Here’s another fantasy film not to waste your time on: the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans, starring some guy named Sam along with Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. How do big stars like Neeson and Fiennes wind up in a turkey like this?
I don’t suppose the Perseus story is as well-known today as it was when I was a kid at Y Camp, and the counselor told the story over the campfire and gave us all the chills. But you’d think a story that’s stuck around for some 3,500 years wouldn’t need too much improvement. After all, Perseus had great adventures; and we can look up at the night sky and see constellations named after characters in this story–Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, and Perseus himself.
But, no–not good enough for Hollywood! They “improved” the Perseus story by adding a whole bunch of computer effects, crazy architecture that looks more like one of Harry Potter’s nightmares than it looks like ancient Greece, and a kind of post-modern and utterly unedifying spin on the mythology. There is something going on in this muddled screenplay that is insulting both to religion and to humanism. I guess that’s what happens when you mix theology with cocaine.
So, we have yet another example of how difficult it is to create a really satisfying fantasy. Then again, Hollywood these days is having difficulties creating anything that satisfies.
P.S.–In the most annoying scene in the movie, Perseus jazzes up a swordfight by jumping eight feet into the air and doing the usual kung-fu movie somersaults. Aw, gimme a break!
You got that right. Hollywood is pathetic with lack of talent, creativity and even decency. That is why I almost never watch one of their so called
productions. Same reason that I do not watch TV. People ask what I do for entertainment; well, I have an excellent copy of the Scriptures, and there is always something new and exciting in that book.
Most folks don’t have a clue that to be creative one must become more like their Creator. Hollywood is no longer fertil ground for movie making; they have forgotten their Creator. That’s a warning to anyone who wants to be a writer! It’s in the Bible: “Without Him one can do ZERO!”
Well, Dorothy, I’m glad you’ve read my books! So I know your comment doesn’t apply to them. I write my fantasies based on a Biblical view of reality, and I write them in God’s service, hoping to move my readers to know Him better.
Thank you, Erlene! My schedule to a “T”! If there were no other books, we’d still have books that address science, poetry, history, health (including diet!), medicine, gardening, you name it, right there in the Word of the omniscient (notice the word for science in that adjective), all-knowing God. I just have to shout, “Hallelujah!”
And I say AMEN!
And nearly 6 years later, things haven’t improved:
https://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2018/03/10/dont-waste-your-money-oprah-winfreys-new-movie-a-wrinkle-in-time-hammered-by-critics/
I would walk a mile out of my way to avoid anything with Oprah in it.
How about the ballot box if her ego is big enough to run for President against Trump?
The thought that comes to mind is a paraphrase of scripture; people seem to prefer the lie over the truth. They want their movies to reflect their desires.