Wrath of the Titans (2012)

Wrath of the Titans is a 2012 American fantasy film and sequel to the 2010 film Clash of the Titans. The film stars Sam Worthington, Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy, Édgar Ramírez, Toby Kebbell, Danny Huston, Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson with Jonathan Liebesman directing a screenplay by Dan Mazeau and David Leslie Johnson. Wrath of the Titans takes place a decade after the events of the first film as the gods lose control over the imprisoned Titans and Perseus is called once again, this time to rescue his father Zeus, overthrow the Titans and save mankind.

Talk of a sequel began with the release of Clash of the Titans in March 2010. Scribes Dan Mazeau and David Leslie Johnson were hired in June 2010 and director Jonathan Liebesman was brought on-board in August 2010. The majority of the casting took place between January and February 2011. Principal photography began in London in March 2011. The film was converted to 3D in post-production. Wrath of the Titans was released in 2D and 3D on March 30, 2012 in the United States.

The Plot

Ten years after he defeated The Kraken, Perseus (Sam Worthington), the demigod son of Zeus (Liam Neeson), now lives as a fisherman with his 10-year-old son, Heleus (John Bell). One night, Perseus is visited by Zeus, who tells him that the powers of the gods are fading and the walls of the underworld prison of Tartarus are breaking due to the lack of devotion from humans and states they will need the world's armies to combat the potential threat, but Perseus shows little interest and refuses to get involved. Afterwards, Zeus travels to Tartarus to meet with his brothers Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Poseidon (Danny Huston), and his son Ares (Edgar Ramirez). He tells Hades they must forget the past and unite to rebuild Tartarus, but Hades orders his minions to attack. They severely injure Poseidon, and Ares betrays Zeus over showing Perseus more affection, taking him prisoner and stealing his thunderbolt. Hades and Ares plan to drain Zeus' power to revive Kronos, the father of Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon, in exchange for the two to remain immortal.

The walls of Tartarus break, unleashing monsters into the world. After slaying a Chimera that attacks his village, Perseus then takes Heleus to the Mount of Idols, so they can speak to Zeus, but the dying Poseidon arrives instead. He informs Perseus that Hades and Ares are holding Zeus in Tartarus, and tells him to meet with his demigod son Agenor (Toby Kebbell) to find the fallen god Hephaestus, who knows the way into Tartarus. Poseidon gives Perseus his trident before succumbing to his injuries and crumbling into dust.

Perseus flies on Pegasus to the campsite of Queen Andromeda's army. Andromeda (Rosamund Pike) has imprisoned Agenor for stealing crown jewels, but Perseus has him released. Perseus, Andromeda, Agenor, and a group of soldiers set out at sea to find Hephaestus, with Agenor explaining that Hephaestus created the three great weapons that Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon wield: Zeus’ Thunderbolt, Hades' Pitchfork, and Poseidon’s Trident, and that together they form the Spear of Triam, the only weapon that can defeat Kronos. Agenor uses Poseidon's trident to direct the boat to Hephaestus's island, where they encounter three Cyclopes who attack them. When Perseus shows them the trident, they lead the group to Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), the smith god, stripped of much of his godly power after siding with Hades after he betrayed the Olympians ten years prior. He explains that he has a map to navigate the path into Tartarus. He leads them to the door into the Labyrinth, where they are attacked by Ares after a soldier prayed for him to come. Ares kills most of the soldiers while Hephaestus opens the door. Hephaestus then sacrifices himself so that Perseus, Andromeda, and Agenor can enter the door before it closes. Agenor tries to use the map to direct them, but the labyrinth continually shifts. Perseus gets cut off from the group and encounters and kills a Minotaur. Eventually, The group reunites at Tartarus.

Meanwhile, Zeus has been almost entirely drained of power and close to death as Kronos starts to awaken. Zeus apologizes to Hades and asks his forgiveness as he forgives Hades for his actions. Hades has a change of heart and finally decides to help Zeus and the human army, but Ares intervenes. Perseus arrives and uses the trident to free Zeus. As they are escaping, Ares throws Hades's pitchfork into Zeus's back.

Perseus, Andromeda, Agenor and Hades carry a weakened Zeus down to the base of the mountain where Andromeda's army is gathered. Perseus combines the trident and Hades’ pitchfork, but he still needs Zeus's thunderbolt, which Ares still has. Perseus prays to Ares, challenging him to a fight at the Temple of Gods, which Ares accepts. At the temple, Perseus finds out Ares has kidnapped Heleus, who was brought to watch Perseus die. Ares easily subdues Perseus, but is distracted when Heleus tries to challenge him by pointing a sword at him, giving Perseus the opportunity to subdue him. Perseus then destroys Ares with Zeus's Thunderbolt and combines the gods' weapons into the Spear of Triam. Meanwhile, Andromeda's army is subdued by Kronos' army of Makhai, but a redeemed Hades and a revived Zeus use what power they have left to defeat the army, who have murdered almost all of Andromeda's men. Kronos then appears and starts to destroy them, in which Zeus and Hades defend them and at the same time are giving Perseus the opportunity to fly right down Kronos' throat. Kronos lets out one last blast, and Zeus takes the brunt of the force to protect Hades. Perseus throws the Spear into Kronos' stomach, destroying him once and for all.

Perseus meets with Zeus and Hades. Zeus commends Perseus for his courage, stating that the time of the gods is over before turning to dust. Hades is now human, though he states he might be better as one before walking away. Perseus reunites with Andromeda and kisses her. Knowing that their are still Titans to battle, Perseus decides to train Heleus to be a soldier.

Reviews

Wrath of the Titans has received generally unfavorable reviews from film critics. Metacritic assigned the film an average score of 37/100 based on reviews from 32 critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 23% approval rating with an average rating of 4.4/10, based on an aggregation of 144 reviews and offers the consensus; "Its 3D effects are an improvement over its predecessor's, but in nearly every other respect, Wrath of the Titans fails to improve upon the stilted acting, wooden dialogue, and chaos-driven plot of the franchise's first installment".

Andrew Barker of Variety gave the film a positive review, saying, "The Clash of the Titans franchise has matured ever so slightly with Wrath of the Titans, hewing incrementally more faithfully to its Greek origins and trimming the fat in essential places". Richard Corliss of Time magazine wrote, "Wrath [of the Titans] radiates the straight-forward, straight-faced pleasures of the mytho-muscular epics, like Hercules and Jason and the Argonauts, produced in Europe a half-century ago". Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly commented, "For a movie that's basically all warmed-over pseudo-mythology and special effects, Wrath of the Titans is certainly more fun, in its solemnly junky way, than John Carter. It may also be a little more fun than its cheeseball predecessor, the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans".

However, Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter called it, "A relentlessly mechanical piece of work that will not or cannot take the imaginative leaps to yield even fleeting moments of awe, wonder or charm". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times remarked, "It lacks a comprehensible story, and you won't need your CliffsNotes on the Greek myths. You get an idea of who the major players are, and then they spend a modest amount of time shouting laughable dialogue at one another while being all but forced off the screen by special effects.". Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times criticized, "Directed this time out by Jonathan Liebesman, the film lacks inspiration or zest in storytelling, performance or action. This is pure product, a movie desperately without energy or enthusiasm of any kind".

The Cast

Sam Worthington as Perseus
 Liam Neeson as Zeus
 Ralph Fiennes as Hades
 Édgar Ramírez as Ares
 Toby Kebbell as Agenor
 Rosamund Pike as Andromeda
 Bill Nighy as Hephaestus
 Danny Huston as Poseidon
 John Bell as Helius
 Lily James as Korrina
 Alejandro Naranjo as Mantius
 Freddy Drabble as Apollo
 Kathryn Carpenter as Athena

Sinéad Cusack as Clea