Review: Wrath of the Titans (2012)

Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman | 99 minutes | action | Actors: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Bill Nighy, Rosamund Pike, Toby Kebbell, Danny Huston, Édgar Ramírez, Lily James, Matt Milne, Reg Wayment, Alex Claus, Jimi James, Lamberto Guerra, Freddy Drabble

There were probably very few people who were waiting for a follow-up part after the mediocre film “Clash of the Titans”, which was released in 2010. Because apart from the nice action scenes and the fact that it all looked nice, this film didn’t have much to offer. From a commercial point of view, however, the film did not harm its makers. It is therefore not surprising that the sequel appears two years later with “Wrath of the Titans”. In this second part, protagonist Perseus (Sam Worthington), the demigod and half-man, once again takes on the battle against the dark figures of Greek mythology.

After making short work of the gigantic “squatting” in the first part and thus saving many innocent people from death, Perseus now lives a quiet, secluded life with his son. However, this peaceful life comes to an abrupt end when evil Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Ares (Edgar Ramirez) make a pact with the gigantic titan Kronos to capture Zeus (Liam Neeson). For Perseus, the only option is to reluctantly take the sword again and try to prevent this dark plan. What follows is a long journey that eventually takes Perseus and his companions into the underworld itself with the aim of preventing Hades and Ares from taking power. The most important newcomer is Argenor, played by Toby Kebbell, the cousin of Perseus.

While “Clash of the Titans” wasn’t all that great, as said, it is disappointing to have to conclude that “Wrath of the Titans” is not doing any better. The film feels too much like a mandatory number. The biggest problem is the enormous degree of predictability. The story is too simple and is no more than an excuse for Perseus to slaughter everything that comes his way again. Nowhere does the film seem to bother to come out surprisingly, unexpected plot twists are impossible to find. Instead, it is carefully working towards an end that the average viewer has long and broadly anticipated. The fights themselves, which the film will have to rely on for lack of a good story, can at best be described as “nice”. But to say that the action really splashes off the screen is a bit too far, the evil demons just don’t look threatening enough for this.

It is very unfortunate that the rich Greek mythology, which is full of fascinating stories, has not been done anymore. Except that a number of greats such as Zeus and Hades are allowed to show up, the film does nothing with these inspiring myths. The relatively big names such as Sam Worthington and Liam Neeson cannot lift the film above average. Sam Worthington, in particular, will not have known what to do with the lyrics by the end of the film. The choice to hire a new director for this second part (Jonathan Liebesman instead of Louis Letterier) does little change in the film itself. “Wrath of the Titans” is therefore only recommended for the fans of the first part. If you already didn’t like ‘Clash of the Titans’, then you would do well to let this much too obligatory song pass you by.