Wrath of the Titans: Whoo-boy, a serious action movie, with some beautiful special effects.
Fortunately, the Titans production team threw a bit less at us in the way of breathtaking visual intricacy — such as that of the too-frenetic Transformer movies, which I sometimes had a hard time following and lost interest in as a result.
Good stuff:
Special Effects. Being me, I HAD to like the flying horse, but there were some other effects that were even better.
For instance, there’s a two-headed fire-breathing critter that slams through Perseus’ home village, destroying and burning, and it looks scarily real. But there are also numerous scenes of Tartarus, a city-sized three-dimensional construct of stone, that are truly boggling. Some of the shots of escaped Father of the Gods Chronus are fabulously weighty.
Acting and Story. Sam Worthington is fantastic in the role of Perseus, even better than the first movie. Boy-actor John Bell, who plays his son Helius, doesn’t spend a huge amount of time onscreen, but he simply glows in the role, providing a true anchor for Perseus’ fatherly protectiveness.
A lot of the movie is surprisingly touching. Liam Neeson is more emotionally involving this time as Zeus, Ralph Fiennes gives a nuanced role as Hades, and Rosamund Pike is damned good as Andromeda. Also, this time, there are touches of humor, providing counterbalance and contrast to the action.
Overall: Worth seeing, probably most effective on the big screen.