Wrath of the Titans

Mythology has never been one of my favorite topics, so I was probably not extremely fond of the previous "Clash of the Titans" '10, but when the sequel, "Wrath of the Titans" hit the multiplex, even though I was reluctant to see it, it actually was better than I thought it would be.

A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, which was the basic plot of the previous film, "Clash of the Titans" in 2010, Perseus (Sam Worthington)-- the demigod son of Zeus, is to live a quieter life as a fisherman and a widower parent to his 10-year old son, Helius (John Bell).
Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between gods and the Titans. Weakened by humanity's lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus (Liam Neeson), Hades (Ralph Fiennes), and Poseidon (Danny Huston). The trio had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous underworld. Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus' godly son Ares (Edgar Ramirez), switch loyalty and make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus.
Perseus has to reach Agenor (Toby Kebbell), son of Poseidon so as to lead him to Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), creator of Tartarus, in order to find Zeus. And once he does, Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), Hephaestus, Agenor and Perseus start their trek to find Zeus and to stop Kronos.

This was directed by Jonathan Liebesman ("Darkness Falls" '03, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre- The Beginning" '06, "The Killing Room" '09, "Battle Los Angeles" '11). As you can ascertain by his resume, this genre is right down his alley. Except for dealing with all the special visual effects shots that the film had aplenty, this was probably a no-brainer for this guy.
It was written by Dan Mazeau and David Leslie Johnson based on a story by Greg Berlanti, Johnson, and Mazeau, which was based on Beverly Cross' 1981 screenplay, "Clash of the Titans".

If you like mythology, if you like high-end state-of-the-art visual effects, if you like a bunch of guys duking it out-- a lot, you'll revel. Granted, I've given you a good deal of ifs, but just for the shear escape factor and the fact the 3D version in this was better than the first installment, it will be worth heading down to the multiplex.

Out of 4 stars: 3                      Rated: PG-13                       99min.