Your journey does not end well, Perseus.
 

The Flick

Millennia ago, Titans ruled the Earth.  They gave birth to the Gods Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon.  Brats that they are, Zeus had Hades create a creature so powerful, that it could destroy their parents.  From his flesh, the Kraken was born, ending the reign of the Titans.  Zeus then became ruler of the heavens while Hades became ruler of the underworld, forced to live in darkness and decay. Zeus then created man in his image, feeding off their prayers, until when ages had past, mankind decided to rise up against their creators. 

The moment the people of Argos denounce Zeus, Hades (Ralph Fiennes) takes it upon himself to retaliate.  This retaliation leaves Perseus (Sam Worthington), found as a baby in a coffin floating on the sea, without the only family he knew.  Once in Argos, Hades appears again to warn the people that in three days he will release the Kraken again to destroy the city.  He reveals that Perseus is a demigod and Zeus’s true son.  Now seeking vengeance for the loss of his family, Perseus must discover a way to stop the Kraken and destroy a God.

Hades enlists Acrisius, now called Calibos (Jason Flemyng) to track him down.  As Perseus travels with a handful of fodder to the Stygian Witches, he finds a sword gifted from Zeus that only he can wield.  Soon after, they are met by Calibos.  Upon being wounded, Calibos’s escapes and his blood hits the sand and becomes the large scorpiochs that attack the group.  Saved from the scorpiochs by the Djinns, they help Perseus reach the Stygian Witches. The Stygian witches reveal that they can destroy the Kraken with the head of Medusa and her stare.  Perseus must now travel to the underworld and claim the head of Medusa, and return to Argos in time to stop the Kraken.

In the original, it was Poseidon who controlled the Kraken, not Hades.  Since the Kraken was a water dwelling Titan, it made much more sense that it be Poseidon’s possession.  This version’s switch really made it hard for me to get into this one. If you’re going to use Greek mythology, stay true to the source.  Despite this huge complaint, the new version offers a healthier dose of action that I certainly appreciated.  The fight scenes and the special effects used in them are much more believable.

On top of the increased of action, the creature designs throughout this version are some of the best Hollywood has pushed out in a long time.  The three Stygian witches looked grotesque as a mix of old, withered skin and teeth without eyes.  The ferryman on the river Stix looks just as cool with its skeletal frame and elongated features.  Also, the design of Kraken used here far exceeded the look of the original.  Its many tentacles and teeth mixed with sheer size made for a truly frightening version over the classic one.

It seems that Gemma Arterton is everyone’s new epic go-to girl and I have no complaints on that.  She is incredibly sexy as the cast out Io and she is the best reason to keep watching.  Sam Worthington as Perseus comes through a little rough.  His voice seems to change throughout the film and he doesn’t pull off the angry anti-hero as well as I’d hoped.  Jason Flemyng as Calibos and Acrisius was a total surprise and he ends up being one of the best reasons to watch Clash.

Audio/Video

For the most part Clash of the Titans on Blu-ray looks incredible.  The colors are solid and the palette changes frequently throughout the film.  This could have been a drab and dull film considering the source material, but thank fully it’s not. The bright whites, purity and glow of Mount Olympus are drastically different than the dark blues and grays of the River Styx and the red lava filled lair of Medusa.  The computer generated special effects occasionally get a little blurry when they’re moving but it doesn’t take too much away from overall experience.  You’ll see this in the fight with the scorpions as well as the Medusa fight.

The soundtrack throughout Clash is also top notch. Action sequences are met by copious booms that will rattle the bass thoroughly offering plenty of moments that will shake the house.  Occasionally the soundtrack overpowers the vocals of the main characters, but it doesn’t happen frequently enough to ruin the experience.

Special Features

Clash of the Titanson Blu-ray comes as a dual disc collection with the high-def feature film and special features on the Blu-ray disc and the standard-def feature film along with a digital copy on the standard DVD disc.  Special features include:

• WB Maximum Movie Mode
• Focus points, a collection of mini featurettes on various aspects of the film.
• Sam Worhtington: An Action Hero for the Ages Featurette
• Alternate ending
• Deleted Scenes
• BD Live connectivity

Maximum move mode is Warner Bros. version of commentary and is a much better experience than a standard track.  It features running commentary as well as featurettes running alongside the movie discussing behind the scenes info. The Focus points as I mentioned above, are a collection of mini featurettes based on portion of the film like the Scorpioch, Calibos or how Zeus and Hades costumes were made to look.  Individually they don’t offer much, but as a whole they offer some nice behind the scenes info.

The alternate ending features a new love dynamic between Perseus and Andromeda missing from the main feature as well as Perseus’s return to Mount Olypmpus.  It’s not finished quality and looks absolutely ridiculous.  It’s obvious to me why they cut it.  The other deleted scenes are of finished or near finished quality and feature a lot of interaction between the Gods that was missing from main feature.  The scene where Apollo visits Perseus is much more intense than the one replaced with Zeus in the film.  It’s upsetting to see how much more a complete film this would have been if all the deleted scenes had made it into the final feature. 

Overall

Clash of the Titansis a fun adventure movie doused in Greek mythology.  It offers a good story marred by some minor flaws.  Die hard fans of the original will hate the small changes, but for the rest of us, this is one Blu-ray you’ll want to add to your collection. 

ComicsOnline gives Clash of the Titans on Blu-ray 3 out of 5 Medusa’s stares.

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