Wrath of the Titans is one of ‘those’ movies. The type of movie that we all know is going to do very well at the box office thanks in large part to its big budget special effects and sequel status, and the allure of that can be a bit overwhelming to some fence sitters who have an itch to go to the theater. With audience reviews coming in far more favorable than they did for Clash of the Titans, I went to see this movie despite my ill will towards its predecessor.
The acting chops displayed by the Zeus-Hades combination of Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes anchored this effort as they transcended performances from the rest of the cast. Perhaps Sam Worthington’s Perseus did not get the memo that this was a franchise redeeming effort that would only spawn additional outings if audiences were overwhelmed by an unexpected upgrade in regards to quality. He was certainly not awful, but the actor failed to make us care what happens to him which is a cardinal sin when leading an action film.
Even with that, Wrath of the Titans still would have been okay; however, the script was unbelievably bad. The main plot was rather intriguing, but the path from beginning to end was littered with nonsense. A 99-minute time frame for a feature that felt like it should have been longer seemed to be a major factor in the absence of key scenes required to bridge noticeable gaps in the film’s story. More specifically (without giving anything away), a few sequences that should have ‘made the movie’ emotionally bypass going from A to B to C in favor of a leap from A to Z that will undoubtedly leave many questioning the blockbuster’s sincerity.
You would think that would detour an elitist snob like me who proudly shares his love of quality scripted television, but no. I found the action sequences entertaining, the characters warm, and the scenery to be incredibly well-done to the point where the movie felt like a breeze rather than ‘clock watcher.’
In short, the Jonathan Liebesman-directed movie was a good time. I heard the 3D on this one was rather good (a rarity,) so I sprang for the glasses. Much to my surprise, it was a good call. Warner Bros. did a fantastic job on the post-production conversion this time around. Seeing movies in 3D usually leaves me indifferent, and I honestly cannot say I felt the same after my glasses-on experience with Wrath of the Titans.
Update 4/1 @ 11:43 AM, ET: It looks as if the early estimates were a little on the optimistic side. The Hunger Games only came in with $61.1 million while Wrath of the Titans only achieved its low-end estimates with $34.2 million. Mirror Mirror also under performed as it grossed a mere $19 million (so much for that fairy tale bump.) The only film to see a better than expected result was 21 Jump Street which benefited from an unusually strong hold. The Jonah Hill-lead comedy only dropped about a quarter from its second weekend as it came away with $15 million.
Original: Just a quick box office update to those who are interested: Wrath of the Titans did $1 million in midnight showings last night which is pretty good for this time a year. IMAX and 3D premiums are projected to drive it as high as $40 million, but given that audiences were not digging its 2010 predecessor, a $60-70 million repeat seems out of the question.
On the other side of Hollywood we have Mirror Mirror and The Hunger Games. While both are for the ladies, the latter does a little bit better with guys, and that is suspected to be helpful in driving the film to $70 million. That prediction really is not that big a stretch considering the movie has been flirting with eight figures on weekdays leading up to the three-day period. Mirror Mirror will likely end up with the third spot by riding its Snow White inspiration to the $25 million mark.
It is worth mentioning that the Julia Roberts-lead feature was actually trending on Twitter early this morning as was Wrath of the Titans. Such a scenario is indicative of possible over performances at the box office.
While reviews do not always resemble how the audience will ultimately feel about a movie, one could look at the critic’s response to Wrath of the Titans and let out a resounding, “Yeah, I know.” It is worth stating upfront that the movie is pretty much worthy of being called the sequel to Clash of the Titans. Apparently, the Sam Worthington-lead action feature is not much better than its predecessor as that sentiment has been voiced a whole lot in the days leading up to its release.
Problems with the movie are rooted in its boring dialogue. Reviewers claim outright that there is hardly enough action to make up for some exceedingly dull moments which is an ongoing a problem that was only encouraged to continue upon the success of Clash. As one critic put it, “When a terrible movie like 2010′s Clash of the Titans grosses $493 million worldwide, why bother making a good sequel?”
On the other hand, the action sequences transcend that of the franchise launcher. Many are saying that the post-production 3D conversion was noticeably better as well. Even Warner Bros. admitted they did a rush job in 2010 after seeing Avatar’s success with the tech, so this was largely expected.
Because of these flaws, the movie currently stands at a dismal 24% on Rotten Tomatoes, but early audience scores show a 180 on audience scores from two years ago. Clash of the Titans only ended up with a 48% in the category whereas Wrath of the Titans is currently rocking a 71%. It may be worth the reminder here that audiences reward action sequences while critics seem to scoff at them as mere replacements for credible storytelling.
Yesterday, we learned about the mighty minotaur in Wrath of the Titans, so today we learn about another creature in the big budget mythological feature, the cyclops. It seems the movie’s producers worked on beefing up the franchise’s lore rather than working on the richer storytelling needed to redeem the series after disappointing audiences with the original. Early sentiment surrounding the sequel is pretty much on par with the drubbing its predecessor received, so do not expect anything extra if you were on the fence after seeing Clash of the Titans.
Two days from now, the sequel to 2010′s box office hit Clash of the Titans will land in theaters nationwide. Wrath of the Titan’s predecessor was not well received by either critics or audiences, so a repeat box office performance is not at all expected; however, this is still a 9-figure franchise which might be worth some subtle recognition. Here is a featurette Warner Bros. put out to plug the new film that has the cast and crew talking up the ‘minotaur.’ Continue Reading
Sam Worthington sat down with Jimmy Fallon last night to promote his Clash of the Titans prequel which opens in theaters this coming Friday. The Avatar actor talked about the film and the played a game of bar shuffleboard with the talk show host.
Hollywood may not be paying close attention to this with the imminent release of a certain Jennifer Lawrence-lead book-to-film adaptation, but we are about a week away from the release of Wrath of the Titans, the sequel to 2010′s Clash of the Titans starring Sam Worthington and Liam Neeson which grossed nearly half a billion dollars worldwide. Check out this new clip released earlier today from the upcoming feature.
Check out the latest trailer for Wrath of the Titans–the sequel to 2010′s mega-blockbuster Clash of the Titans. The film stars Liam Neeson as Zeus who will be coming off of the unexpected box office hit The Grey alongside Sam Worthington. Worthington has not had a whole lot of success at the box office since Clash, as his latest feature, Man on a Ledge, was kind of a dud. Look for the sequel effort to hit theaters on March 30.
Check out the first trailer for Wrath of the Titans, the sequel to Clash of the Titans. Sam Worthington and Liam Neeson will be reprising their roles as Perseus and Zeus respectfully in this blockbuster film that will release on March 30. Continue Reading
Wrath of the Titans is one of ‘those’ movies. The type of movie that we all know is going to do very well at the box office thanks in large part to its big budget special effects and sequel status, and the allure of that can be a bit overwhelming to some fence sitters who have an itch to go to the theater. With audience reviews coming in far more favorable than they did for Clash of the Titans, I went to see this movie despite my ill will towards its predecessor.
Yesterday, we learned about the 
Two days from now, the sequel to 2010′s box office hit Clash of the Titans will land in theaters nationwide. Wrath of the Titan’s predecessor was not well received by either critics or audiences, so a repeat box office performance is not at all expected; however, this is still a 9-figure franchise which might be worth some subtle recognition. Here is a featurette Warner Bros. put out to plug the new film that has the cast and crew talking up the ‘minotaur.’ 