Wrath of the Titans rumbles, sparks and explodes in fury

Posted March 28, 2012 by HALIDON in EntertainME

Opening credits
Wrath of the Titans is a sequel to Clash of the Titans and follows the story of demi-god Perseus who leads other demi-gods and men in battle against evil to save his captive father Zeus and restore balance on Earth.

Pulp
For those who are wondering what’s this fuss about Titans for the second time around, you need to get clued in. Both movies are based on Greek mythology. The basic premise is that Gaia (the Earth), after giving birth to Uranus (the Sky), mated with him to create six offspring’s known as the Titans. Kronos, the most powerful and crafty of them all, uses his guile and mother’s help to rule the other Titans. But he later gets challenged by his son Zeus (God of Thunder) and gets defeated. Zeus imprisons Kronos inside the dreaded underworld of Tartarus with the help of his brothers Poseidon (God of Sea) and Hades (God of the Dead). Hades later fights with Zeus over command of the gods and on losing, gets banished forever in the underworld Tarturus. Zeus from then on is considered to be the most powerful of the Gods. When Gods mate with humans, their off-spring are known as demi-gods and most of such off-springs have their god parent’s powers.

Clash of the Titans, the first one in 2010, began when Princess Andromeda fought against the Gods and was victorious. Hades resents that and states she is to be offered as sacrifice. Failing this he promises to unleash a powerful sea monster called Kraken upon the Princess’ city. Andromeda’s father, having no other choice, appeals for help from Perseus, demi-god son of Zeus, living amongst men. Perseus agrees as Hades has killed his human family and he intends to level the score. However, in order to defeat the Kraken, he has to kill Medusa and get her head. That is easier said than done since Medusa is a beautiful woman who has been cursed with a head full of snakes as hair and any man who looks at her turns into stone.

Wrath of the Titans is set 10 years from that clash. Perseus (Sam Worthington) has rejected his father’s offer to come and live with the Gods. He prefers to raise his son as a simple fisherman. He has lost his wife and has almost given up the thought of violence. However, the various gods are still trying to outdo each other in a bid to become the supreme rules. Humans are losing faith in the Gods ability to protect them while fighting each other and their loss of faith is making the gods weak. Ares (Edgar Ramirez) who is the God of War, brother to Perseus and son of Zeus, bears a grudge against Zeus for not being a good father to him. He teams up with Hades (Ralph Fiennes) to imprison Zeus and use his power to awaken dormant Titan Kronos.

In the process of capturing Zeus, Poseidon (Danny Huston) gets injured and has enough time to warn Perseus before losing his immortality and dying. Ares and Hades manage to drag Zeus in front of the dormant Kronos who uses the remaining power within Zeus to awaken himself. Ares meanwhile gets a hold of Zeus’ powerful staff that controls thunder. Pretty soon, all sorts of monsters start attacking humans and wrecking havoc on earth. Perseus realises that his son won’t be safe in such an environment and on finding out that his father has been taken captive, decides to enter the battle and save him.

He joins Princess Andromeda (Rosamund Pike) now queen and with the help of Poseidon’s demi-god son Agenor, they start the dreaded and treacherous trip towards Tarturus, the underworld. Very soon, as the way becomes really difficult and their lives hang in balance, the three start questioning the feasibility of rescuing Zeus, stopping Kronos from escaping his prison and halting an increasingly powerful Ares.

End Roll
Wrath of the Titans is a definitely better movie of the two. The CGI (computer generated imagery also know as computer graphics) is a treat to watch. It is so real and the 3D so in your face, that the 90-odd minutes of the movie just flew by. From the start the action is intense and draws you in. There is sudden silence in the hall or so you feel, as the action on the screen is breathless. Unlike the first part where the story was a bit murky, this one has lots more sense and even those who do not follow the characters will figure out the good guys from the bad.

Director Jonathan Liebesman has done a commendable job of keeping your interest piqued throughout the movie. I wished the story had a little more bite, but given the number of characters that had to be suddenly pushed into the limelight, the writers probably had to make do. Greek mythology has multiple levels of interpretation and therefore it is quite easy to lose oneself when trying to get your head around it. One thing that really got me is, like the build up in the previous movie for the Kraken, in this there is some serious build up for the mighty, evil Kronos that fizzles towards the end. This could have been a bit more interesting.

Sam does a good job of acting as the gutsy and bloodied Perseus. He suits the warring hero, down on his luck, yet will try to give his last bit to the cause. Rosamund Pike is quite forgettable in her role. There wasn’t much for her to do and therefore you will quickly forget her in this movie. Bill Nighy has a short role, but he plays it really well ensuring you do not forget his contribution at all.

Perspective
So far, it is the best movie of the week and a nice action flick after a long time. Quite a relief to watch something and be immersed in it fully with one’s mouth open. Worth the trouble of watching it on screen and on 3D. Go grab you bag of pop and corn.

Rating:
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of fantasy violence and action