Clash of the Titans

Last year, everyone panned Speed Racer. Except io9. As we're Speed Racer fans here at the House of Leckie, and Paidhi Boy had had the movie on his agenda for weeks, we went anyway.

It was freaking awesome. As I said in comments to another post, any time anyone in the house puts the DVD on, no matter what everyone else is doing by the end we're all standing around staring at that final race, because...well, it's freaking awesome.

This year, everyone is panning Clash of the Titans. Except io9. And Paidhi Boy is all about Percy Jackson, which is, you know, Greek myth based. So....

Yeah. It's not freaking awesome the way Speed Racer is freaking awesome, but it is a tremendously enjoyable popcorn flick. It does not take itself too seriously. It does not subject one to long, hellish passages of people spewing glurgey dialog at each other in a misguided attempt at character development. It has swords, and fights, and lovely visuals, and giant scorpions, and Liam Neeson intoning, "Release the Kraken!" and really, what else do you need in a popcorn flick?

Yeah, Perseus' buzz cut is hardly authentic, Zeus' Excalibur-shiny armor is so outside its proper place and time I could almost feel the universe warping, and there are no djinn in any version of the myth I ever heard and these weren't even really djinn, and, and, and....at the same time, I appreciated the Cretan-style skirts near the beginning of the movie. Those said to me, "Yeah, we did do some research. But we're just picking whatever we like and using it in whatever way appeals to us. Here, have another giant scorpion!" And I said, "Thanks, I will!"

The ground rules thus established, I sat back and enjoyed the hell out of it.

I'm really not sure why people are reacting so badly to it--I was equally mystified by the lack of love for Speed Racer. A number of reviewers seem to have described an entirely different movie from the one I just saw--several, in my trawling for reviews yesterday, said that basically nothing happened until the last half hour or so, which was just...no. Some reviewers, however, seem to be an entirely different species from me. This one, for instance:

""Clash of the Titans" is also burdened by a numskull plot notion. The idea is that though those ancient Greeks lived in a world where the gods were quite real and unimaginably powerful, these idiots decide to declare war on them, which is the short-sighted equivalent of teasing your younger brother even though he has the power to snap his fingers and turn you to stone."

I read that, and puzzled over the question of whether true communication would be possible between me and a mind so alien it could consider that plot notion "numskull." If you just told me that this movie was about people living in a universe where gods were real and unimaginably powerful but humans nevertheless declared war on them, I would be all, "Hey, great concept! I hope they can pull it off!" Anyone who could say, "That's just stupid" is someone who comes, perhaps, from another universe, parallel, but slightly off-kilter from mine.

Do not go to this movie expecting a thoughtful take on Greek myth, or a faithful rendition of Bullfinch, or anything with the least pretension to historical accuracy. Go to this movie expecting swordfights and giant scorpions and Medusa--ooh, Medusa!--and flying horses and a Kraken. You will not be disappointed.

Clash of the Titans

Last year, everyone panned Speed Racer. Except io9. As we're Speed Racer fans here at the House of Leckie, and Paidhi Boy had had the movie on his agenda for weeks, we went anyway.

It was freaking awesome. As I said in comments to another post, any time anyone in the house puts the DVD on, no matter what everyone else is doing by the end we're all standing around staring at that final race, because...well, it's freaking awesome.

This year, everyone is panning Clash of the Titans. Except io9. And Paidhi Boy is all about Percy Jackson, which is, you know, Greek myth based. So....

Yeah. It's not freaking awesome the way Speed Racer is freaking awesome, but it is a tremendously enjoyable popcorn flick. It does not take itself too seriously. It does not subject one to long, hellish passages of people spewing glurgey dialog at each other in a misguided attempt at character development. It has swords, and fights, and lovely visuals, and giant scorpions, and Liam Neeson intoning, "Release the Kraken!" and really, what else do you need in a popcorn flick?

Yeah, Perseus' buzz cut is hardly authentic, Zeus' Excalibur-shiny armor is so outside its proper place and time I could almost feel the universe warping, and there are no djinn in any version of the myth I ever heard and these weren't even really djinn, and, and, and....at the same time, I appreciated the Cretan-style skirts near the beginning of the movie. Those said to me, "Yeah, we did do some research. But we're just picking whatever we like and using it in whatever way appeals to us. Here, have another giant scorpion!" And I said, "Thanks, I will!"

The ground rules thus established, I sat back and enjoyed the hell out of it.

I'm really not sure why people are reacting so badly to it--I was equally mystified by the lack of love for Speed Racer. A number of reviewers seem to have described an entirely different movie from the one I just saw--several, in my trawling for reviews yesterday, said that basically nothing happened until the last half hour or so, which was just...no. Some reviewers, however, seem to be an entirely different species from me. This one, for instance:

""Clash of the Titans" is also burdened by a numskull plot notion. The idea is that though those ancient Greeks lived in a world where the gods were quite real and unimaginably powerful, these idiots decide to declare war on them, which is the short-sighted equivalent of teasing your younger brother even though he has the power to snap his fingers and turn you to stone."

I read that, and puzzled over the question of whether true communication would be possible between me and a mind so alien it could consider that plot notion "numskull." If you just told me that this movie was about people living in a universe where gods were real and unimaginably powerful but humans nevertheless declared war on them, I would be all, "Hey, great concept! I hope they can pull it off!" Anyone who could say, "That's just stupid" is someone who comes, perhaps, from another universe, parallel, but slightly off-kilter from mine.

Do not go to this movie expecting a thoughtful take on Greek myth, or a faithful rendition of Bullfinch, or anything with the least pretension to historical accuracy. Go to this movie expecting swordfights and giant scorpions and Medusa--ooh, Medusa!--and flying horses and a Kraken. You will not be disappointed.