CAUTION: SPOILERS
The sequel to 2010's Clash of the Titans in now in our cinemas - following the Greek Mythology trend once again. And it truly does follow in its predecessors' footsteps with non-stop adventure and stunning effects.
Perseus has chosen to live his life as a human - he has a son now, but his wife, Io, is dead. The Gods are weakening as humans pray to them less and less; soon, all their work will be undone and the Titan, Kronos, will be free to destroy the earth.When Zeus is captured and taken to the Underworld, it is Perseus's duty to bring him back before Kronos is unleashed.
What follows is an unrelenting stream of action that is filled to the brim with Greek Myth, all of which doesn't even happen to Perseus in the stories. It may help to read up beforehand if you don't know it too well, as some things can be difficult to understand. You may need to know, for example, that Poseidon fathered the cyclopes'. The mixture of mythology is interesting, too. In the first film, the mythology simply pertained to Perseus. But here, we see ideas that come from the stories of Theseus, Jason, Orpheus and Hercules too. I think the writers of the film have real skill to combine so many elements into one flowing narrative, and I think they work extremely well together.
Sam Worthington returns in his role as Perseus, but I felt that the character lost some of his personality in this sequel. One point that i found frustrating about the film was the way that Perseus seemed much weaker and less able to fight. In fact, in most of the fight scenes, he seems to be getting beaten up. Yes, he is meant to be about 10 years older, but that does not mean he wouldn't have retained his strength through fishing every day.
Rosamund Pike, who you may have seen as Jane in Pride and Prejudice, is the replacement actress for the part of Andromeda. She does it so well, I think you can hardly tell the difference (apart from that her hair is blonde now). With the likes of Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and Bill Nighy as supporting actors, the film stand up extremely well. One surprising performance was found in the virtually unknown actor, Toby Kebbell, who played Agenor - the son of Poseidon. His portrayal was different to that of the other actors, and he injected a sense of comedy and fun into what could have been all too serious. You may have seen him in Prince of Persia as Prince Garsiv.
The concepts of the film were extremely interesting. For example, it includes a labyrinth that is quite unlike any that I have seen before. However, the best setting is undeniably the Underworld, especially that of Tartarus - the prison of Kronos and the other Titans
Overall, I think the film delivers and entertaining sequence that has been well thought through, if not so well acted at times. It clearly leaves us with the message that family, brotherhood and father-son dynamics are far stronger than anything else that can be thrown at you. Mythology buffs will love this take - as long as they're not too intent on having the story correct. I give it a 9/10
