Review: Clash of the Titans (2D)

Just saw Clash of the Titans. It is my last full day here in Nagasaki. I plan on taking a marathon trip back to Yokohama tomorrow, and was going to do it today, but all the prep etc. meant that I would quite figuratively be pushing shit uphill to do it all today. So I'm going tomorrow, armed with a complete and more than comprehansive plan. I am James Bond again tomorrow.
But enough about me (for now).
This being my last day in Nagsaki, Japan; Nagaski being a surprisingly small city with surprisingly little to actually DO, and the weather being what it is - overcast then now rainy, I decided to burn through another 1800 yen to go see the movie.

I'll preface, somewhat oddly, that 1800 yen (about $20 Australian) is FAR TOO MUCH to pay to see any damn movie, even the greats like V for Vendetta, the Rocky's (not 5) or The Dark Knight. But given that 1800yen is apparently the standard price to pay (I assume that wherever you have to pay more the price is justified by cinema staff slowly shoving gold rods up your arse??), and given that we can establish this as "standard rate", it was certainly worth every penny.

I'm not saying Clash of the Titans was a standard movie. Not at all. But let me start with the mediocre points:: The background scenery was a little unbelievable. I mean, I've been to see countless movies with ancient, Gods-are-among-us era movies like Troy, Gladiator, Alexander, etc., but this one seemed more fake in the backgrounds. Sitting through the credits, I noticed that much of the filming was done in Wales, somewhere in Eastern Europe, ie lands that the modern age left behind. So it was all real. But in my humble opinion, and not being an expert on the technology, I am guessing that the combo of real backgrounds and newer 3D imaging must work great when the filmmaker's focus is on making it look cool for a 3D cinema. but I saw it at a regular 2D place, and I don't think so much attention to detail was given for the 2D conversion. I'm trying to let them off the hook.
Of course, all the other special effects (my catnip for movies) were great - giant scorpions, Djinn made from wood and dark magic, gorgons, and the kraken, were fantastically fantastic, and looking good.

The story itself was, much like Sam Worthington's (the main actor - an Aussie!!!!) last film... have you heard of a little flick call AVATAR???
In that I mean that the story was HIGHLY predictable. Such points as the origins of the main character, Persius, the journey-centric storyline, and the names of the gods and monsters (although I didn't see the djinn coming, not that they did much).
There was also a pair of funny-guys, who were inserted into the story somewhat abruptly. But here is where I'll go on the defensive for the movie::

The story's central location, Argos, whether it existed or not, was not sullied and burdened by any kind of long backstory to prove to the audience its existence.
The presence of the Greek gods of Olympus was more or less assumed to be known by the audience. Although, personally I am quite familiar with stories from Greek mythology, so I enjoyed the lack of time-wasting. Maybe less versed people will have trouble grasping it. That would be a signal for such people to go and pick up a book on the subject and learn a little bit about those stories, because like or believe it or not, etymologically speaking, about half of the English language is based on gods and monsters and stories from Ancient Greece, adopted and morphed slightly by the Romans, and then left to us to wonder about.
the film begins with a narration saying, in part, that the oldest stories are written in the stars.
This is absolutely TRUE!
But not in such a direct and naiive way.

The Ancient Greeks, especially the Athenians, had a knack for philosophising. When not at war and sitting atop their acropolis (mountain-top) cities, they had a pollution-free, crystal-clear look at the night skies, and a likewise experience of the raw elements of this Earth unlike any foidn in the civilised world today in 2010AD.

So, when you have a good imagination and a LOT of time on your hands, and no modern 21st century science to explain phenomenons such as rainfall, flooding, thunderstorms, or also the things we don't know about yet, but have always desired certainty on, like the afterlife; when you have time, imagination, and a beautiful canvas of stars like the clear night sky can deliver, you will look at those stars and see images, forms, shapes. This is where the symbols of the Zodiac came from, which horoscopes still use to this day (and still try to bedazzle us with, to more success than an educated population should really allow).
Trust me, I went to a (all Japanese) planetarium in Nagoya, and before I fell asleep in the recliner in the dark room, I saw the illustrations on the ceiling of all the stories and creatures that the Ancient Greek and Chinese star-gazers had conjured up using the power of their imaginations. It was unbelievably detailed, and one could wonder how it got to be so. But the simple answer I have already given you stands - imagination, clear skies, and lots and lots of TIME! We went from using steam-powered boats, rifles, and wishing we could fly like birds to using nuclear-powered submarines with onboard ballistic missiles, machine guns and stealth bombers that fly halfway around the world before needing refueling inside of one century - and the Ancient star-gazers sat on their thumbs (technologically speaking) for centuries, so if they were not fostering real science to make their world more understandable, they were actually imagining up all those stories instead!

And to this end, Clash of the Titans, steeped deeply in Greek gods and monsters, was a rip-snortin' good story of an adventure, featuring fantastic creatures, beautiful women, men in skirts, and entertained me thoroughly for an hour or two. And the action scenes were pretty cool, too. Don't think this one will become a part of my hallowed DVD collection, which features greats like I mentioned before, because those other movies have spoken to me of deeper things to think about, life, interpersonality, etc. But Clash of the Titans will get you wondering about all those Greek gods and monsters that you MUST have heard about somewhere before - in a history book, when you watched the 1990's Hercules TV show, or ever been interested in astronomy or its unrelated and dumber roommate astrology (ie horoscopes).

Good fun, but nothing too deep. Perfect for a rainy, quiet last day in Nagasaki, chillin' before the marathon tomorrow.
Oh, and it should be seen on the big screen. If I don't have to pay using body parts, I will go see it in 3D either in Mito or Australia.

From The Tominator.