THE AISLE SEAT - by Mike McGranaghan

"CLASH OF THE TITANS"

I know there are people out there who absolutely love the original Clash of the Titans, but I'm not one of them. The movie always seemed kind of cheesy to me, although not the cool kind of 80's cheese like, for example, Flash Gordon. So when I heard there was going to be a big-budget remake, you could safely say that I was incredulous. The remake is all right, I suppose, but not necessarily anything that's going to release your Kraken. Sorry - couldn't resist.

Considering how over-plotted the film is, the premise is actually pretty simple. The Greek gods are angry that their human subjects no longer worship them enough. Hades (Ralph Fiennes) rises up from the underworld to convince his brothers Poseidon (Danny Huston) and Zeus (Liam Neeson, looking embarrassed to be here) to help instill fear in the ungrateful little bastards, thereby forcing them to pray and be obedient. Zeus agrees, and various creatures - including the dreaded, all-powerful Kraken - are unleashed upon humanity. Sam Worthington plays Perseus, a demigod who leads the charge to fight the Zeus and company. Teaming up with various allies, he faces an onslaught of dangerous demons before finally coming face-to-face with Hades.

What I remember about the original Clash was that it had some interesting visuals and a plot that bored me silly. This remake garnered the same reaction from me. The movie is essentially a series of action set pieces, strung together with a lot of dull exposition. When there's action going on, there is definitely some fun to be had. Perseus takes on a giant scorpion, the snake-haired Medusa (in what is hands-down the coolest scene), and the behemoth known as the Kraken. The CGI effects are impressive, as are the designs of Perseus' various enemies. Whenever there were creatures or action on the screen, I perked up; whenever there was "story," I found my attention drifting to other, unrelated things.

Part of the reason why the story doesn't work is that there's no character development. Everyone is one-dimensional, so I never had any rooting interest in any of them. Many of the supporting characters are just barely even introduced, which turns them into almost complete enigmas. The hero himself is perhaps one of the dullest characters in the whole movie. Sam Worthington has been in three big movies in the last year - Terminator Salvation, Avatar, and this one - and hasn't shown an ounce of personality in any of them. The role of Perseus needed an actor with some viable charisma.

Clash of the Titans is less than the sum of its parts. Individual scenes are entertaining, yet everything in between those scenes withers on the screen. Most of all, I think the movie fails to establish a sense of grandeur. Greek gods have provided some of the most potent dramatic stories of all time. Here, they are just reduced to being part of an overblown B-movie. Interestingly, the scenes in Zeus' kingdom even recapture the cheap-o 80's aesthetic, with the actors inhabiting a blatantly fakey looking set.

Are fans of the original going to like it more than I did? I'm not sure. They might, given that there's obviously an already-existing attachment to the property. As a non-fan, I'd say I liked about 50% of Clash. On an action movie/creature feature level, it delivers satisfactorily, with visually appealing monsters and decently staged fight sequences. On a plot/characterization level, it's a complete bore.

( 1/2 out of four)

Blu-Ray Features:

Clash of the Titans is available on DVD and Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack starting July 27. You can also catch it On Demand via digital cable, satellite TV, XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 game consoles. Additionally, it can be downloaded for rental or purchase from iTunes and Amazon Video on Demand.

The Blu-Ray has a series of outstanding features that can be enjoyed no matter what you thought of the film itself. They begin with Maximum Movie Mode, a kind of immersive commentary that features walk-ons by Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, and director Louis Leterrier. As you watch the film, there are picture-in-picture features detailing multiple aspects of the production. It's a fun and educational way to watch Titans.

Accessible within Maximum Movie Mode or individually are a series of eleven Focus Points, 3-4 minute segments that hone in on specific elements. "Sam Worthington is Perseus" focuses on casting and character, as do "Zeus: Father of Gods and Men, "Harnessing the Gods," and "Enter the World of Hades." Two Focus Points, "Tenerife: A Continent on an Island" and "Wales: A Beautiful Scarred Landscape" detail the unique locations the company traveled to in order to make Titans. My favorites were the ones that focused on visual effects, "Bringing Medusa to Life" and "Prepare for the Kraken." "Scorpioch" is the best of the best, showing us how pre-visualization and CGI were used to create one of the movie's most memorable sequences, the scorpion attack. There is some fun footage of Worthington strapped to a mechanical bull-like device for a shot in which Perseus is riding the creature's back. "Actors and their Stunts" informs us that Worthington and several of the other stars did their own stunts in an effort to make it all look more authentic. Finally, there is "Calibos: Man Behind the Monster," which is a make-up featurette. Each of the Focus Points provides fascinating behind-the-scenes detail.

"Sam Worthington: An Action Hero for the Ages" is a separate feature devoted to the actor, whose career has had a stratospheric rise.

At the time of its release, rumors on the internet claimed that Leterrier's cut of the film was compromised in an effort to pump up the action. This seems to be the case based on a series of Deleted Scenes, which indicate that a far more interesting version of Clash of the Titans was prepared at some point. The excised material is much more character-driven, radically deepening the motivations of Zeus and the other gods. These bits fill in some of the holes I noted in my review of the movie itself; it finally feels like these characters are developed to the extent that they needed to be. The Alternate Ending is also massively preferable to the illogical and contrived one found in the theatrical cut. Perseus has the confrontation with Zeus that always felt necessary. It's a shame that this stuff was deemed not usable, as it doubtlessly would have improved the film overall.

Clash of the Titans has a well-produced Blu-Ray, packed with quality supplementary material. The film itself looks better on disc than it did theatrically.

Clash of the Titans is rated PG-13 for fantasy action violence, some frightening images, and brief sensuality. The running time is 1 hour and 58 minutes.