Film Review - WRATH OF THE TITANS ★★☆☆☆

Let's start off by addressing the elephant in the room right away: Yes, there is a marked improvement in the 3-D for Wrath of the Titans over the poor conversion process that plagued 2010's Clash of the Titans. Two years ago, the reboot of the 1981 mythical swords and sandals classic quickly became the whipping boy for the growing trend of converting 2-D films to 3-D late in post production, a process that was not always met with smashing results on the big screen. Hollywood has yet to reverse the trend of adding the third dimension to nearly every tentpole in town, but more on that later.

Ten years following the defeat of the Kraken in Clash, we find Perseus (Sam Worthington), the demigod son of Zeus, living a tranquil life as a father, widower, and fisherman. Zeus, Hades, and the other Titans of Olympus are slowly losing their Godly powers as humanity's devotion to them wanes, and their ability to contain the imprisoned evil Kronos is quickly dissipating.

Perseus becomes the reluctant hero who must travel far back into the Underworld on a dangerous quest to save his fallen father from Hades and Ares, who have betrayed him in order to grant Kronos his freedom to conquer the Earth (a cheat sheet for the Greek Gods Family Tree would be useful at some points). Cue the cameos for the half man/half beast Minotaur, the two-headed Chimera, the one-eyed Cyclops, and throw in appearances from some familiar winged characters from the 1981 original. Not that this is all a bad thing, but we have seen much of the same in the first installment.

What works in Wrath is the grand scale of the FX-heavy quest, and a satisfying battle frenzied third act. Some of the action sequences are nothing to scoff at, mostly if this is your type of movie, and you know who you are. You can marvel at the high octane battles, elaborate CGI creatures, and abundance handheld camera work that will leave you unsettled into your seat.

When Wrath is pushing ahead on all cylinders, director Jonathan Liebesman delivers moments on par, in scope, and intensity as seen in his last big screen effort, the frantic but entertaining Battle: Los Angeles. Liebesman has the knack and know how for dropping the audience right smack in the thick of full blown CGI showdowns, some of which will never be fully appreciated anywhere beyond the big screen. I am a glutton for FX heavy excess, so admittedly big budget eye candy in healthy doses is rarely lost on me.

What doesn't work here in the overall scheme of the film unfortunately is a charmless hero in Perseus, who offers little beyond brooding brawn and a reluctant warrior's heart. The straightforward screenplay allows Sam Worthington so little opportunity to shine, emote any charisma, or even breath easy with light hearted moments when he is not slaying one mythical monsters after another.

The welcome whimsical characters on the journey here are the demigod Agenor, the son of Poseidon (played by Toby Kebbell), and Hephaestus (in an all too brief appearance by Bill Nighy), the weapons forger to the Titans. Beyond them, most of the characters are just all business. Though it's worth noting that it's good to see Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes playing it out big this time out after having little to do in Clash.

Going back to the 3-D. While not as distracting as the last installment's, Wrath's conversion from 2-D does not particularly add much either. To be fair, not many recent 3-D movies have justified their release in the format (Avatar and Hugo stand in a high class of 3-D all on their own).

Too often it adds a simple effect, not an overall experience. A few shots jump out at you, sure, but I wouldn't count the extra dimension as a deal breaker here. But like most 3-D films, motion blur on fast moving scenes, and an overall darker picture (the 3-D requires more light from the projector bulbs than most theater owners are willing to give to audiences), have become a standard downside with the presentation.

So while Wrath of the Titans makes a fine Friday night piece of action packed special FX-laden escapism suited for its target audience, it is also a missed opportunity to improve upon the missteps made in the previous installment that could have benefited from some extra dimension.

Wrath of the Titans opens in RealD 3D, IMAX 3D, and 2D on March 30th.

REVIEW RATING: ★★☆☆☆
Directed By: Jonathan Liebesman
Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Rosamund Pike, Edgar Ramierez
Studio: Warner Bros.
Rated: PG-13

'TMNT' - Neither Mutants Nor Teenagers In New Movie

As 'TurtleGate' rages on, the latest round in the talkbacks comes directly from Michael Bay, who now confirms that the title of the new live action / CGI film will be simply Ninja Turtles, adding fuel to the already raging recent fan fire that the iconic superhero team will be neither teenagers nor mutants in the reboot. Bay took to his own website forum, Shoot For The Edit, to not only address, but confirm the until now, rumored title adjustment.

"Paramount marketing changed the name. They made the title simple. The characters you all remember are exactly the same, and yes they still act like teenagers. Everything you remember, why you liked the characters, is in the movie. This script is being developed by two very smart writers, with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles. They care VERY MUCH about making this film for the fans. Everyone on this team cares about the fans. Just give them a chance. Jonathan the director, is a major fan of the whole franchise. HE'S NOT GOING TO LET YOU DOWN." 

To back track a bit, Bay started the whole online backlash two weeks ago at the Nickelodeon Upfront with an off-handed reveal that the fun loving Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be in fact, of alien origin in the new movie he is producing. Needless to say, purists were not pleased.

“When you see this movie, kids are going to believe, one day, that these turtles actually do exist when we are done with this movie. These turtles are from an alien race and they are going to be tough, edgy, funny and completely lovable.”

Since then there have been daily online updates from various people weighing in with their opinions or for damage control, whether it be actors who have voiced the Turtles in the past, or the original comic book artists who created them in the '80s, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.

The director of Ninja Turtles Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath of the Titans, Battle: Los Angeles) weighed in to Collider regarding what Bay had let slip out.

“Look, it’s so funny—if everyone was such a die-hard fan, they would know that the TCRI canisters where the ooze comes from. That is alien ooze. Now I’m not saying what Michael said is exactly what the movie is, because we’re sitting in a room now figuring everything out. So we don’t know, but we are like Michael said: we’re expanding it, and the expansion will be true to the mythology. I promise you: fans will love it.”

Fans are typically adverse to major changes in canon regarding their beloved characters. Remember the barrage of criticism Bay took for putting flames on Optimus Prime and changing Bumblebee from a Volkswagen Beetle to a Chevy Camaro? That seemed to turn out OK for everyone. Sometimes change is good. Sometimes necessary. And usually out of the hands of fans.

Co-Turtle-Creator Kevin Eastman released this to Comic Book Movie to address the fan concerns:

"Hey Guys, Sorry to have been away for so long--completely swamped with work--but it is some pretty exciting stuff. I had been invited to check out the TMNT film development by my friend Scott Mednick over the years, and a while back had a full look behind the curtain at what writers Appelbaum and Nemec, director Liebesman, and producer Bay are doing--and trust me--it IS AWESOME. I'm officially on board, and will share more as I'm allowed... thanks all!"

As George Lucas has reminded us time and time again following every change he has made to the Star Wars films, the fans do not own the characters. Ultimately it is the creators or the parties with the rights to the property who have last say regarding any changes or updates. Ultimately premature fan outrage does not always, if ever, grant what is wished for.

Ninja Turtles is set for release on December 25, 2013 from Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Films.

SOURCES: Shoot For The Edit, Collider, Comic Book Movie