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The 3-D may be a step up from 'Clash of the Titans,' but critics are panning the sequel as 'relentlessly mechanical.'
By Kevin P. Sullivan
Sam Worthington in "Wrath of the Titans"
Photo: Warner Bros.
If you've read any Greek mythology, you know that after the Titans' clash comes their wrath. Two years have passed (10 years in movie time), and Sam Worthington is back as Perseus to once again save humanity from the gods who would destroy it.
The makers of the Greek sequel (Greequel?) have cleaned up the messy 3-D from "Clash of the Titans," but according to most critics, "Wrath of the Titans" doesn't do much else to improve upon the original.
Here is our roundup of what the critics are saying about "Wrath of the Titans."
The Story
"Now widowed, Perseus is living as a fisherman and raising his son, Helius (John Bell). But upheaval lurks when he's approached by Zeus for help. Apparently, humanity isn't as devoted to worshiping the gods as they were, and the pantheon is in danger of losing its immortality. Armageddon looms. Perseus initially avoids entering the fray, but soon he's thrust into a struggle involving Hades and Ares, who have joined forces and captured Zeus, aiming to siphon off his godly powers." — Claudia Puig, USA Today
Sam Worthington
"Maybe it's just my imagination, but Sam Worthington seems to be getting slightly less stiff as an actor. He now smiles occasionally, and he's at least risen to the soulful inexpressiveness of the young Ryan O'Neal. For a movie like 'Wrath of the Titans,' which is basically 'Gladiator' crossed with 'Lord of the Rings' crossed with a special-effects demo reel (call it 'Lord of the Rinky-Dink'), he's the perfect actor. And that's because he never threatens to overshadow all that fire." — Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
The Action
"But this is a movie in which whole sequences consist of nothing but guys fighting stiff computer images. Such scenes would be boring even were they done well, but these scenes aren't done well. There's an elaborate sequence inside a labyrinth-like cave, in which the stone walls and floors are constantly shifting. But even this has no impact, because we can practically see it on a computer screen." — Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
The 3-D
"I should have added that the movie is in 3-D. This is not a help. 'Wrath of the Titans' is to begin with a dusty, murky pictorial confusion, not helped by dim underworld scenes, and although I'm sure the focus must be excellent, it had an imprecise feeling to me. Then the 3-D glasses did their bit to reduce the light level from the screen, and unlimited clouds of smoke, dust and sand were generated by the explosions." — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The Final Word
"Serving up more action and better visual effects and 3-D than the 2010 'Clash of the Titans,' along with a barely-there screenplay that merely functions to notify Perseus which enemy or monster he should hack or skewer next, this is a relentlessly mechanical piece of work that will not or cannot take the imaginative leaps to yield even fleeting moments of awe, wonder or charm." — Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter
Check out everything we've got on "Wrath of the Titans."
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