Wrath of the Titans

            Okay, I should have known better.  A sequel to a remake of a 30 year-old camp classic doesn’t hold much promise of originality.  Especially when director Jonathan Liebesman’s resume relies on the derivative “Battle Los Angeles” (basically a remake of “Independence Day” and “War of the Worlds”) and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning,” and writers Dan Mazeau, David Johnson and Greg Berlanti penned the execrable “Green Lantern,” “Red Riding Hood,” and “Orphan.”   Still, I had hopes that the mountains of money thrown at this spectacle, combined with the talented cast, could pull off a surprise or two.  My hopes were dashed.            “Wrath of the Titans” begins several years after 2010’s “Clash of the Titans” ends, with the Greek demigod Perseus, the hero who saved the gods and the world in the first movie, striving to be a simple fisherman and a good father to his son.  But that idyllic lifestyle is not to be, as jealousy and a war for power erupt on Olympus.  For those unfamiliar with Greek mythology, a note of explanation: the Greeks had this penchant for self-destructive families and dysfunctional father-child relationships. According to Greek myth, Gaea (Mother Earth) and Uranus (Father Sky) gave birth to the Titans.  Uranus hated his children and so his youngest son, Kronos killed his father and became ruler of the universe.  Kronos’ own son Zeus rebelled against his father, imprisoning him and the other monstrous Titans in the pits of Tartarus.  Then Zeus and his brothers Poseidon and Hades divided the universe to avoid warfare: Zeus ruled the sky, Poseidon the Sea, and Hades the Underworld; land, where man lived, was neutral ground.  The gods visited, and manipulated men, and often had children, called demigods, by earthly women; basically, earth was a playground for the gods and humanity their toys.  Continuing the tradition of deadbeat dads that seems to prevail in Greek myth, the gods tended to ignore their human children.In “Wrath of the Titans,” one of Zeus’ children, the god of War, Ares, has rebelled against his father (surprise, surprise) and only Perseus, who wants nothing to do with the gods, can save the gods and humanity from Ares’ attempt to kill his father and free Kronos.  Why Ares needs Kronos is never fully detailed, nor is how Ares anticipates controlling the enraged Titan, but that is not the point.  The point is that Titans must be involved in the plot because they’re included in the title.  That, and it’s an excuse for monstrous special effects. Visually, the movie is generally quite impressive, making good use of 3D technology and computer graphics.  I say generally, because certain effects are noticeably inadequate or hopelessly redundant.  For instance, we see the same effect when a god dies over and over again, and Perseus riding the winged Pegasus is no better (and possibly worse) than the superimposition technology used to replicate that image in the 1981 version.Although the cast is top notch, the material they have to work with is not.  Sam Worthington (“Avatar”) is Perseus in a reprise from 2010’s  “Clash of the Titans.”  He is more an anti-hero than a hero, with virtually no personal magnetism; the viewer is generally unable to identify with the character, other than via the circumstances, because Mr. Worthington plays Perseus as an absolute bore.Liam Neeson (“”Kingdom of Heaven”) plays Zeus as a conscience-riddled man who regrets his past actions and treatments of others, seeking and doling out forgiveness (which is an illogical characterization given the immortal nature of the gods and their eons of playful manipulation).  Laurence Olivier’s hammy performance in 1981 was more plausible than this Zeus.Ralph Fiennes (the “Harry Potter” franchise) plays Hades as a scared little boy afraid to die, jealous of others’ power and prestige, and unwittingly used by others.  Rosamund Pike (“Pride & Prejudice”) grittily plays Andromeda as an Amazonian queen.  Edgar Ramirez (“Vantage Point”) gnashes his teeth angrily as Ares.  The one truly inspired performance is Bill Nighy (“Underworld”) as a schizophrenic Hephaestus.To call “Wrath of the Titans” puerile is insulting to children.  The plot has no logic; like many “action” movies today, it basically resembles a video game.  The characters are inconsistent and/or boring.  Even the special effects are uneven.  What is distressing, is that “John Carter”, while actually a good film, has bombed at the box office, yet this miserable mess will, in spite of its bloated budget, probably make money.  Go figure.