Story
Clash of the Titans tells the story of Perseus (Sam Worthington). Perseus is the son of Zeus, but has been adopted and brought up by a fisherman (Peter Postlethwaite) and his family. Perseus’s adoptive family is destroyed by Argos soldiers, and Perseus is captured and taken back to the city of Argos.
Hades (Ralph Fiennes) is King of the Underworld. His anger is roused when King Kepheus compares the beauty of his daughter, Princess Andromeda (Alexa Davalos), to that of the goddess Aphrodite. Hades demands that the Princess Andromeda be sacrificed to the Kraken (a fierce 200-foot monster created by Hades) in 10 days. If the sacrifice doesn’t take place, Hades will destroy Argos.
A mysterious, immortal woman named Io (Gemma Arterton) has been watching over Perseus his entire life. She convinces Perseus that killing the Kraken will enable him to destroy Hades and avenge the death of his family. Perseus sets off on this quest, along with Io and a group of soldiers led by Draco (Mads Mikkelsen). Along the way, they encounter hideous Stygian witches, magical humanoid sand creatures called Djinn, giant scorpions, and the Medusa, a giant snake with a woman’s torso in place of the snake’s head.
Themes
Greek mythology; revenge
Violence
There is stylised action fantasy violence throughout this movie. For example:
Sexual references
There is a reference to one of the gods ‘taking’ a woman on the floor.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
This movie shows characters drinking wine from goblets. Princes Andromeda’s father tells her to drink something, saying, ‘It might make you more lively’.
Nudity and sexual activity
This movie contains some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- Women who seem to be prostitutes wear low-cut dresses and show bare shoulders. They hang over a balcony and proposition men in a suggestive way.
- Zeus changes his appearance to look like a woman’s husband and climbs on to a bed and on top of the woman. The image stops, but the narration tells us that Zeus deceives the woman and has sex with her.
- While engaged in sword practice with a woman, Perseus pins the woman to the ground in a sensual way.
Product placement
None
Coarse language
This movie contains some low-level coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Clash of the Titans is a fantasy action adventure movie targeted at younger adolescent boys. This movie doesn’t have much in terms of character, story development or action to hold the interest of most adults or even older adolescents. It has no memorable performances, although Sam Worthington’s performance is the best of a bad lot.
The main messages from this movie are about valuing your own humanity, and fighting for the love of your family.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include family love and sacrificing yourself to save the lives of others.
This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues such as the effects of being vain and self-centred on other people as well as yourself.