I had to think about this movie for a while because it doesn’t happen often that a remake can really hold its own against an original. I mean, Star Trek 2009 was amazing, but there have been so many spin-offs and time travel spirals that it wasn’t completely different for the series. But Clash of the Titans was a remake that changed the entire story. For the better?
Another thing that doesn’t happen often is Craig and I leaving the theater with two completely different mindsets. I mean, he enjoyed Avatar more, but the things that bugged me also bugged him, just to a lesser extent.
Well, before seeing this new version, we rented the original and watched it with our youngest teenager. She, of course, was more impressed by the new special effects, though she thought the 3D version wasn’t worth the extra $. But she loved the original story. We all did.
Then I saw the new one. Aside from special effects, I really liked the story. It made more sense to me and showed me flaws in the original that I hadn’t noticed before. That’s kinda rare. So, in comparing, let’s look at the differences between the two movies.
1. They melded Acrisius and Calibos into one character. In the original legend, Acrisius was king and father to Danae, Perseus’ mother. A prophecy stated she would have a son that would kill Acrisius. He locked her in a tower, away from men, but Zeus visited her and impregnated her. So Acrisius put her to sea to die with her infant. In the first movie, they didn’t include the prophecy, just said she’d shamed them by having a child out of wedlock. So he put her to sea to die with her infant. In the new movie, her husband is Acrisius, waging war on the gods and it ticks off Zeus. Being Zeus, he transforms to look like Acrisius and sleeps with her, impregnating her. Shamed and horrified, Acrisius blames her (Dumbass. Just saying.) and puts her to sea to die with her infant.
At that moment, Acrisius is transformed, punished for his cruelty, and becomes Calibos. In the original movie, Calibos is transformed after his unbearable cruelty in hunting and killing all Zeus’ creatures, even the flying horses, except for one Pegasus. In the original version, Calibos is also a demigod. There is no original legend of Calibos. In the new movie, he’s imbued with the power of Hades.
This begs the question, what did they accomplish by combining these two characters? For one, it shows Perseus has an ancestral history of fighting the gods, which is a major theme of the new movie. More on that later. It makes Calibos a tragic villain, so Hades could be the true villain. Indeed, Calibos is even redeemed, somewhat, a tiny little bit, at the end when he gives parting advice to Perseus to not allow the gods to change him.
But ultimately, combining those characters allowed them to streamline the script, not waste time on unnecessary characters, building each character more without sacrificing the fast pace. Otherwise, watching the beginning would have been nothing new and Acrisius would have just as forgettable as in the original version. Ho-hum slow. Instead it was new, fresh and gave us questions to chew on right from the start.
2. The next thing they did is kill Perseus’ adoptive family. Why? Two reasons. First, it changed that pesky oh-let’s-teleport-him-in-his-sleep, which the original Perseus took mostly in stride and made no effort to back to his family. Two, killing his family gave him nothing to get back to, and it pissed him off. Both of which is all summed up with: Motivation. My personal weakness. I do what the original story did, which is why I didn’t notice it at first. Perseus wakes up in another land, gets stressed, then shrugs it off. No grand pursuit to see why the gods moved him, accepting their gifts without knowing why he needed them and when he walks into Argos and sees Andromeda, the most beautiful princess, and hears of the riddle and the reward goes, “Ooh. A quest. I’ll do it! Pick me!”
Okay. Yeah. Seriously? I feel so embarrassed. I had my agent and critique partners spend hours trying to pound this concept into my head. Guys won’t risk their lives and jump into the fray (Cursed, Alex and Elizabeth and her ten nieces and nephews and generational curse… “But why not?” I wailed. “Nice guys really do exist! I married one.”
So, they kill Perseus’ family and he can’t go back. He’s caught by soldiers and taken prisoner to Argos. He’s angry, almost feral because he wants his freedom to get revenge. He has a goal and is motivated to reach it.
3. Andromeda-so much different, so much better. This new one wasn’t just a pretty face being offered up as sacrifice, either to a quick-witted husband, a nightmarish prison guard or the Kraken. This Andromeda was kind, no matter her station in life. She offered drink to the thirsty, food to the hungry and CHOSE to offer herself to save her people. She was a strong woman and embodied what is needed in a true ruler. She was actually worthy of this tougher Perseus.
But this story wasn’t about love, it was about revenge. And this change is what my husband didn’t like. He really liked the love at first sight, higher ideals and happy feelings at the end that the original movie had.
As much as I loved the original love story, this new version made me see the flaws. Perseus never spoke much to the original Andromeda. She was a pretty prize that came along with the kingdom, like a bow on a pretty package. He never got to know and love her for the woman inside. Which leads us to –
4. Bebo/Io-Who did you love? Come on, out of the original movie, who or what one character did you remember easiest? That made you smile? That made you giggle? No, not R2D2 and C3PO. That little mechanical owl became an icon. She was with Perseus through the whole adventure. She guided him, warned him, risked everything for him. So they made her a woman and she was a better example of his soul mate than the pretty princess.
On the journey, he didn’t have time to get to know the princess, but he did have time to know and love Io. They just missed that one line that would have been perfect when she was training him to fight Medusa and they landed with him on top, staring into each other’s eyes as their attraction for each other filled the air. She should have said, “Now you’re dead.” LOL
I hoped for Perseus and this new, cooler Andromeda. Especially after he saves her and they are lying in the sand and he squeezes her hand. And since Io was dead. But Zeus brought Io back and it worked for me.
5. Perseus didn’t easily accept gifts from the gods in this newer version. He fought and struggled and earned his way through all he did. The hunters were cool and the shield they made rocked. His struggle to accept Zeus’ sword made for great conflict and tension. Having companions to draw him out during the journey made him real and human. His struggle to accept who he was, and to be civil with Zeus while getting revenge on Hades also provided intense conflict. All added together, he was a much more intense, interesting character.
6. In the original version, the gods are a mix of benevolent, all powerful, petty and jealous. People worship them anyway. In this version, mankind is at war with the gods, struggling for independence and freedom from their capricious ways. Perseus, Acrisius, Andromeda’s vain mother and her prideful father, the soldiers. The world is on the brink of change, making the setting a character we can all identify with instead of just a pretty backdrop to look at.
Okay, so there are six major differences I saw and each one was carefully designed to make the story stronger. To punch it up a few notches. To raise the bar.
Much as I love the old one, I do believe I appreciate and like the new one better. What did you notice? What did you like or dislike?
Guess which one?
