Clash of The Titans review (Blu-ray)

3D is supposed to enhance a movie, not make it look worse. This sorry remake of the 1981 Ray Harryhausen opus was universally panned on its theatrical release for its rotten 3D work (which was done in post-production, as opposed to the film being shot in 3D).

In some scenes, the performers appeared to be acting in front of old painted backdrops. The process was obviously added to cash in on the success of Avatar and Alice in Wonderland, but lacking any artistry, it failed to instill any sense of wonder or awe.

Luckily, this 2D Blu-ray release looks a lot better than what was in the cinemas. But there are still problems. Indeed, the CGI effects as a whole look like nothing more than a computer game and the action sequences are devoid of suspense or excitement. Coupled with a portentous script full of cliched and wince inducing lines, this effort is one to file in the dud box.

Worthington gives a one note performance as demi-god hero Perseus, enraged at the gods for the killing of his parents, little knowing that his real father is Zeus (Neeson). He is incorporated into a brave band of soldiers, all the while stubbornly resisting his outer worldly powers, who have precious little time to foil and eliminate dastardly Hades (Fiennes, comically stooped and with long shaggy hair that elicits amusement rather than fear) before fair Andromeda (Davalos) is sacrificed and the city of Argos is destroyed.

You won't care about the plot – it's mundane in the extreme – you just wait for the action set pieces, such as the battle with the slithery-tailed Medusa, or the gargantuan sea monster Kraken. They're adroitly filmed and edited but the results are merely workmanlike, lacking gusto or aplomb. And the po-faced performances don't help. Everyone looks so serious. A touch of humour wouldn't have gone amiss. Arterton has a ridiculous role as unhappily immortal Io, cropping up at points to guide Perseus in the right direction. She looks beautiful of course but her radiant elegance looks absurd when roughing it with the hairy soldiers.

The original movie with Harry Hamlin and Laurence Olivier is hardly a classic but at least it has a quaint, innocent charm about it. This impersonal, by-the-numbers retread is simply a bore. Tolerable enough if you have zero expectations but utterly hopeless if you're looking for some pizzazz and thrills.

EXTRAS ★★★ An alternate ending that runs for five minutes; 18 minutes worth of deleted scenes; a seven-minute featurette called Sam Worthington: An Action hero For the Ages; WB Maximum Movie Mode, which lets you follow the film in picture-in-picture mode as the actors and director give you a look behind-the-scenes; plus a series of short behind-the-scenes Focus Points: Sam Worthington is Perseus; Zeus: Father of Gods and Men; Enter the World of Hades; Calibos: The Man Behind the Monster; Tenerife: A Continent on an Island; Scorpioch; Actors and Their Stunts; Wales: A Beautiful Scarred Landscape; Bringing Medusa to Life; and Prepare for the Kraken!