Speaking of Gemma, here are some nice pictures of her at the London premiere. Too bad about the tattoo, but to me it is at least tasteful and easily hidden.
As much as they use that, “Release the Kraken!” line in the ads, I really hope the final cut has Neeson saying, “Eh, let’s just put the Kraken outside now, guys,” in a quiet voice.
I dunno, if there’s no Harryhausen it’s just not Clash of the Titans.
Kraken. Thanks.
If you want to know what happens in the movie:
Perseus uses Medusa’s head to turn the Kraken into stone.
Whatever did the Gods do before Ray Harryhausen was born? As beloved as that movie is, it’s old. Really old. And really, kinda cheesy. Great for its time, but there’s a new generation with higher standards. At least some of them will go on to get into Greek mythology because of the new version. At least some of them will go on to discover and love the original because of this version. Both are things that may never have happened without this movie.
I am definitely going to have to see this film. I gotta semiprofessional interest in it. I’ll post my thoughts after I see it.
It won’t be Harryhausen/Cross. And it won’t be “canonical” myth out of Ovid or Apollodorus – which is a good thing, because the official version is a crashing bore as a story. The real question is whether it’s any good.
She’s in both? Well that just seems like poor planning, they look like they are virtually the same movie, as it is.
Poor planning by who? I assume you’re talking about the studios and not Gemma. Actors just do the work and go on to the next thing, they have no control over release dates. I’m sure no one at the studio gave a second thought to the fact that she’s in both. She’s fairly unknown, and looks very different in PoP. In fact, I take back what I said that she’s set to become popular. I doubt most moviegoers will even realize that it’s the same person. It’ll take a few more movies for her to become known to the general public.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens. Clash comes out several weeks before PoP. People might have their appetites whetted for another sword and sandal movie, or they may be tired of them. I want PoP to be good and do well. I’m not sure why, because I’m not crazy about the trailer, but I like Jake and want him to prove himself as an action guy (and hope he never does another one like this). I now know who Gemma is and can’t wait to see her in it. I actually knew her before Clash because I’d seen RocknRolla, Quantum of Solace and The Boat That Rocked, but this is the first time I was prompted to look her up on IMDB after getting home from the theater, and now I know her name.
Well, both, really. Someone must have noticed the similarity in projects and suggested it might be better to space things out or try a different actress.
Of the two films, I like the look of Prince of Persia most. Clash of the Titans seems to be all melodramatic flash and no substance, whereas the Prince of Persia trailer looks like there’s more character moments and a sense of humour.
I wouldn’t say there’s no substance in Clash, though it’s not too deep. One of the themes is a father’s love for a son. I teared up a couple of times, one of those times involving Io (Gemma). There is a bit of humor here and there too.
Thank you! I don’t see the point of all this new-fangled CGI if you’re just going to cut in shots so fast I can’t get a look at it!
So far, one of the worst things about being old is unnecessary remakes of perfectly cromulent movies. 
??
Have you seen Clash of the Titans already? There’s no way you can be getting this from the trailers or a synopsis. The movie doesn’t open here until Friday, but I suppose there have been press screenings.
This, by the way, highlights one of the differences between the myth (from whatever source) and both film versions. Perseus may be Zeus’ son, but Zeus doesn’t really have anything to do with him and his quest. In literature and art, Perseus is escorted and helped by Hermes and (even more, and sometimes only by) Athena.
IIRC, in the original, there weren’t any Titans clashing at all. It was all at the God level.
Pssst … post #20.
Missed that somehow.
+10
I even had several of the toys. In fact, one time my brother and I went on a trip with my grandparents to Florida and my prime motivator for going was to pick up replacements of the toys…
I’m very interested - but I think it’s because I love Greek Mythology and the original Clash so much…
Actually I don’t think the Kracken is part of Greek Mythology. I think it’s scandanavian or whatever.
Actually, there wasn’t any titan clashing activity in the first movie. It should have been called “Perseus fights some monsters.”
The only named Titan is the Kraken, who isn’t even Greek, let alone a Titan. They try to call the medusa a Titan, which is silly, and even then the Medusa doesn’t fight the Kraken, Perseus uses the Medusa’s head to ossify the Kraken as it menaces Andromeda.
ETA: I actually liked the original, which feels older than it is. It comes across like a 60s movie, except for the owl which is obviously inspired by R2D2.
Here’s an early, snarky review:
http://hollywoodandfine.com/reviews/?p=2156
Another review:
Correct – the Kraken is Scandinavian lore (it’s not in any of the Norse myths). In the Greek, the sea monster is Ketos, which got latinized to Cetus, whence cetacean. Because of that, some folks render the sea monster as whale-like. But ancient artwork shows nothing at all like a whale. The earliest picture, in fact, looks somewhat fox-like. Usually it looks very much like a dragon. Ketos may be a generic term for “Sea Monster” – the maiden Hesione, rescued by Hercules, was also sacrificed to Ketos. Or (as i suspect) these may be variants of the same myth, and nobody knew or cared if Ketos was generic or specific.
Bonus trivia point – Ketos is female, and was the mother of both the Gorgons and the Graeae (Called the “Stygian Witches” in the 1981 version – the weird eyeless beings Perseus steals the single shared eye from).
I’d pay to see that!