With “Wrath of the Titans,” its epic sequel to the 2010 remake “Clash of the Titans,” Warner Brothers delivers more CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) action, and little else.
A decade after Perseus (Sam Worthington) saved Princess Andromeda (then played by Alexa Davalos), the demi-god is a widower raising his young son Helius (John Bell) alone. In the years since Zeus released the kraken sea monsters, the Greeks have almost completely stopped worshiping the gods, greatly weakening the power of Olympus. As the gods lose power, the imprisoned titan Kronos regains influence. When Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Ares (Édgar Ramírez) join Kronos and capture Zeus (Liam Neeson), Perseus is forced to once again take up his sword to battle the legends of Greece as he journeys to the Tartarus underworld to rescue his father and stop Kronos from rising.
Gods Zeus and Hades haven’t aged a day since “Clash.” Neeson and Fiennes deliver stereotypical performances of the two gods, but the two actors carry enough weight to make it work. Worthington’s Perseus, like most of his characters, rotates between a handful of limited facial expressions, but his battle instincts make him an enjoyable lead anyway. He’s the right kind of actor for Jonathan Liebesman to work with.
The “Battle: Los Angeles” director’s take on the series makes sure that Worthington’s clashes with CGI beasts are visually stunning, and not the handheld camera mess of too many films today. As the now-queen Andromada, Rosamund Pike is a strong replacement for Davalos as the quest’s lone feminine influence. She’s fiercer than the leading ladies of “Clash,” and the film benefits from it.
While newcomer Toby Kebbell as Agenor is a throwaway comic character, Bill Nighy’s cameo as the gods’ forger Hephaestus is a delightful addition to series.
One thing that hasn’t changed, despite a new set of writers, is the script. Dan Mazeau, David Johnson and Greg Berlanti crafted the thinnest plot possible that could still sustain a feature’s worth of action. There’s almost nothing supporting the Tartarus quest aside from stylistic CGI.
Of which there’s plenty. Perseus, Andromeda and Agenor battle Cyclops giants, chimeras and Makhai demons on their epic journey to the underworld and back. They stumble and race through a truly imaginative churning stone labrynth to enter Tartarus. It all very nearly redeems the film from its own weak foundation, but ultimately the strength of titans can’t compensate for a weak story.
