April 5, 2010 -- Like the original Clash of the Titans (1981) this remake will probably best be known for its special effects more than anything else. The original featured some of effects legend Ray Harryhausen's best stop-motion animation. This new version has a lot of state-of-the art digital animation to go with live-action shots and 3D imagery. The new version also has a nice little homage to Harryhausen with a duplicate of his famous metal owl from the 1981 film.

This film continues a recent run of Box Office success for 3D films which started with Avatar. This should lead to sweeping changes in movie theaters across the country as theater owners scramble to cash in on the new 3D craze. The 3D effects are good in this film, without throwing a lot of stuff at the screen. It works. The digital effects are also good, bringing some scary monsters to life. The story is very similar to the recent kid's film, “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.” You have the same battle with Medusa and a similar struggle for power amongst the gods, with mortals caught in the middle. The hero is also a demigod in both cases. The basic story for all three of these films goes back thousands of years, of course.

In this case Perseus, a reluctant hero, is played by Sam Worthington of “Avatar.” Perseus just wants to be an ordinary guy, but destiny has other plans for him. When his adopted father, mother and sister are killed by one of the gods, Hades (played by Ralph Fiennes of the Harry Potter series of movies) Perseus seeks vengeance. It turns out that Hades and Zeus are locked up in a power struggle with all of humanity caught in the middle, as is Perseus himself, who is the son of Zeus and a human mother. Like Moses he is cast adrift as an infant, but is saved by fisherman, Pyros (Pete Postlethwaite of “The Usual Suspects”). Always watching in the background is Io (Gemma Arterton of “Quantum of Solace”).

Accompanied by Io and a small band of heroes, Perseus sets off on a quest to save Argos from the Kraken, a creature sent to force the proud royalty of that city to once again worship the gods. If Perseus is unable to stop the Kraken, the royal princess Andromeda (Alexa Davalos of “The Chronicles of Riddick”) must be sacrificed to the Kraken in order to save the city from destruction. There is a lot of male bonding type stuff going on amongst those on the quest. Among the band is a very strange-looking warlock with magical powers. Creatures in the film include giant scorpions and Pegusus, the flying horse. All in all, it is a pretty good adventure. The acting is adequate, but in these kinds of film it really isn't about the acting at all, is it? This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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