After watching the Clash of the Titans remake just weeks before seeing Percy Jackson, hammering out a comparative analysis between the two deity-inspired films made perfect sense, since it's virtually the same damn story. Plus the whole two birds, one stone aspect.
Basic Plot
Clash of the Titans: Perseus, the demigod son of Zeus, wants revenge on Hades for murdering his adoptive family when they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Perseus knows he must destroy Hades's sea monster, the Kraken, to weaken Hades so he can kill him. Perseus sets out with a group of soldiers to obtain the head of Medusa to use in his plot of revenge. Meanwhile, Zeus has threatened to set the Kraken loose on the city of Argos in 10 days if the city does not sacrifice Princess Andromeda to appease her parents' rebellion against the gods.
Percy Jackson: Percy, the demigod son of Poseidon, is accused of stealing Zeus's prime lightning bolt, causing many an ancient creature to hunt him down for it. He escapes to a protected camp for kids who are all demigods learning to harness their ancient powers. Upon learning Hades, who also wants the bolt, is holding his mother captive in the underworld, Percy and his two friends set out to find a way into Hell to save her. However, Zeus has threatened world war if his bolt is not returned within two weeks.
Demigod Protagonist
Sam Worthington's inability to wear any expression outside the realm of total indifference is no secret and his turn as Perseus in Clash is no different. As Percy, Logan Lerman has a handful more expressions up his sleeve, but nothing that makes him particularly memorable either. Though Percy barely shrugs his shoulders at his beloved mother's assumed death, he does have better people skills with those that want to help him find her in Hell. Perseus only seems to be given leadership status due to his birth right, while Percy has more staying power thanks to his eagerness and charisma. Point to Percy, but barely.
God-Father
Neither Zeus (Liam Neeson) nor Poseidon (Kevin McKidd) make many appearances during their sons' struggles, so range is hard to judge for the god brothers. Where Poseidon just seems sullen all the time for not being allowed to see Percy, Zeus gets a bit more material to play with, from an angered deity to a longing father. And Zeus has the ultra fun "Release the Kraken" line that never gets old. However, where Perseus was born out of revenge and lust and is more of a trophy to Zeus, Percy was born out of true love (fitting for a film based on a kids' book), making Poseidon the god more worthy of his son. Point to Percy.
Hades
As brilliant as Ralph Fiennes is, his turn as Hades in Clash is very difficult to separate from his role of HP's Voldemort, since he chose to use the exact same voice for both characters. However, his billowing smokey presence does work better as god of the underworld than Percy's Hades, who in demon form looks like a cheaper version of the Balrog, but in human form (Steve Coogan) could easily pass for nothing more than an aging rock star. And Fiennes's Hades also has the whole killing people left and right thing, while Coogan's Hades just throws a few fire balls at a camp party snack table. Point to Clash.
Medusa
Medusa serves as a major plot point for Clash, as Perseus spends a majority of the film trying to find her so he can collect her head. The battle in her fiery lair finishes off his remaining army, but it's almost impossible to care because the CGI used to make her into a snake woman (the human half being Natalia Vodianova) is so incredibly bad, it's comedic. Percy encounters her in the form of Uma Thurman early in his journey. Though her garden lair littered with victims isn't nearly as terrifying, Uma hams up her performance as the snaked-haired creature enough to beat out the rubber toy Medusa that appears in Clash. Point to Percy.
Giant Mythological Creature
Percy and friends encounter the five (then ten) headed Hydra while on their journey, a battle that lasts far too long for a mid-plot obstacle. However, Perseus's climactic battle with the Kraken falls short as a battle that's been built up for 90 minutes. Both creatures easily fall victim to the beheaded Medusa's stare. Though, given the chance, the Kraken could've easily destroyed the entire city of Argos, and the Hydra couldn't even wipe out three teenagers trapped in a museum. In a cage match, the Kraken easily beats the Hyrda, until someone whips out Medusa's head. Point to Clash.
Conclusion
Percy Jackson may not have the heart and depth of other beloved children's fantasy series (Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia) but it holds its own for decent family entertainment. Clash of the Titans, however, is so ridiculously bland for a big action-adventure film, that no one of any age should waste two hours on it.
Ratings:
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Clash of the Titans
6 pieces of fan mail:
Yeah... as I say in my response for the last Reel Insight, Percy Jackson the movie is totally different from Percy Jackson the book. But I still enjoyed the movie quite a bit.
The first book pretty much is the Clash of the Titans story. The second is The Odyssey. The third is Atlas and the Titans. The fourth is Icarus and Daedalus. And the Fifth is just the final book, wrapping up its own story. My favorite of the series is the third. But the movie had such drastic changes (including character cuts) that making the other films might be really hard.
I'm so glad you wrote this up. I saw both movies within a week of each other and came to the same conclusion. I didn't feel either movie was strong enough to write an actual review about, though I didn't think Clash Of The Titans was as bad as advertised. It was certainly disappointing and for a film that boasted incredible special effects the CGI left MUCH to be desired, but it was entertaining enough that I didn't hate it. Percy Jackson however, had a fun story, likable characters, believable effects, and felt like an entire epic adventure. I agree tenfold with your rating on each and your comparisons! Fantastical write up!
Nick-If we've learned anything from HP, it's that when there's money to be made they will find a way to make the adaptated films, whether they've cut essential characters or not. I didn't even know this was a book series until the movie came out.
Heather-Thanks! I actually tried more than once to get through Clash. The first time I was asleep within 45 minutes. The problem, besides Mr. Worthington, was they seemed to promise a big epic adventure, but delivered a great sleeping aid. I didn't have high hopes since I'd already heard all the negative reviews, but with such amazing talent, I must wonder what went wrong. But Percy did deliver the entertainment it promised, and I'm sure as a young child it was even better.
From what I can gather, CLASH was supposed to be less of a big, super dumb action movie, and more of a political picture with the Olympian Gods pissed off at humanity and bickering amongst each other. About two weeks after the flicks release, CHUD.com had a good piece on that, so if you're still interested, I'd recommend checking it out.
So the finished product we got - basically very, very, very different from the movie originally shot. The really sad part is that we're probably never going to get that version.
Wow, that does sound very different, especially since the gods were in it or a total of 10 minutes. Sounds like a waste to make a quick buck.
obviously i have alot of things to say abou these 2 movies so first both were expected to be awsome but they basically let all of us down and i say the hades should be a tie even though hades demon form in percy was so bad it it almost was comical but the hades in clash wasnt good either why was he dressed in a cloke that was just rediculice i expected from lord voldermorte and why did percy say that he was perseus wich makes no aand confussing the hell out of me
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