Striking effects give 'Titans' sequel edge over original
At least it's better than "Clash of the Titans."
Marginally.
At the end of Jonathan Liebesman's action-packed Greek mythology sequel, the demigod Perseus (Sam Worthington, reprising his role from the 2010 remake of the original 1981 Ray Harryhausen production) asks his young son Helius (John Bell), "Is it too much?"
The answer is yes and no.
Yes, too much reliance on digital effects and unrelenting PG-13 level violence.
No, not enough reliance on interesting characters and intelligent dialogue.
"Wrath of the Titans" takes place during a tough time for the ancient Greek gods, who depend on humans praying for them, and those fickle humans just aren't praying enough to keep the gods' powers at full strength.
That means the gods, such as Perseus' dad Zeus (Liam Neeson, again), are losing control over the nasty Titans, ruled by the powerful Kronos, father to Zeus, Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Poseidon (Danny Huston).
Worse, poor Zeus accepts Hades' invitation to meet him in the Underworld, where Zeus gets betrayed by his bro, now in cahoots with daddy Kronos and Zeus' other son Ares (Edgar Ramirez), who's a bit bitter that his pop always liked Perseus better.
Of course, Zeus had actually imprisoned Hades in hell and stuck their father in the gloomy underworld dungeon of Tartarus, so what did he expect? Loyalty? Gratitude?
The unseen Kronos ties Zeus to a fiery transfusion device that siphons off his son's godly powers so he can break free and lead the Titans.
Meanwhile, Perseus gives up trying to live as a mortal fisherman once the Titans start sending fireballs into his village and siccing a two-headed, fire-breathing demon on the fleeing population.
Fans of mythology movies who like virtually bloodless, numbingly incessant violence might appreciate "Wrath of the Titans," but it comes with a laundry list of puzzling, inexplicable details.
Why do most of the Greek characters such as the lovely Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike) speak with crisp British accents, but some of her Greek soldiers speak with French accents, and Perseus speaks with an Australian accent, but his son doesn't?
Zeus, with a slight Irish lilt, warns Perseus that if the Titans break free, "There will be chaos!"
Did he really say that? Because in Greek mythology, Chaos was actually a god like Zeus, not a synonym for "extreme disorder and confusion."
Then, the narrator of the story in "Wrath" turns out to be dead. How does that work, even in a Greek myth?
"Wrath" excels with its effective merger of digital effects and sound effects, especially in its rendering of the winged horse Pegasus, a black stallion animated light years better than the cheesy horse galloping on thin air in the 1981 "Clash of the Titans."
Equally powerful is the rendering of Kronos as a Godzilla-sized fiery demon emerging from a volcanic mountaintop, and capable of throwing huge sprays of molten lava on the queen's soldiers and Perseus' Pegasus. (Good thing his steed possesses fire-retardant feathers.)
Only two actors in "Wrath" bring a welcome sense of fun to their roles: Bill Nighy as the fallen god Hephaestus (the Greek "Q" who created all the cool weapons of the gods) and Toby Kebbell as Agenor, Poseidon's son and the irreverent demigod of quick witticisms.
"I've read you're a great disappointment," young Helius says to Agenor.
"Yes," Agenor replies. "I'm great!"
If only "Wrath of the Titans" felt the same.
“Wrath of the Titans”
★ ★
Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy, Danny Huston
Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman
Other: A Warner Bros. release. Rated PG-13 for violence. 99 minutes