Film Review: Wrath Of The Titans

Certificate: 12A (intense sequences of fantasy violence and action)
Directed By: Jonathan Liebesman
Cast: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Édgar Ramírez, Toby Kebbel, Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy, Danny Huson, John Bell
Budget: $150 million
Runtime: 99 minutes
Trailer: Watch

Ten years after Perseus (Worthington) defeated the Kraken he must now join forces with Queen Andromeda (Pike) and Poseidon's son Agenor (Kebbel) to save the world by stopping Hades (Fiennes) and Ares (Ramírez) from using Zeus' (Neeson) powers to 'release the Kronos' inhabiting the prison of Tartarus.

So, an excuse for a bunch of epic action spectacles then. Given how bad Clash of the Titans was a sequel was totally uncalled for. Well, about as uncalled for as a sequel can be when its predecessor pulled in over $300million. But here it is, the Australian-sounding demigod returning in all his glory, replete with squabbling bearded Olympians back once again to bastardise Greek mythology.

Wrath of the Titans doesn't ask much, pretty much just CGI goodness bound together by a flimsy screenplay which only exists to shift us from action piece A to action piece B. Sure, given the first expectations for a decent narrative might have been low, but it seems a bit of a waste given how much talent has been cast here. At least it's honest, never pretending to offer anything other than to gorge on special effects. But if all that's left is a spectacle then what is the purpose of such? Well, ostensibly a fun romp which provides an exhilarating ride for its audience. Wrath scantly provides this either, featuring little more than a series of interchangeable action sequences.

Indeed, this wilfully dodges any semblance of character development, less it threaten to derail the rest of the film by making it even vaguely interesting. Worthington's Perseus is as dull a hero you'll ever see while Pike's gumptious Queen Andromeda feels very old hat. Kebbel's Agenor, there for comic relief, merely photobombs in the background. Although to say it is completely void of narrative might not be completely true; there is a common theme of Daddy issues going on as we're treated to about as many groan-inducing father-son rivalry scenes as action set-pieces. Meanwhile gods scarcely act like gods, more akin to petulant children with super powers throwing temper tantrums about how humans aren't paying attention to them anymore.

Positives? Well, the visual effects are much better than Clash of the Titans. But Wrath is robotic in its quest to push its exhilarating tropes, posing as a roller coaster which in actuality more resembles the linear, unexciting journey of a monorail.

Film Review: Johnny English Reborn

After a serious transgression in Mozambique former MI7 agent Johnny English (Atkinson) is stripped of his knighthood and booted out the service, taking refuge in a Tibetan monastery. When British intelligence (now sponsored by Toshiba) gets wind of a plot to assassinate the Chinese premier, the source won't talk to anyone but English. Consequently head spy 'Pegasus' (Anderson) reluctantly pulls the blundering agent out of exile, sending English on a mission which soon unearths a conspiracy involving interlocking keys, mind-control drugs and rogue elements in the CIA, KGB and MI7 itself. Cue a series of monumental mishaps, inadvertent triumphs and general farcical ongoings as Mr Bean meets James Bond.

Was this sequel really needed? Probably not, although after the reasonably effusive and somewhat charming original it was never really in doubt. Despite being incredibly formulaic to the point where you could see the jokes a mile off, the first effort actually did quite well, pulling in $160million worldwide. The problem with Johnny English Reborn however is that it hasn't really moved on from those times, in fact regressing into something far more trite than before. And, like with most sequels, this is far inferior to the original which spawned it. Yet there's no reason to suggest it won't appeal to similar numbers of undiscerning Anglophiles.

This is your classic SNAFU (Situation Normal: All Fucked Up) scenario. But what's surprising here is that the plot takes a far more serious tone than in the first where John Malkovich tried to usurp the throne and turn Britain into a giant Alcatraz. In Reborn something far more austere is at stake in the assassination of the Chinese premier, although the motive for this remains unclear throughout. Allusions to real world black-ops projects such as MK-ULTRA and winks to the Manchurian Candidate scenario ground this more than it should have. While there's never any doubt that this is a comedy an enduring stiffness surrounding the subject matter permeates proceedings. This serves to diffuse Atkinson's buffoonery in many ways, whilst simultaneously managing to make the plot far more incredulous than it already is.

When the gags do come you will find them largely prosaic. From a chase sequence involving an electric wheelchair to a running joke of mistaken identity and granny bashing which is already overplayed the first time round, there is a lacking of freshness. In fact the funniest moment can be found in the film's trailer as English fails to get to grips with his hydraulic office chair. Further, there are logic loops abound. In one sequence for example English picks up his car from a London sink estate only to arrive in Switzerland in what the film eschews as a mere couple of hours later. Now I've seen some fantastical spy cars in movies before, but instantaneous transportation across Europe seems a bit much. Admittedly it would be unfair to blame the film's shortcomings on Atkinson, a man whose comic timing and physical comedy a proven quality over the years. Moreover Reborn's problems stem from a dull structure and horrible pacing, factors which serve to inhibit Atkinson's talents.

The rest of Reborn's characters don't seem to fit in much either. Suave super spy Ambrose (West), there to make English look even more ridiculous, remains seldom effective at his task while sidekick agent Tucker (Kaluuya) borderlines on believability. Likewise Rosamund Pike, who played a love interest in similar Bond parody Die Another Day (ok, not a parody, but it may as well have been), is uneasy at best in this one. The only character that is truly spot on is that of the British Prime Minister (Moore), a David Cameron figure who displays the same qualities of a charismaless, ductile Eton boy with a floppy haircut like something out a nineties boy band.

Above all this is not a particularly ambitious film, displaying no desire to improve upon its predecessor. As such Johnny English Reborn feels lazy. Perhaps it's time to live and let die on this franchise. Certainly it would be mission impossible to try and resuscitate it for a third outing.