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Directed by: Desmond Davis Starring: A bunch of cool monsters, Harry Hamlin, Maggie Smith, Lawrence Olivier The last film to feature Ray Harryhausen’s dynamation effects, Clash of the Titans is a big budget revival of his old creature driven fantasy films. Based on Greek mythology (familiar ground for fans of Harryhausen), Clash follows the life of Perseus (Hamlin) and his career as a hero. Transported to an unknown land by the will of a jealous Goddess, Perseus finds himself thrust into an adventure battling against a cruelly deformed villain. For fans of Harryhausen’s unique style of animation, Clash delivers. A wide variety of monsters are featured, from a group of giant scorpions, to medusa to the famous Kraken. The monsters look great, though the rest of the film’s production values are far less spectacular, though pretty faithful to the aesthetic of the films it idolizes. Perseus visits a wide variety of locales on his quest, which keeps things interesting on the visual level. Unfortunately, the blue screen effects are really obvious at times, and become rather distracting. The plot is pretty uneven, sometimes just trying to propel itself into the next creature battle. The film draws from a few legends to create its own unique story, and fans of mythology will enjoy trying to recognize and deconstruct the influences at work. Both the directing and acting take a back-seat to Harryhausen’s work, which is appropriate given the nature of the movie, but it results in a less satisfying experience as a whole. The monsters in Jason and the Argonauts were more technically impressive, and the Sinbad films had the most fantastic and exotic, so Clash is really only a second rate example of Harryhausen’s work, though it’s a good introduction for new comers who might not appreciate the campy attitude of his older films. Clash is a fun film despite its problems, and is worth a rental when you’re in the mood for some light entertainment or high adventure and fantasy.  RATING: 3.5 PROS: monsters are pretty cool, fun for fans of Greek mythology CONS: basically just an excuse to show off Harryhausen's work, pretty underwhelming in other areas ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
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May 5, 2004 05:08
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You really gotta have some love for Harryhausen's special effects, but I still hold Clash of the Titans in my head as a constructive example of what *good* things computer graphics have done for the movies. This was the sfx blockbuster of its day. It's memorable if for no other reason than to chart how far we've come.
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May 5, 2004 10:37
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I loved this movie as a kid and still enjoy it today. Obviously it doesn't hold up to todays sfx standards but for it's time they were great. If you're a fan of Harryhausen's work definetely give this a try. I agree Jason and the Argonauts and the Sinbad films are better but this is still a fun film. 3.5
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May 5, 2004 12:39
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