Leterrier’s idea of updating the adventure was not only to merely reshuffle the chronology of Perseus’ meeting with these beasties along the way, but also to make the film darker. I do not mean that in a thematic sense (although there is but one light moment in the film’s entirety) but visually. This film stages its sequences with such underlit sets and jagged editing that much of the battle sequences are indecipherable as who the victors are. One thing is for sure, it sure ain’t the audience.
While it’s somewhat fun to see old pros like Neeson and Ralph Fiennes (as Hades) hiss, spit and shout at one another, their scenes together are far too brief and allow them very little exchange. Even the film's oft-quoted line: "Release the Kraken!!! (I honestly cannot recall how loud he was, so I might be missing an exclamation mark or two), is done without a pregnant pause and shouted much like an angry parent yelling for this child to let the dog out.
And while on the subject of children, perhaps a better cinematic Grecian formula is Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, which dealt with the same subject matter (finding out dad’s a god, mom’s a human). Granted, the humor was stretched, but there was a sense of adventure and wonder that Clash of the Titans so desperately lacks.
Perhaps the entire opinion of Titans could change with an added dimension, as I witnessed it (deliberately) in 2-D. The film was originally shot in this format, then sent to be retinkered a few months ago to be marketed in 3-D. From what I have heard, adding that extra “D” is merely like adding another exclamation mark on the end of a line that already has five.
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