The new clash of the titans
What can I say I loved this movie(wish I had gone to see it sooner), if you are going to try and combine reality with mysticism this is the way to do it. I mean if you are between 27-40 I am sure you remember the first clash of the titans it was good, it was damn good for the technology we had at the time. Yet at the same time it was kind of lame, it had this air about it of yes the Hero is in trouble but meh not really he doesn't really need any training this is handed too him easily and with no real cause for his concern.
Not this new clash of the titans, oh no Perseus you are about to take some licks, not one or two oh no you are gonna hate me so much that in the end it's only because you see the method to my madness that you come to love me. Zeus is not the doting father he appeared to be in the first movie, oh nooo zeus is a harsh God he demands obedience, respect and loyalty. When the humans begin to rebel against the gods(yes in this movie it isn't just a loud mouthed queen or two it's all of humanity) Zeus isn't care worn oh no he is pissed and lets loose.
The gods involved in the old one: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Thetis(played by maggie smith who went on to play the head nun in Sister act and Mcgonagall in harry potter), Athena, Hephaestus and Aphrodite. For the most part the gods were on the side of the humans in the first movie, yes Thetis was the main desenter, in clash one Calibos was the son of thetis. Now he was in trouble because he had the grand idea in his head to hunt down Zeus' Pegasi now I don't know about you but shooting the prize horses of the king of the gods ain really the smartest thing to do in all of greece. So zeus punished him by making him disfigured thus putting the kaibosh on his marriage plans with princess adromeda. So thetis in a rage at her sons misfortune decided to take Zeus' pampered child and put him out in the world. Adventures ensure, gifts are given, Kraken defeated. And for the 80's yes this fairy tale story did meat the criteria of movie goers.
This ain the 80's baby so in the new one, while all the gods are seen, only Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo and Hades speak, and in essense the story is only really between Zeus and Hades. Now as for Young Perseus he is not enthralled with his father Zeus, first off Zeus couldn't keep it in his pants but he wasn't just falling for a pretty passing maid no he purposefully chose Acrisius' queen as punishment for his revolt against the gods. And as for his punishment lets just say Thetis does not play a role this movie. So Perseus is found in a fishermans net, raised by said fisherman and family and comes into contact with the gods completely by accident. See this Perseus has no love for the gods, he did not live an easy and pampered life but he was happy with his life. This movie shows that while Perseus may be part god his human side is the side he values more, he just wants to prove himself and get a shot at Hades, his journey is not to save his love Andromeda no, the Kraken is made from Hades flash and if he destroys the Kraken he weakens Hades and can get his vengeance on Hades for the blow he struck him. And the non Demi god humans in this movie aren't just cannon fodder no they train him, they have valuable skills, they prove to be fine companions or annoying obstacles. Perseus tries to ignore the gifts he is given by the gods because he wants to prove what a man can do, he wants to show the type of man his father raised because that is what he valued.
In the trailer for the movie there is a scene between Zeus and Perseus where in his rage at the problems caused by the gods Perseus claims Zeus knows little about them and yet by the end you have to wonder if it wasn't so much that Zeus and the gods knew little or nothing about the humans or if they just realized the humans may have needed a little reminder that yes they were there and that there were more things in heaven and earth then what you might see in your average day to day life. I like this more menial quest where Perseus isn't just perfect all the time, he makes mistakes, he earns his scars, he grows to appreciate just how big the world really is.
Another thing this movie really benefited from the upgrade in special effects Medusa was more looming and menacing, the Scorpinoks were more believable, the Kraken more terrifying and Charon's barge more befitting his eerie chore. Now I do have a small gripe Hades was awful comfy in the Sea, every time you turned around Hades had something to do in or around the water, that of course is Poseidon's domain and I think they should have respected those boundaries a little more. Other than that I think the movie was great. As usual I try not to give any spoilers, As for Perseus and Percy Jackson there actually were a lot of probably unintentional similarities between the two characters. Neither wants to be special, neither asked for the pressures or pain associated with being the child of a god. They value their friends and the people they meet more then they do the mantle DEMIGOD, and while they may grow to understand the problems the gods may see they aren't exactly enthralled with how the gods usually try to go about solving them.
As is said the gods usually don't directly interact in the human world unless there is just an egregious violation, that is why they have heroes
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