Well the titans and then the film nerds clashed after the release of this remake – which for a large part stays fairly faithful to the plot details of the original – but does introduce a slightly more angry and vengeful Perseus as he goes about his mission to stop the Kraken doing the God’s wrathful bidding.
Sam Worthington has the physique of an action hero, the good looks, but very little soul. And it would be nice if he actually looked different in each action film he made for a change (Ok he was a big blue alien in avatar).
But back to the picture – gone is the tacked on 3-D from the theatrical release – so we are left with how it was intended. The stop motion of the original has been replaced with a lot of special effects of the visual nature. Some are very impressive, others passable. But overall the design of the film is very impressive. The Blu-Ray helps you spot more of the details as the film unravels. There has clearly been a lot of set designing going on for this little epic – and it doesn’t fail to impress.
Looking to the skies, the metal clad gods headed up by Liam Neeson’s Zeus are less sympathetic figures in this version – and rightly so as they are several levels above the pecking order than us mere mortals. So it’s good that they make nothing easy after they feel that mankind has betrayed their worship to them.
As a result of mans insolence, Perseus (a newly orphaned fisherman) goes off on his mission with a dirty dozen team of expendable supporting players as well as a mystical lady in the form of [please put me in every Hollywood picture] Gemma Arterton. His mission: to find a way of stopping the Kraken. This takes them out towards the ugly old witch oracles who can tell the future; a run in with Perseus’s mother’s husband who Zeus had a short affair with, some nasty giant scorpions and eventually into the lair of the medusa.
Critics may have slammed this film a little too hard when it first came out as it is great fun, and also has more decent supporting actors than perhaps it has a right to. Some are wasted (like Danny Huston’s Poseidon – more of him to be found in the deleted scenes), while others steal scenes out from under the leads (Mads Mikkelsen is fast becoming the best thing in everything he does). There is a decent balance of comedy and thrills along the way.
Enthusiasts of the original will find plenty to point accusing fingers at if they are looking to do so. Those just wanting a farfetched entertaining yarn need look no further. It isn’t a masterpiece, but there is enough charm about this affair for it never to be dull. Apparently they are going to make a trilogy of films – but we’ll have to wait and see where that may lead the story.
The Blu-Ray comes with fairly sparse extras. There are about 20 minutes of deleted scenes and an alternate ending. A focus on Sam Worthington is also here – but the best is probably the maximum Movie mode which utilises picture in picture viewing of the film which then adds making of material in other frames as you watch.
No commentary then, but the Maxi Mode is probably the best substitute you’ll get. But is it worth getting on Blu-Ray? Well for the extras (of which the alt ending and the Sam Worthington piece as what you don’t get on DVD) definitely not. But if you like sound a picture quality then yes. If you own High Definition then this film looks that way it should on a big TV, which is an argument that should be made for any film that has superior sound and vision.
