Wrath of the Titans - DVD

Film: After the huge success of Avatar, many studios immediately decided to quickly convert some of their upcoming attractions from 2D to lucrative 3D. The remake of Clash of the Titans was one of the first of these frantically converted to three dimensions - and the results were more than sobering. Not only was the fantasy spectacle itself rather weak, the 3D effects were also a real disaster at times. The moviegoers did not keep this from buying tickets for the work in masses, a worldwide box office result of almost 500 million dollars and the imminent announcement of a sequel were the result, which should top the first film in every respect and avoid the mistakes of the predecessor. Wrath of the Titans is set ten years after the events of the first part. Demigod Perseus (Sam Worthington) leads a reclusive life as a fisherman with his son after the death of his wife. But his divine origins soon catch up with him again when his father Zeus (Liam Neeson) shows up and asks Perseus for his help. For as humans have stopped praying to the gods, they are losing their power, causing the Titans imprisoned in the underworld, and especially Kronos, the father of Zeus, Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Poseidon (Danny Huston), to regain power. Perseus is supposed to help Zeus convince his brothers to fight the Titans. But the demigod wants nothing to do with this war, he only wants to be there for his son. But when Hades and Ares (Édgar Ramírez), the divine son of Zeus, ally with Kronos and capture Zeus, it soon becomes clear that a reign of Kronos would also mean the end of mankind. And Perseus, of course, cannot let that happen. With the help of the warrior queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), the demigod Argenor (Toby Kebbell), son of Poseidon, and the fallen god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), he sets out into the underworld to free his father. But the hatred Ares feels toward his half-brother and his father make the endeavor just as dangerous as the power of the titan Kronos, which grows stronger by the second. No question, Wrath of the Titans is leaps and bounds better than its predecessor in many ways. The special effects are much more impressive and are even really spectacular in some scenes. In addition, it is positively noticeable that director Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles) spices the action again and again with a little self-mockery and loose humor, which increases the fun factor immensely. Especially the characters Argenor and Hephaestus, played by the wonderful Bill Nighy, provide some pretty good laughs. But otherwise, you shouldn't expect particularly high cinematography here either. The dialogues are sometimes a bit too much, the dramaturgy is dominated by sesquipedalian pathos and the acting of great actors like Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Édgar Ramírez (Carlos - The Jackal) or Danny Huston is rather wooden or overdone. Nevertheless, the film, which has a high fun factor, works very well on balance. Because it obviously seems like the makers really took the criticism of the first film to heart and tried to do at least some things better. For example, the gods, who played a rather minor role in Clash of the Titans, have a much more central function. There is a nice little reference to the popular 80s film adaptation of Clash of the Titans and appearances by some well-known creatures of Greek mythology, such as the Cyclops or the Minotaur. Sure, at some moments the action sequences are cut a bit too fast, the finale is arguably pathetic and quite a few shots then seem to be very obviously borrowed from other films. But that doesn't change the fact that Wrath of the Titans is a lot more entertaining than its predecessor, has a higher level of spectacle and thus offers the viewers who liked the first movie exactly what they were hoping for from the sequel. Artistically, maybe not a really good film, but for an entertaining DVD evening of lush popcorn fantasy action, this sequel is the perfect fodder. And it doesn't always have to be caviar, after all. Worth seeing! Image + Sound: The DVD presents the film in technically well-realized form. The picture is very clean and features some very good detail sharpness at times. Only in some of the darker scenes can minor weaknesses be made out here. The vibrant colours, balanced black levels and neatly matched contrasts underline the positive impression of the visual presentation. The sound, which is available in Dolby Digital 5.1, has some really good surround effects to offer, which let it crash mighty especially during the big battle in the finale. Very good! Extras: The DVD has only three cut scenes to offer as bonuses. These are not uninteresting, but have rightly fallen victim to the scissors, as they would have slowed down the action too much. If you want more extras, you have to reach for the Blu-Ray, which offers, among other things, the Maximum Movie Mode and some focus points (short documentaries). Conclusion: Wrath of the Titans is - whether in 2D or in the 3D variant - superior to its predecessor in every respect. High show values, good effects, decent fantasy action and a bit of self-mockery console over the flat dialogues and the rather template-like drawn characters. The DVD is technically well done, but the bonus material is very meager. Who liked the first part and no Blu-Ray player owns, which can access here confidently, otherwise is worth in any case the grip to the (2D or 3D) Blu-Ray. Recommendable

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