Adding new depths
WHEN it comes to cinematic scapegoats, few movies have been hammered like 2010’s Clash Of The Titans.
Even though the Warner Bros’ Greek god drama grossed nearly Us$500mil (Rm1.53bil) worldwide, the film’s last-minute 3D conversion, done to take advantage of higher stereoscopic ticket prices, drew uncharacteristically blunt condemnation from industry leaders. Dreamworks Animation’s Jeffrey Katzenberg said the film’s hasty 3D makeover “snookered” ticket buyers, while Avatar creator James Cameron said of the conversion: “There was no artistry to it whatsoever.”
The people behind the sequel, Wrath Of The Titans, clearly feel that they have something to prove. Said Basil Iwanyk, who produced both Titans productions: “We heard your complaints.”
The first film’s director, Louis Leterrier, is out, replaced by Jonathan Liebesman ( Battle Los Angeles). The production budget has been boosted, co-stars Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes enjoy more screen time than in the original, the mythological beasts are bigger and meaner, the humour a bit broader. And most important, the 3D alteration was not jammed through in the time it takes to plan and host a dinner party.
“We’ve worked really hard,” Liebesman said, “to make a better movie.”
Wrath Of The Titans picks up several years after Clash Of The Titans ended. Having defeated the sea beast Kraken in the original film, the half-human, half-god Perseus (Sam Worthington) faces challenges a bit more vexing than parenting his young son. He initially must battle a multi-headed Chimera; rescue his father, Zeus (Neeson), from the underworld; and deal with a severe case of sibling rivalry by his half brother, Ares (Edgar Ramirez). The cast also includes Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy and Toby Kebbell.
Rather than shoot with digital 3D cameras, Liebesman wanted to use film, photographing wrath Of The Titans on location in Britain, Patagonia and the Canary Islands with twodimensional equipment. “For a Greek epic, I wanted a film look,” the director said.
But the production team included a stereoscopic consultant from the start, and the film’s many visual effects were conceived, designed and delivered in 3D. While the first movie spent a mere six weeks on its 3D conversion, Wrath Of The Titans had a full year to translate the original images into stereoscopic frames, just slightly less time than Cameron spent converting Titanic to 3D.
Because Wrath Of The Titans was always intended to be presented in 3D, Liebesman, who spoke with Cameron about 3D conversions before production commenced, planned any number of sequences for the immersive technology. While some 3D filmmakers do not like calling attention to the technique, Liebesman at regular points hurls objects toward the audience and fills the frame with digital dust, embers, smoke and water, so that moviegoers never forget what kind of presentation they’ve chosen to see.
“You’ve paid an extra five bucks – here’s why,” the filmmaker says. “You want to have fun with the 3D. It doesn’t need to be subtle. People like to feel they are experiencing 3D. They go to see it so that something lands in their lap.”
As with any number of expensive epics in recent years, the ultimate success (or failure) of Wrath Of The Titans will not be told by its domestic revenues. “The Greek myths are universal in almost every territory in the world,” Iwanyk said. “In some ways, we have the characters from a bestselling book. And it’s a monster movie. People around the world love giant robots and monsters.”
The director and the producer concede that even if Clash Of The Titans represented a huge return on investment, its legacy is not altogether positive. “I think it was overly maligned, but I think it was not good,” Liebesman said. “I remember taking off my 3D glasses in the middle.”
Iwanyk said the first film’s shortcomings were not limited to its hasty conversion; its story could have been better too. “You don’t go into making a movie saying, ‘We don’t care about the characters,’” the producer said. “But you didn’t really feel for the characters.”
The audience will have the final say on whether the new Titans film is a marked improvement over the first one. But one thing is certain: The sequel could not possibly incur as much 3D wrath.
“I feel like it’s just a better movie overall,” said Iwanyk. “Very few times in life do you get a chance to do a total do-over. But we did.” – Los Angeles Times/mct Information Services