Film review: Wrath of the Titans (three out of five stars)

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Rosamund Pike

SAM WORTHINGTON stars in the epic-if-empty sequel to Clash of the Titans that forces the half-man half-god Perseus to face up to his divine responsibilities, and save his father Zeus (Liam Neeson) and mankind from destruction by Zeus’ evil father Kronos.

The plot tramples over Greek mythology in titanic proportions, and while the film is an enjoyable action hack-and-slash, it never reaches the heights that the budget and scope surely allow for.

The lack of real character development means that the characters are mere pieces on a chess board; Worthington is more comfortable this time around, but question marks remain over his ability to capture the audience’s hearts, while the supporting cast don’t have enough screen time to flesh out their relationships.

The weight of apocalyptic annihilation weighs on the audience as much as the gods, but there are so few humans to care about that mankind’s demise carries no real emotional threat.

Another sticking point is that the main villain is too one-dimensional to be terrifying; the unintelligible demon Kronos is like a Power Rangers boss that bores as a bland, faceless evil.

There are positives - the film is an improvement on the prequel, in terms of the visuals and the speed at which it zips along. Some shots are awe-inspiring, but there isn’t the scope of imagination here that hasn’t been seen before. The use of 3D is, if not ground-breaking, then perfectly serviceable, and this could describe the film as a whole; while unremarkable, it is a perfectly decent trip to the cinema. It’s just that for a talented cast and a $150 million budget, there’s not enough sparkle to make it stand out as a movie giant.

Tom Doyle

Screening courtesy of Cineworld Crawley