(Published in City Express, The New Indian Express, dated 31 March 2012, retrieved from http://expressbuzz.com/entertainment/reviews/wrath-of-the-titans/377562.html)
Cast: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Edgar Ramirez, Rosamund Pike, Toby Kebbell, Bill Nighy
Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Rating: 3.5 stars
One thing’s clear to me after watching Wrath of the Titans. If all fathers were Gods, the Godfather could never have mumbled, “Never go against the family.” Because that’s what they do. Bored Olympian Gods hop over to earth and knock up females of various species. And they leave the knocked up chicks – or horses – to be single moms. See, they’re not involved dads. When they get bored again, they fight with each other, so that a bunch of them ends up getting mutilated, banished, incarcerated, or all of the above.
Having made a hero and happy man of Perseus (Sam Worthington) in Clash of the Titans, director Jonathan Liebesman has now made him a widower who’s raising a wimpy son, with the help of a nurse. He’s made things worse for himself by promising his wife at the son’s childbirth that he’d never let Junior wield a sword. Yeah, he was a hands-on dad, sitting in on the delivery and whatnot.
Now, thanks to a series of double-crossings on Mount Olympus, Perseus has to find his cousin Agenor (Toby Kebbell), the half-human son of Poseidon, who’ll help him find Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), who’ll help him get into the maximum-security prison Tartarus, and save Zeus (Liam Neeson)and whatever other Gods can be salvaged. No Greek myth is complete without a warrior princess fitted out in body-hugging armour, and so Andromeda (Rosamund Pike) is dragged into the picture. Agenor is only too happy to play wingman to his cousin, but that’s not an important sub-plot.
Here’s what’s important – the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously. It seems to mock the vacuous storyline, and Toby Kebbell practically channels Captain Jack Sparrow through his character. Ralph Fiennes, who’s recently taken a fancy to playing random characters from fantasy, is as good as Hades as he was as Voldemort. Hades could be the more challenging role, requiring him to switch sides and have epiphanies. You can practically see him and Liam Neeson smirking as they deliver their lines. Sam Worthington, on the other hand, clearly feels for the movie, placing his hand over his heart rather often. Except when he’s there, you’re laughing with – and not at – the actors, and part of you wishes the film could have been a spoof on mythological movies.
This coal-dust-meets-testosterone fest has the good sense to give us unimaginative, but satisfying, CGI. We’re rushed through corridors in Tartarus, attacked by misshapen creatures, and showered with dismembered limbs. And though, inevitably, there is redundant dialogue, the actors speak less often than they grunt and yell. There were some giggles from the audience at the sappy end, and some raised eyebrows at the hint of another sequel, but I doubt anyone regretted the watch.
The Verdict: Wrath of the Titans is a fast-paced Olympian drama, with no pretensions of being anything more significant.
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