Wrath of the Titans

LITTLE ROCK — In their own way, the filmed adventures of the Greek gods have long been a standard for special effects wizardry.

In 1963, the stop-motion animations of Ray Harryhausen thrilled audiences with the hydra and the skeleton warriors in Jason and the Argonauts; and Harryhausen was again behind the effects in 1981’s original Clash of the Titans, the film upon which the successful 2010 remake was based.

Naturally, this newest Greek gods-at-war picture relies heavily on a host of CGI effects - as does nearly every action flick that comes down the pipeline these days, whether they have to depict multi-armed flaming warlords or not - but instead of cramming the screen with unnecessary flying rubble and pointless explosions, Ben Davis, the cinematographer, and the multitudes of visual artists and art directors, have devised an effects-laden film that at times is almost artistically inspiring.

Which is a good thing, because the story - which involves a brotherly war waged between Zeus (Liam Neeson) and Hades (Ralph Fiennes), and Zeus’ sons Ares (Edgar Ramirez) and Perseus (Sam Worthington) - leaves a bit to be desired. As the film opens, widower Perseus has left the battlefield and the giant Kraken carcass from Clash of the Titans far behind him, and is attempting to raise his only son, Helius (John Bell), in a small fishing village.

But unbeknownst to him, Hades and Ares have joined forces to imprison Zeus deep in the underworld in order to siphon off his power to bring the evil Kronos back to life and remain immortal. It’s up to demigod Perseus to join forces with Poseidon’s demigod son Agenor (Toby Kebbell) and beautiful Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike) to track down the initial architect of the underworld and enter via the secret gates to free Zeus in time to stop Kronos from destroying everything in his giant, flaming path.

Director Jonathan Liebesman, working from a script by Dan Mazeau and David Johnson, keeps things humming along at a frantic pace, so much so that you never get a chance to catch your breath and question any of the momentous leaps of logic, time and space that happen with alarming frequency. About the closest thing the movie has to a quiet scene of expository reflection involves a frenzied Greek army wrapping flame-retardant gauze around their faces and arms to withstand the fireball attack of volcanic Kronos.

The acting, featuring more impressive beards than a Bon Iver show, is appropriately godlike and grandiose and, one would imagine, less a problem for a genial blowhard such as Neeson (“Being half-human makes you stronger than a god, not weaker!”) than the typically more reserved Fiennes (“It has begun!”).

But the real star of the vehicle remains the effects, which go beyond spectacular and imaginative to become important atmospheric storytelling unto themselves.Clearly, it’s a film that knows exactly what it is and to whom it’s meant to appeal.

To paraphrase Zeus, that knowledge only makes it stronger.

Wrath of the Titans 86 Cast: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Edgar Ramirez, Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy, Danny Huston Director: Jonathan Liebesman Rating: PG-13, for intense sequences of fantasy violence and action Running time: 99 minutes