Wrath of the Titans

Wrath of the Titans – Ten years after defeating the Kraken, Perseus is father to a young son and struggling to come to terms with his wife’s death. When he learns that his father, Zeus, has been captured in the Underworld by Hades, he sets about bringing him back with the help of Queen Andromeda and some of her soldiers. Battling other worldly beasts are the least of their problems when the Titan, Kronos, threatens to return and destroy all humanity.

Wrath of the Titans (2012) – Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Rating: 12

Running Length: 99 mins

Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes

Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy

REVIEW: ‘WRATH OF THE TITANS’

‘Wrath of the Titans’ is the sequel to the 2010 movie ‘Clash of the Titans’ and is set 10 years after the events of the first film. Sadly, the movie tries to imbue an emotional core by destroying the apparently rich and happy life that Perseus (played by Sam Worthington) has had in this decade, but as the audience never sees any of this. Wrath of the Titan’s attempts to make us feel Perseus’ pain are ineffectual and lacking depth. Receiving generally negative reviews from critics, ‘Wrath of the Titans’ doesn’t have the flow that its predecessor managed well, moving instead from one obligatory set piece to another, creating a somewhat disjointed pacing.

While ‘Clash of the Titans’ could hide Worthington’s bland performance with a good story and supporting characters, without these elements present in this flat sequel there is little to redeem the dull story which is essentially a glorified rescue mission. The characters of Agenor (played by Toby Kebbell) and Hephaestus (played by Bill Nighy) bring some welcome light relief to proceedings which are otherwise bogged down in a very serious plot.

‘Wrath of the Titans’ seems to have taken the worst parts of ‘Clash of the Titans’ and made a very flat film of them. The acting is lazy, the plot is clichéd and boring and the movie in general feels much longer than its 99 minutes.

CONTENT: IS ‘WRATH OF THE TITANS’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

Towards the beginning of the movie, Perseus has a dream which involves huge beings which are made of fire; they kill lots of soldiers and in a quick two second shot, one soldier seems to be sliced in half although no blood or gore is seen. This part is over quickly but as it is intense and right at the beginning, some children may find it to be quite frightening.

Shortly after this, a village is attacked by a two-headed flying beast. It is very aggressive and breathes fire onto homes and people; there is a two second shot of someone being engulfed in flames. After this attack, one character is given stitches. This character winces in pain as this is happening but it is not gory.

One of the gods who has sided with Hades is very violent and in one scene kills several soldiers. He kills by stabbing them and hitting them with a mace. A young female character is stabbed by him, she gags and suffers before dying which could be distressing for some younger viewers, especially as this character has previously been introduced as a nice but vulnerable young woman who is easy for the audience to care about.

In an intense and prolonged scene, Perseus and his group are attacked by two huge Cyclopes. They are very aggressive and chase after the group, intending to kill them; some incidental characters are thrown against trees and seem badly hurt but not necessarily killed. Part of this scene focuses on two female characters who hide from the Cyclopes; while they fight bravely, they are also terrified of being killed and huddle together to try to evade their attackers. The camera is very close to their faces and therefore the audience stays with them throughout their ordeal. Although this is not lingered on for too long, this could be quite intense for younger viewers.

One of the better scenes in the movie is set in a labyrinth and the group are attacked by a minotaur. The labyrinth constantly moves and the group are soon split up; the scene is very darkly lit and the minotaur attacks quickly, appearing out of nowhere. Again, this scene is intense and lasts for several minutes and could therefore be scary for kids.

The finale of the movie turns out to be Perseus’ dream from the beginning but is much longer and more violent. Large demonic monsters with two heads and four arms kill the armies fighting them; soldiers are stabbed, set on fire and one has an axe thrown into their back. Perseus also fights one of the gods and is beaten badly in front of his son. While the violence here is stronger than what has previously been seen, it is still mostly quick cuts and little gore. Therefore, kids who have been ok up to this point should not be too distressed with this scene.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘WRATH OF THE TITANS’ FOR KIDS?

‘Wrath of the Titans’ is a rather bland affair and does not really expand on anything that happened in the first movie. We feel that this movie should be ok for kids aged 8 and over but would recommend caution for those who are sensitive to violence.

• Violence: 3/5 (mostly fantasy style action. One character has a trident thrown into their back, no blood is seen. Perseus kills a beast which has tried to kill him by strangling it with his bare hands, this lasts a few seconds)
• Emotional Distress: 2/5 (several established characters are killed. When a god dies, they turn to ash. This happens more than once and on one occasion, the gods head drops down onto the shoulder of someone they care about before their body is blown away by the wind. This is quite emotional and the other character is very upset)
• Fear Factor: 3/5
• Sexual Content: 1/5 (one character tells Perseus ‘Poseidon taught me how to seduce a mermaid; (it) came in handy’)   
• Bad Language: 1/5 (some mild cursing)
• Dialogue: 0/5
• Other notes: Deals with themes of saving and protecting the people you care about, fighting against a stronger foe to do what is right, even if you are likely to die, the importance of family and finding the strength to carry on when all seems lost.

Words by Laura Record

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