CLASH OF THE TITANS (2010)

CLASH OF THE TITANS (2010). Director: Louis Leterrier.

This is a big-budget, 3-D, inferior remake to the 1981 Clash of the Titans starring Sam Worthington of Avatar as Perseus. As in the original film, Perseus must get the head of the gorgon, Medusa, to use against the monstrous Kraken, to which the princess Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) is going to be sacrificed. This time it's all part of a war between Zeus (Liam Neeson) and Hades (Ralph Fiennes). [Hades was actually the name of the underworld, not a God.] Clash of the Titans has no characterization to speak of, and worse, little narrative drive. It's not well directed and comes off for long, long stretches like a dull TV movie. [I can't imagine that the 3-D would have helped much.] Worthington is okay as the hero, even if his accent comes and goes. The computer-generated giant scorpion is not that impressive, although the scene with Medusa is much better [although still not as good as the same sequence in the original film]. Pegasus the flying horse gets a lot of action, as he did in the 1981 version, but Bubo the owl only shows up briefly. The movie picks up in the final moments with the very dramatic introduction of the Kraken, and the effects therein are impressive.

Verdict: If you're going to do a remake, make sure it's a lot better than the original. This isn't. **1/2.