension.
I have an issue with the director choice of Christopher Columbus. While yes, he is very accomplished at what he does, I find that he tries to make everything almost too family friendly. Case in point: the movie version of "Rent". The fact that he took R-rated material and made it into a PG-13 rated movie took away a lot from what the original play was about. But I'm not delving into that here.
My biggest pet peeve during this film was that Zeus decreed that all Gods were not to have any contact with their children. I thought that this was an effort by the director to make the gods seem like they weren't assholes. But that isn't sticking to the roots of Greek mythology, which pretty much state that yes, the gods were assholes. They made their kids fight their battles for them, and a lot of the time, the kids didn't want anything to do with the gods. In the Percy Jackson books, it goes along the same lines. Zeus didn't decree anything of the sort. What he, Poseidon, and Hades did do was create a pact that said they wouldn't have any mortal children after World War 2, because WW2 was the result of the skirmishes between them. The fact that Percy Jackson exists in the first place is a HUGE deal in the books, but not so much in the film.
But I digress...
I've learned that you can't go into an adapted film with the idea that it's going to be exactly like the book it's based on. So, as a whole, I still enjoyed this film for what it was. So on the CWeave scale, I give this movie a 7.5. I'd probably see it again in the theaters, and it will certainly become a part of my collection when it comes out on DVD.
As a film, I enjoyed it immensely. There were good action sequences, it was quite humorous, and also heart-warming. However, it differed radically from the book. For one, two main characters were left out, which makes doing any sequels a bit troublesome, as one of these characters is quite important in the later novels.
Percy was played by Logan Lerman, who, as my sister pointed out, looks, talks, and has the mannerisms of Zac Efron 3 years ago. And ever since she said that, that's all I can think of when I look at him. However, Logan did an admirable job. It was clear that he spent a lot of time training with weapons, and the chemistry between him, Annabeth, and Grover was good. What he did lack was the sense of humor that is so evident in the books. In the film, pretty much all of the funny lines were given to Grover. Brandon T. Jackson (i.e. Alpa Chino from "Tropic Thunder"), did a great job as Grover, and his comedic timing was spot on.
Annabeth had a certain air of smugness and self-righteousness about her that Percy chipped away at throughout the film, which is generally how it went in the books. And just like the book, the filmmakers didn't give you any sort of release for all of that sexual tension.
I have an issue with the director choice of Christopher Columbus. While yes, he is very accomplished at what he does, I find that he tries to make everything almost too family friendly. Case in point: the movie version of "Rent". The fact that he took R-rated material and made it into a PG-13 rated movie took away a lot from what the original play was about. But I'm not delving into that here.
My biggest pet peeve during this film was that Zeus decreed that all Gods were not to have any contact with their children. I thought that this was an effort by the director to make the gods seem like they weren't assholes. But that isn't sticking to the roots of Greek mythology, which pretty much state that yes, the gods were assholes. They made their kids fight their battles for them, and a lot of the time, the kids didn't want anything to do with the gods. In the Percy Jackson books, it goes along the same lines. Zeus didn't decree anything of the sort. What he, Poseidon, and Hades did do was create a pact that said they wouldn't have any mortal children after World War 2, because WW2 was the result of the skirmishes between them. The fact that Percy Jackson exists in the first place is a HUGE deal in the books, but not so much in the film.
But I digress...
I've learned that you can't go into an adapted film with the idea that it's going to be exactly like the book it's based on. So, as a whole, I still enjoyed this film for what it was. So on the CWeave scale, I give this movie a 7.5. I'd probably see it again in the theaters, and it will certainly become a part of my collection when it comes out on DVD.
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