Review: Wrath of the Titans

In Wrath of the Titans, a new sequel to a remake (but not a remake of a sequel), the demigod Perseus (Sam Worthington) returns, once again hoping to live a peaceful life as a fisherman, this time with his son, Helius (John Bell). But once again, the universe -- or is it just the earth? -- is threatened. 

Hades (Ralph Fiennes), aided by his nephew Ares (Edgar Ramirez), hatches an evil plan to drain the powers of Zeus (Liam Neeson) and resurrect Hades' and Zeus' father, Kronos, who is actually a giant, fiery beastie. It's up to Perseus to hit the road, assemble the three parts of a mighty weapon, rescue Zeus, and battle the beastie before it rampages all over the place in slow motion. (Really, it would take a very long time for this thing to destroy the earth.) In the meantime, he battles several other giant, computer-generated monsters, so by the time he gets to the really big one, the build-up has rather worn off. 

For some reason, once again, Perseus is saddled with a group of oddball sidekicks including a queen (Rosamund Pike), a comical cousin, the half-human son of Poseidon (Toby Kebbell), and a gratuitous pretty girl (Lily James). Unfortunately, even giving Perseus someone to talk to during his travails does little to add depth to his character. Indeed, he's about as interesting as many of the rubbery-looking digital creatures. 

The dialogue consists of the characters occasionally reminding each other of what's going on. While concentrating on this, the writers forget to supply Kebbell with any funny lines. He just turns into scenery. Even the most skilled among the cast look like they're trying hard to stay awake. (Though to be fair, even the great Laurence Olivier grappled with this problem in the 1981 original.) 

Thematically, the movie pretends to struggle with what it's like to be human, but clearly doesn't have much to say on the subject; it's far more concerned with battles and 3D effects. 

Director Jonathan Liebesman has been responsible for some outright junky films in his day, including Darkness Falls, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, and Battle: Los Angeles. Wrath of the Titans is no exception. Yet somehow this bland sequel manages to improve slightly on its bombastic and aggressively stupid predecessor. So, those that liked Clash of the Titans and were eagerly awaiting a sequel will be pleased, but the greater majority will have to wait for something better.

Blu-ray Review: Coriolanus

Like Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles, and Kenneth Branagh before him, Ralph Fiennes now takes on the daunting duty of directing and performing in a big screen Shakespeare adaptation. Even more daring, he tackles one of Shakespeare's lesser-known works, Coriolanus, and then adapts it to modern times, using guns, war, and CNN-style TV coverage. It all works extremely well -- with the exception of the ugly hand-held cinematography designed to make the war footage look more chaotic, but instead only looks jerky.

When Caius Martius Coriolanus (Ralph Fiennes) returns home from the war, he is treated as a hero, though he doesn't feel like one. Nonetheless, he reluctantly agrees to run for Roman consul. Two tribunes, Brutus (Paul Jesson) and Sicinius (James Nesbitt) denounce him and encourage the Romans to cast him out. Left with nothing, Coriolanus joins forces with his greatest enemy Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler) and plans an attack on Rome. After Menenius (Brian Cox) fails to coax him home, Coriolanus' aged mother (Vanessa Redgrave), his pretty wife (Jessica Chastain) and young son (Harry Fenn) brave the dangers of the front lines to try and appeal to Coriolanus' humanity -- and hopefully save Rome.

Oddly, the dialogue fits well into the modern setting, and the TV pundits sound perfectly natural. Even the questionable casting of Gerard Butler pays off, as he plays the bloodthirsty bad guy with all the arrogance and gusto he usually brings to his heroic roles. Fiennes is especially magnetic, though he can't keep his scenes from being stolen by the magnificent Vanessa Redgrave; For her, it's a crowning achievement in an already great career. (She won a Best Supporting Actress award from my organization, the San Francisco Film Critics Circle.)

Anchor Bay released a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack. I wish Fiennes had dispensed with the shaky-cam and made a better looking movie, but it's still very much worth seeing. The Blu-ray includes a commentary track by Fiennes, which is serious, but nicely detailed. (I always enjoy commentary tracks by actor/directors; they know how to make it interesting, and they also really have something to say.) There's also a 5-minute making-of featurette, which is basically just the usual marketing stuff.