Penny Thoughts ‘12—Wrath of the Titans (2012) ***

PG-13, 99 min.

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Writers: Dan Mazeau, David Leslie Johnson, Greg Berlanti, Beverly Cross (1981 screenplay)

Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Rosamund Pike, Édgar Ramírez, Toby Kebbell, Bill Nighy, Danny Huston, John Bell

I was underwhelmed by the 2010 remake of “Clash of the Titans”. Although I felt it was a better movie than the campy 1981 original, it was too much of a special effects extravaganza that didn’t concentrate enough on the story it was trying to tell. It felt choppy to me. The sequel “Wrath of the Titans” is once again much of a muchness; but its story is simpler, allowing for an easier balance between the heavy effects and the clothesline story those are hung on.

The CGI effects are very impressive. The story takes Perseus on another adventure, this time to save the world from Zeus’s, Hades’, and Poseidon’s father Cronos, whom Hades and Zeus’s other son Ares have awoken. This wasn’t such a great idea. It ain’t much, but Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes have much larger roles this time around, which would make any audience happier.

Anyway, there’s not really all that much to say about this movie. It’s more of a guilty pleasure than anything else. At the end of a long day, it was just the amount of vegetation I needed, without any of the heavy plotting of the first film.