So what was different? Well they butchered Greek myth, at least from what I remembered. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily, although I felt that the fact the film didn't focus in enough on some of these changes / plot points hurt it. Note that not all of these changes needed to be zoomed in on, but since the plot centred around Perseus trying to get revenge on Hades (ultimately all he was doing was so he could be in a position to kill Hades) and to beat the guy in one scene which happened so quick left a bad taste in my mouth. Now scholars of Greek myth would be already going hang on a minute, Perseus wants to kill Hades? No, that was what happened.
So which parts of Greek myth was changed and how else does it differ from the original?
In no particular order
1. Well the Kraken was created to defeat the Titans, which it did. Now Obviously this was to make the Kraken like a "big bad" to use Joss Whedon terminology. Not only can it destroy cities, why its more powerful than the Titans. Thats why it can be defeated by Medusa's stare. I felt that wanking it was unnecessary and it could have still served its plot point just by being a big monster.
2. Gods rely on human emotions to sustain them. In fact humans were created by Zeus instead of Prometheus. I didn't mind this aspect as it served an important plot point. Zeus relied on humans love and adulation, while Hades could get by on their fear. This brings us to difference three.
3. Hades used this opportunity to try and ursurp power from Zeus. It would have been better if there was a fight scene between the two which didn't last for, say, 2 seconds followed by Hade's gloating.
4. Zeus slept with Perseus's mommy. In the Greek myth Perseus's mum (whose name eludes me) was imprisoned, but Zeus transformed himself into a ball of light and slept with her. In this one, humans besiege Olympus (yes thats right, its a recurring theme in the movie that humans had enough of the gods), so rather than destroy the invading army he takes the form of their leader and sleeps with his wife. Human king goes mad and presumably his army stops the siege. Sneaky, I actually liked that part.
5. Perseus adopted family is killed by Hades as collateral damage, sparking his need to avenge himself.
6. The mechanical owl only made a brief homage appearance. Thank goodness for that.
7. Djinn suicide bomber. What you ask? The Djinn don't originate from Greek myth, they appeared in various middle eastern cultures.In fact the Djinn here dress like a stereotype Arab. Now you might say, but they live in a desert, of course they would adopt similar clothing. Except they aren't human any more, they are immune to Medusa's stare and human body parts have been replaced by something else. So its not like they are going to get skin cancer.
But Djinn suicide bombers are cool, ok.
8. Giant scorpions.
9. Io played by Gemma Atherton, who served as the advisor role. She did a decent enough job so I can't complain.
10. Perseus doesn't get Andromeda. Actually given how things played out before hand it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Other random thoughts
1. Perseus we foretold your arrival to end the gods reign. Except he didn't and the prophecy cliche in fantasy gets tired fast.
2. Oh BTW, you are a demigod. Perseus "reveal" moment when he is revealed to be the son of a god seemed rushed. Seriously after wiping the floor with humans for being rude to the gods, Hades just mentions it as he leaves.
3. Perseus you are our only hope.
What do you do when you are a king of the Gods and your brother Hades has tricked you, and he is now more powerful than you. Why you hope that your half human offspring would be able to save you. Hey wait a minute, what about all the other gods? Sure you sent them away, but how soon until they realise something is up? What about these guys?
Danny Huston as Poseidon
Tamer Hassan as Ares
Izabella Miko as Athena
Luke Treadway as Apollo
Nathalie Cox as Artemis
Nina Young as Hera
Agyness Deyn as Aphrodite
Paul Kynman as Hephaestus
Alexander Siddig as Hermes
Charlotte Comer as Demeter
Jane March as Hestia
Fuck you had a Starfleet officer who is also Hannibal Barca to help you out, not to mention that you were Qui-Gon Jinn a life time ago.
(multiple smilies in case someone misses the sarcasm). Surely you can do better than relying on the untested Perseus.4. Sam Worthington's acting. I liked him in Avatar, but this time round he just seems like Jake Sully but in sandals. Being sort of wooden worked for Jake Sully until he had to give his "this is our land speech." However it doesn't work for Perseus. I just didn't find Perseus as played by Worthington a character I could give a shit about, unlike when he was played by Mark Hamlin in the original.
I am sure I would have more thoughts, but its getting late. Overall I give it an average rating.
I liked the throw-backs to the original film, but I think I was the only person who laughed at RELEASE THE KRAKEN.
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- PeZook
