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davidahallnum5
Jan 21, 202310 min read

Clash of the Titans 3D Blu-ray Review

Updated: Apr 8, 2023

Clash of the Titans is a 2010 action adventure movie centering around a demigod named Perseus. Living in a time where people are starting to turn their allegiance away from the Greek gods, Zeus ends up striking a deal with Hades to release the Kraken in ten days time to give the humans a reason to turn back to them. But when Perseus, son of Zeus, hears about this, he and a group of warriors set out on a journey to find out how to stop the Kraken.

Clash of the Titans is a supposedly a loose remake of the 1981 film of the same name. If the reviews are correct, it isn't as good as the original. I haven't seen the original though, so I can only judge this film on its own merits. So, what we have here is, the best way I can put it, a popcorn flick, which is a film that prioritizes action and VFX over characters and dialogue, intended to provide an entertaining experience that its audience (mainly teens and pre-teens) can enjoy and then soon forget. There's nothing inherently wrong with those kinds of films, and there's even a few in the genre with some decent re-watch value. However, not all of these films are made equal. Done right, you can deliver a fun, if slightly dumb, thrill ride (think Godzilla vs. Kong or San Andreas). Done wrong, and the bland characters, lazy exposition, and baffling plot decisions can get heavily in the way of enjoying the spectacle (think Geostorm or The Core). Where does Clash of the Titans fit into this category? Well, taking everything into account, I say it makes for an all in all, kinda ok film.

There's certainly some stuff here that doesn't really work, mainly tied to the story and characters as many people have pointed out. And for the most part, the criticism following it is valid. For me, the biggest issue with the movie has to do with the plot itself. While the first few scenes delving into Perseus's backstory did deliver some promise with some solid, if slightly cliched, exposition, it quickly gets overshadowed early on by some strange, and sometimes contradictory, character decisions that had me puzzled for good chunks of the movie (besides the one the screenwriters made to have a film named "Clash of the Titans" and have nothing to do with titans). I don't want to go into deep spoilers, but the film leaves plenty to be desired in terms of whose side Perseus is on at certain points in the movie, between man's or the gods', or why Zeus chooses to help Perseus in helping stop a plan that Zeus himself set into motion. Maybe upon re-watch, these issues will make a bit more sense. But on my initial viewing, I found these plot points moderately distracting.

In terms of the actual journey Perseus takes to stop the Kraken, the events that occur are quite interesting. But the connection between feels either forced or cliched to the point where it becomes boring at times. And plenty of that has to do with the dialogue. While it's not altogether awful, there are times, especially in the second act of the story, when it becomes very wooden and unengaging. In a movie like Skyscraper, this kind of thing wouldn't be a problem. But when the movie is story-driven and requires you to actively pay attention to follow along, it helps to have dialogue that doesn't sound like virtually every other run-of-the-mill movie. As for the acting, it is far from atrocious, and some performances, like Liam Neeson as Zeus, can be pretty entertaining. But Sam Worthington as Perseus himself, isn't as compelling as maybe the character deserved. Though, maybe tack on some blue motion capture alien skin and it'd be a different story.

Now of course, from all the criticism I gave above, you might think I hate the movie. However, that's really not the case. Yes, it's substance doesn't really feel fresh, but it's not devoid of the style it promises to deliver. And in terms of that, Clash of the Titans does have some good entertainment value. The overall look of the film with its blend of fantasy and ancient Greek civilization is certainly a feast for the eyes (if viewed in 2D, but more on that later). The action sequences are surreal and chaotic fun. And of course, the story involving gods, huge monsters, and epic adventures adds a sense of grand scale that's hard not to at least be fascinated by. Scenes involving Hades are pretty genuinely intimidating. And the climax with the Kraken is something to behold. And oh yeah, the music score is also surprisingly very good for this sort of movie. If you come into Clash of the Titans looking for some good spectacle, chances are you won't be disappointed.

Clash of the Titans clearly isn't my favorite film. But I can see how a good chuck of people can see it as a guilty pleasure. Yes, the problems with the story and lack of engaging character development feel a bit jarring. But you didn't come to the film looking for that. Instead, you were probably coming in seeking for some big action and flashy VFX. And when it delivers that, it really delivers. So yeah, in a way the 27% the film earned on Rotten Tomatoes is bit understandable, and clearly, VFX aren't always going to age as well as a well-told story. But if you come in willing to turn your brain off and simply enjoy the experience the film gives, the good and the bad seem to even themselves out. All in all, it makes for a serviceable swords and sandals epic that you won't be making a terrible decision by not watching it, but also wouldn't be entirely wasting your time if you do decide to watch it. Know what you're headed in for and make a decision for yourself.


OVERALL FILM RATING 3/5



I think I don't even really need to go into detail about the infamous reputation the 3D version of Clash of the Titans has garnered. The story behind its conversion is quite tragic. The movie was never filmed with 3D in mind, the decision to put the film into 3D didn't come till weeks before the film's release, the conversion only had about approximately six weeks to complete the conversion, and the conversion team consisted of only about a dozen people. So yeah, dismissal results were almost virtually guaranteed from the get-go. Now, they could've possibly gone the Superman Returns route and converted only a few select sequences to convert into 3D, putting their resources where they count. But sadly, either that idea was dismissed or no one had it to begin with. Either way, the 3D presentation we ended up with become so bad, it was nominated for the Razzie award of "Worst Eye-Gouging Misuse of 3D" at the 31st Golden Raspberry Awards, though it ultimately lost to The Last Airbender. I did hear, though, that the 3D was slightly improved for the 3D Blu-ray release. But if that's the case, those of us like me can only imagine how awful the theatrical 3D version was.

I came into the film expecting the absolute worst. But in the first few minutes, though, there were actually a couple nice surprises. The first of which was the opening titles, which looked good, containing perfect depth and separation (my favorite one was the Legendary logo). And the opening tracking shot in space was actually somewhat great. In it, the stars and constellations all were in their own 3D space, and it provided mesmerizing results when paired with the moving camera. Not long after, we also fall down the inside of a tall tower in Mount Olympus with plenty of stairs and a flying bird, which actually made for a fun viewing in 3D.

Once we get on the ground, or technically, the sea, the 3D then starts to run into some problems, which start out small, but soon become much bigger. Sadly, these problems don't come in the form of "the 3D adds virtually nothing to the movie", "the image is pretty flat the whole time", or "the image is way too dark." Instead, the main issue has to do with how everything throughout the film is spaced. When we first get to meet the humans characters and join them on them on their boat, the 3D gives off a bizarre effect around the edges of the objects in the frame. I don't entirely know how to describe it, but the sides of people's heads and the placement of surrounding equipment draw attention to themselves, as if their in the wrong space along the z axis or simply possess the wrong shape. There are plenty of shots where you know the space is there and some solidity is present. But for some reason or another, the back of certain objects appear more exaggerated then normal or their movement in the 3D space feels somewhat unnatural. It's because of this I ended getting some pretty unfortunate eye strain, and I'm not usually one to get eye strain. And it's even more unfortunate that this issue lasts throughout the entire film.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Now to it's credit, the sea scenes I mentioned above do place the ocean in pretty good space, making it look as if it's genuinely far away. And there are a good chunk of underwater shots which make some interesting 3D composition with the bubbles that are spaced out well. The same can also be said for a couple of shots involving lightening and clouds. That being said, most of them are in the first act. And they quickly become overshadowed by the film's other more glaring flaws. If you're looking for shots that take advantage of the wide, surreal setting, they're either none existent, flatter than they deserved to be, or have the wrong 3D space. There's one shot of an enormous status falling into the sea at a long distance from a ship. But because of the poor conversion, the statue and the ship appear closer than they actually are. And cityscapes, when they don't look like flat from a distance, continue to carry the same "wrong space" and glaring edges around the surrounding objects. Sometimes, in shots that involve crowds of people or giant rooms with surreal shapes, the 3D appears what I can only describe as "warped," as if someone took the 2D image, printed it on paper, and put it over a mold over certain areas. While you can tell there is an attempt at 3D space, it never comes to form in a realistic, or even remotely good-looking, way. This is especially apparent in settings such as jungles, deserts, and mountains. Sometimes, buildings, mountains, or structures that you can see from a distance are downright flat; not flat as in the image goes into 2D, but that the objects themselves look like backdrops or cardboard cut-outs. And just like I mentioned before, none of it does any favors for the eyes.

"OK, so the talking scenes and the long vistas look terrible in 3D. But the extra space should make the action look at least more interesting than in 2D. Right?" Sadly, you'd be wrong. Sure, the part with the Kraken at the end or scenes that involve lightning do give off some neat enough 3D. But a lot of the action involves shaky cam, which as everyone knows, is a big 3D no-no. And even then, the separation doesn't go much farther between "background there, foreground thing here." A big example of this includes the scorpion fight in the desert, which I'd imagine would actually make more sense to see in 2D. But even in all the other scenes, even when it looks like the composition would be ripe for 3D, the "background here, foreground thing here" mentality remains, and it creates what should be an entertaining fight scene between monsters like Medusa or the Kraken feel flat. There are several moments that would've even made for some good pop outs, including swords, sand, and even Medusa's head. But not only do they almost actively stay in the screen, but they also carry either the wrong 3D shape or no 3D shape. And even then, the background never even really goes far back. It's all a really big shame. Because if they ever had decided to follow the example of Superman Returns, these action sequences would've looked fantastic.

For many reasons, Clash of the Titans is just a poor, poor 3D film. At first, I hesitated to give this film a "terrible" rating because there are in fact a few good 3D shots to be had. But they're too far and few between to really count for anything, and there's too much working against the 3D that the film as a whole is simply awful in 3D. While I have seen quite a few films in my time where the composition of many of the shots or the setting just didn't really work with 3D, or there was a degree of flatness that I didn't enjoy, these films still at least delivered serviceable 3D experiences. I don't see how anyone can see this presentation as even remotely serviceable, and it looks like I'm not alone. It's no wonder how this film turned many people off to 3D. That being said, it can be looked at as a reminder of how far we've gotten in terms of 3D movies. I mean, nowadays, the only real "bad" 3D films that come out are ones that weren't filmed with 3D in mind. Still, even for educational or reviewing purposes, I wouldn't recommend giving Clash of the Titans 3D a watch. It's simply a waste of money, eye health, and time you could spend taking in the gorgeous visuals in its much more natural 2D form (great, now I'm sounding like Roger Ebert).


3D RATING: TERRIBLE


Other sources that review this movie's 3D:




3D Blu-ray Bunker's Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIjmrSS0248



FINAL THOUGHTS:


Clash of the Titans is what I'd refer to as a "take it or leave it" type movie. The issues with the film aren't really that it does anything bad, but that its dialogue is often wooden, the plot can be strange at times, and it feels a bit overtly cliched at times. That being said, it still looks great and has plenty of fun action. So I think whether or not you'll enjoy the film ultimately depends on whether or not you look at it critically or if you take it for what it is. But if you do decide to take a look at this film, I think it's obvious at this point you should most certainly go with the 2D version. Aside from a couple of good shots the 3D version has virtually nothing to offer and only takes away from an otherwise pretty good looking film. The good news is, it appear Warner Bros. has gotten the moral of the story that good 3D conversions shouldn't be done hastily and later brought us the allegedly much better looking Wrath of the Titans 3D. However, you'll have to wait till later for that review from The 3D Dinosaur. Until then, if you're thinking of watching Clash of the Titans, make sure you choose the 2D Blu-ray. You're wallet and your eyes will certainly thank you.




DID YOU LIKE "CLASH OF THE TITANS" IN 3D

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