WRATH OF THE TITANS
RYAN: I had pretty low expectations after seeing the trailer for this film since it just kinda looked like a video game come to life and the title is so cheesy. Was Clash of the Titans 2 already taken?
CAROLINE: [laughs’ We both were kinda surprised, though, by the first one. Still I didn’t check this out since it looks like such a boy movie. How was it?
RYAN: It’s awesome! Once again, I was surprised by it. The story takes Perseus on a cool adventure and this just in, the cast is brilliant.
CAROLINE: Ralph Fiennes as Hades, Liam Neeson as Zeus, Sam Worthington… who else?
RYAN: Billy Nighy plays Hephaestus in such a fantastic performance, I’d almost remember him for supporting actor.
CAROLINE: Ok, settle down now.
RYAN: Seriously, he was more than just a scene stealer. He’s a terrific actor and he really did something I’ve never seen from him before. And the girl in the movie is Rosamund Pike but it’s kind of a sham.
CAROLINE: What do you mean?
RYAN: She plays Andromeda and it’s so random because in the first film, Andromeda was played by a different actress who’s brunette and at the very least, they could have put Rosamund in a wing, right?
CAROLINE: At the very least.
RYAN: Still she was very good and you know Ralph and Liam, you could watch them read the proverbial phone book and be entertained. But I don’t want to diminish this film. It’s actually quite good.
CAROLINE: I’m glad you liked it. How was the 3D?
RYAN: Only the best since Avatar.
CAROLINE: Shut up! Are you kidding?
RYAN: No. As opposed to the Clash, which was converted to 3D, this was actually shot in 3D and you notice it in every single frame of the film. There were even moments where I had to blink or dodge my head out of the way because it looked like something was gonna hit you in the face.
CAROLINE: Oh that’s cool. It’s about time we see 3D like that as opposed to where you only notice it for five minutes out of a movie. Speaking of time, how was the length?
RYAN: It’s perf. It’s very fast paced and under two hours. I didn’t feel inclined to check my watch at all.
CAROLINE: That’s nice too. Is it a total boy movie as I suspected?
RYAN: It is a little warrior-ish but, this just in, it’s Greek Mythology. I’m not big into that but you obviously don’t have to be to really enjoy this film.
CAROLINE: I hear you.
RYAN: The special effects are super cool. There are some sequences where things look like a maze violently coming together and some of the CGI creatures are awesome.
CAROLINE: Anything that didn’t really work?
RYAN: Aside from the Rosamund blonde-ness, I’m disappointed in the film’s climax. The entire film builds up to it and then it occurs and I thought to myself, “That’s it?!” I mean, it is a little predictable and necessary but compared to how great the rest of the movie is, the climax just felt a little stunted or something.
CAROLINE: That’s fair. What’s your bottom line?
RYAN: I’m gonna go out on a limb and give this sequel the rarely-bestowed honor of being better than the first. I think since Clash was a remake, if you’d seen the original 1981 version with Harry Hamlin, you were just waiting to see how it differs. But this, for an original story, was very exciting and a lot of fun. It’s absolutely worth your time and money in the theater.
— RATING —