Daftar Hotel - I´ll admit to partaking in the joys of watching old classic fantasy films in my youth. Saturdays were laden with my own "Our Gang" of friends watching "Godzilla" destroy Tokyo, then watching "Sinbad" fight villains and monsters of the Middle East, followed by a little Greek mythology with "Jason and the Argonauts." You can only imagine that in 1981 when the original "Clash of the Titans" hit the big screen all us teens were jumping for joy. And why not? After "Star Wars" we all figured the visuals were going to be way better than those fake-looking effects from the 1960´s. Granted, and looking back at it, the effects were still as atrocious as ever, but that didn´t keep us kids from wearing it out once it hit VHS. In the 1980´s, though, subpar-effects never mattered, because if it was new, it was automatically up-scaled into "cool" territory.
Hotel di Jakarta Needless to say, I have visited the 1981 version of "Clash of the Titans" more times than I care to mention. I never found it to be too compelling a film, nor was it really meant to be. There were several fantasy films of the time that I enjoyed much more in comparison, but what can I say? I was a kid and fascinated with all the eye-candy moments, even though I found the pacing a bit dull at times. Nevertheless, it was a film that offered the monsters of Greek mythology, giant scorpions, Medusa turning men into stone, and the Greek Gods eating fruitfully and drinking fine wine while they toyed with humans and their horrific fate. What could possibly be more fun to watch?
Therefore, I found myself very willing to check out Louis Leterrier´s 2010 version of "Clash of the Titans." Then to make things even better, this new version could also be seen in the dazzling technology of 3-D (I think the way Hollywood has been turning out many recent films that support the 3-D platform, you might as well call this movie "Cash of the Titans"). The production level of this new edition I can only assume was run by Prof. John Hammond from Jurassic Park; "We spared no expense." Aside from all the new bells and whistles and a few alterations in the screenplay, 2010´s "Clash of the Titans" plays a little more entertainingly than its parent version of 1981. However, that in no way implies the film achieves fantasy greatness and is certainly not meant to shift the Earth´s axis as a film like "Avatar" has done.
Speaking of "Avatar," our main man, Perseus, is played by Sam Worthington. Perseus was brought to Earth by his father, the Greek God Zeus (Liam Neeson), to be the defender and salvation of humanity. Of course, there is this whole journey thing where he needs to get in touch with who he is. While finding his purpose, he is reluctant, to the extent of anger, not to accept any help from the Gods. To make things even more difficult for Perseus, Zeus´s brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes)--keeper of the dead--is set loose to extend his powers of chaos.
While the journey is full of the monsters of mythology and the gallant battles fighting them, the tone feels serious at taking stabs at the foundations of faith, religion, and the separation of man from gods. Zeus, Apollo (Luke Evans), Hades, and Athena (Izabella Miko) are painted to look like selfish, childish tyrants who are not worthy of a prayer written on a napkin. The message is very clear that humans should live life more self-sufficient and not rely on the worship of Gods which, for the majority, do not exist. There certainly is an agnostic message here, if not one completely drenched in Atheism. The message sets a tone for thought, but feels pointless in a film that should be a bit silly, campy, and over indulgent in cheese.
Underneath all the updates of visual pleasure and making the tone even darker and more serious, there is the sense of entertainment that can be fun. This new version still has the action of giant scorpions, the Kraken, and the excitement of chopping off Medusa´s head. We even get a short, humorous cameo from the golden owl of the 1981 version. Of course, all the action sequences are stretched a little more to address the attention span of today´s audience. While I did found this new, updated version a little more up-tempo compared to its old retired version, I still didn´t find it any more compelling. Is it simple, fun--mindless entertainment? Absolutely, and pretty harmless, really. Will it bend space and time to form a wormhole into a parallel dimension? Not in our lifetime. It´s a fun film for the moment, but nothing more than your average affair in the fantasy genre.
Hotel di Jakarta Needless to say, I have visited the 1981 version of "Clash of the Titans" more times than I care to mention. I never found it to be too compelling a film, nor was it really meant to be. There were several fantasy films of the time that I enjoyed much more in comparison, but what can I say? I was a kid and fascinated with all the eye-candy moments, even though I found the pacing a bit dull at times. Nevertheless, it was a film that offered the monsters of Greek mythology, giant scorpions, Medusa turning men into stone, and the Greek Gods eating fruitfully and drinking fine wine while they toyed with humans and their horrific fate. What could possibly be more fun to watch?
Therefore, I found myself very willing to check out Louis Leterrier´s 2010 version of "Clash of the Titans." Then to make things even better, this new version could also be seen in the dazzling technology of 3-D (I think the way Hollywood has been turning out many recent films that support the 3-D platform, you might as well call this movie "Cash of the Titans"). The production level of this new edition I can only assume was run by Prof. John Hammond from Jurassic Park; "We spared no expense." Aside from all the new bells and whistles and a few alterations in the screenplay, 2010´s "Clash of the Titans" plays a little more entertainingly than its parent version of 1981. However, that in no way implies the film achieves fantasy greatness and is certainly not meant to shift the Earth´s axis as a film like "Avatar" has done.
Speaking of "Avatar," our main man, Perseus, is played by Sam Worthington. Perseus was brought to Earth by his father, the Greek God Zeus (Liam Neeson), to be the defender and salvation of humanity. Of course, there is this whole journey thing where he needs to get in touch with who he is. While finding his purpose, he is reluctant, to the extent of anger, not to accept any help from the Gods. To make things even more difficult for Perseus, Zeus´s brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes)--keeper of the dead--is set loose to extend his powers of chaos.
While the journey is full of the monsters of mythology and the gallant battles fighting them, the tone feels serious at taking stabs at the foundations of faith, religion, and the separation of man from gods. Zeus, Apollo (Luke Evans), Hades, and Athena (Izabella Miko) are painted to look like selfish, childish tyrants who are not worthy of a prayer written on a napkin. The message is very clear that humans should live life more self-sufficient and not rely on the worship of Gods which, for the majority, do not exist. There certainly is an agnostic message here, if not one completely drenched in Atheism. The message sets a tone for thought, but feels pointless in a film that should be a bit silly, campy, and over indulgent in cheese.
Underneath all the updates of visual pleasure and making the tone even darker and more serious, there is the sense of entertainment that can be fun. This new version still has the action of giant scorpions, the Kraken, and the excitement of chopping off Medusa´s head. We even get a short, humorous cameo from the golden owl of the 1981 version. Of course, all the action sequences are stretched a little more to address the attention span of today´s audience. While I did found this new, updated version a little more up-tempo compared to its old retired version, I still didn´t find it any more compelling. Is it simple, fun--mindless entertainment? Absolutely, and pretty harmless, really. Will it bend space and time to form a wormhole into a parallel dimension? Not in our lifetime. It´s a fun film for the moment, but nothing more than your average affair in the fantasy genre.
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