Clash of the Titans: First official pics

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Juggling a work crisis this morning so no Terminator Salvation review today I'm afraid. Just a quick post on my second most highly anticipated film of 2010 (behind Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time), and that's the Clash of the Titans remake.

On Friday the first pics of Sam Worthington (my current favourite movie hottie) as Perseus made their online debut. As you can see he looks very, very intense, and in the first image he seems to have stumbled across Medusa's literally petrifying handiwork.



Tonally, director Louis (The Incredible Hulk) Leterrier's Clash of the Titans seems to be very different from the cheese-deluxe 1981 original - especially when you compare the first pics with images like these below, or stumble across online tributes like this one.



I've blogged before about the new Clash of the Titans here, here and, most recently, here. It's actually one of the few remakes I believe is a good idea, because:

A) The original (as much as I loved it when I was little) is admittedly pretty lame, and was even regarded as mediocre in the early 80s, especially when compared to 1963's Jason and the Argonauts, with stop-motion special effects also by Ray Harryhausen. The Perseus myth is a great story and definitely needs a revitalising, supercool treatment.

B) Although Ancient history is quite frequently sampled for subject matter by Hollywood, Greek mythology has, for some inexplicable reason, been neglected in recent years. Please note I'm ignoring Troy. Blergh. Clash of the Titans is a chance to bring mythological beasties and battles back to the big screen.

Out of interest, the cast of 2010's Clash of the Titans is as follows:

Sam Worthington as Perseus, mortal son of Zeus.
Liam Neeson as supreme king of the gods, Zeus.
Ralph Fiennes as Underworld god Hades, the film's villain.
Gemma Arterton as kindhearted goddess Io.
Mads Mikkelsen as Draco, leader of the Praetorian Guard.
Jason Flemyng as king Acrisius, Perseus's cruel human grandfather.
Alexa Davalos as princess Andromeda, Perseus's love interest.
Danny Huston as sea god Poseidon.
Izabella Miko as goddess of wisdom, and patron of heroes, Athena.
Pete Postlethwaite as Perseus's unnamed mentor.

Comments

MJenks said…
Weren't the Praetorians Roman soldiers under the direct command of the Emperors?

Also, Draco is a Latin name. As in spoken-by-the-Romans Latin.

If this movie does well...how long before they ruin God of War with a movie adaptation?
2:34 PM
Pfangirl said…
I'm not too worried about the mix of Roman and Greek mythology and history - it's inevitable it's going to happen in Hollywood.

I admit though I am a little concerned about the remake's plot. I don't understand why they can't just stick to the simple Perseus "boy quests to save princess and regain birthright" storyline. Then again I suppose you still have to bring in the Gods, Titans and Underworld given the film's title.

As for God of War, I'm surprised work hasn't progressed on a film adaptation. Personally I'm not opposed to the idea but it would have to be incredibly graphic and gory. Proper R-rated stuff; not toned down for teens (who for the record should not have been playing the game in the first place). I'd want to see harpies having their wings ripped off, sirens having their necks snapped, whirling chain blades slashing up undead opponents. Mmmmm... reminds me I should go back and actually finish the first game.
9:20 AM
MJenks said…
Yeah, I'm stuck at the part where the floor falls out from under Kratos in the Temple of Pandora, and it's maddening. The whole "we have to make this so the teens can go see the film, so give it a PG-13 rating" is why I asked the question about "ruining" the God of War franchise.

Going through the underworld and all is fine; I mean, poor Hades, always gets the label of villain just because he rules the underworld and we equate that with Satan. Once I fully understood the breadth of Greek mythology, I always wondered at the title of the film, since the Titans were all supposed to be dead or taken care of by the time the events unfolded in the story.

But then, you know, I'm a stickler for details like that.
3:49 PM
Pfangirl said…
I think the most far I've got is fighting the rapidly growing cerberus pups (also at the Temple of Pandora if my memory serves me correctly).

Yeah, Hades actually isn't a bad guy at all in mythology, except for maybe kidnapping and raping his niece - but even that act isn't really linked to an evil personality. Hollywood though loves to scapegoat him.

As for the title Clash of the Titans, it never actually made sense in terms of the 80's film. I believe the remake's plot will, like the video games Titan Quest and Age of Mythology, actually make clear the distinction between the Olympians and the Titans. Clearly Hades is plotting to free the gods' greatest opponents from their prison in the depths of the Underworld; the real "Hell" as it were.
3:30 PM
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