A darker high budget effects remake of the classic 1981 film that does not live up to it’s promise. The effects are good, but the story isn’t nearly as accurate to greek mythology here, more like they are just making it up. It has so much promise, but really it kind of falls flat. I mean why does everyone have long hair in the film, but Sam Worthington has a modern buzz cut? And it really is sad to see Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson so wasted. And many characters that are introduced, but have almost no parts, which makes the film seem badly edited. The one saving grace is the effects are fun to watch, especially the digital cities, but overall I was pretty letdown and very glad that I waited until I could Netlfix the blu-ray. I think my favorite moments was the cameo of the mechanical owl from the original film.

THe film starts with a voice over explaining how the three gods Zeus, (Liam Neeson), Poseidon (Danny Huston) and Hades (Ralph Fiennes) conspired to take Olympus, with the use of a creature created by Hades, the Kraken, but Zeus betrayed his brother, and when he took over Olympus he had Hades banished to hell forever. Zeus and the other Olympians lived off the love and prayers of the humans who worshipped them, but over the millennia, that worship has waned, and the Gods no longer have the power they once had. A fisherman named Spyros (Pete Psotlethwaite) sees a coffin come from the deep, and in it is a dead woman and her baby son. The fisherman adopts the boy and he grows to be a man, Perseus (Sam Worthington). The fishing is bad, and the are trying new places, and near Argos they see soldiers having declared war on gods knock down the giant statue of Zeus. Hades in response sends his harpies, which kill most of the soldiers, and also hit Spyros boat, killing him, his wife and daughter, sparing only Perseus. Perseus is found by the troops and taken back to Argos and meets King Kepheus (Vincent Regan), queen Cassiopeia (Polly Walker) and their daughter Aphrodite (Agyness Deyn). Queen Cassopeia describes her daughter as being more beautiful than any goddess. Hades meanwhile has convinces Zeus that they must scare the people back into prayer, and set the Kraken against Argos. Hades appears and kills the soldiers and kills Cassopeia. He recognizes that in fact Perseus is a demi-god and a son of Zeus, and threatens Argos to either sacrifice Aphrodite or the Kraken will take the city. Persues is imprisoned by Kepheus. Io (Gemma Arterton from Prince of Persia) a woman cursed by the gods to never age for not falling for the seduction of the God Ares comes and tells Persues who he really is. Zeus, in order to punish the king Acriscus (Jason Flemyng) changed into his form and impregnated his wife Danaë (Tine Stapelfeldt). Arriscus had his wife and her son locked in a coffin and cast into the sea, where the wife died. Acriscus was struck by Zeus and left as a monster. When Persues learns that killing the Kraken will allow him to have his revenge on Hades he agrees to destroy the Kraken and is released.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…

Perseus heads out with a group of Argos best soldiers to go to the Stygian Witches. These include Draco (Mads Mikkelsen), Eusebious (Nicholas Hoult from Skins), Ixas (Hans Matheson), Solon (Liam Cunningham) and two hunters, Ozal (Ashraf Barthom) and Kucuk (Mouloud Achour). Io follows along as well.

Hades goes and finds Acrisius who has changed his named to Calibos and enlists him to help betray Zeus and gives him power to fight Perseus.

Perseus finds a sword left to him by Zeus that will only work for him, but he refuses it, and his men carry it for him. He then also meets Pegasus the flying horse, but he refuses both, as he wants to do this not as a god, but as a man.

Calibos attacks them and Draco cuts his hand off, but his blood on the sand forms giant scorpions. Persues does well against them, but more scorpions show up and they are only saved by the arrival of the Djinn. Djinn are magic users who have replaced their flesh with stone, and have become immortal. Their leader is Sheikh Sulieman (Ian Whyte) who throws his lot in with them.

They make it to the Stygian Witches and learn that they must get the head of Medusa, which can turn anything living, including the Kraken to stone, but they must go to the underworld to do it. Persues is given a gold coin by Zeus, which they use to pay off the boat driver for the trip to the underworld and they head down.

Io is killed and couldn’t have gone into the temple anyway as only men could enter, and Persues goes in and Medusa (Natalie Vodianova) kills all his men before he learns to use the shiny back of his shield to see her, and manages to take her head with the help of his god given sword.

Hades tells Zeus than in fact he has been betrayed since Hades can now live off fear, while the Olympians need love, and he will take over.

The people of Argos have rebelled against the king and taken Aphrodite and tied her on the battlements ready to be sacrificed, but the Kraken is laying waste to the city on the way to her.

Perseus rides Pegassus with the head of Medusa, flying through Hades Harpies and manages to destroy the Kraken with Medusa’s head.

Hades appears, and Perseus throws the sword from Zeus and manages to banish Hades back to the underworld.

Perseus then refuses the kingship and the hand of Aphrodite and leaves.

Zues comes to his son, and offers him sanctuary, but Perseus refuses. Zeus warns him that Hades will back and people will need a protector. Zeus brings back Io so that Perseus will not be alone.

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The most I can say is good effects!