Film File - Wrath Of The Titans

For eagle-eyed Irish holidaymakers familiar with the sun-kissed Canary Islands from their many vacations there, many scenes in this movie will be vaguely familiar. To recreate ancient Greece, the filmmakers located to Tenerife for its stunning contrasts, including the dazzling blue sea, dusty desert landscapes and the wide open spaces to stage a massive battle in the middle of a volcano. The coastal resort of Abades was chosen as the bustling fishing village that is home to Perseus and his son, Helius, and the site of the Chimera's violent attack. Close to Abades, Los Desriscaderos served as the location for the exterior of the intricate labyrinth leading to Tartarus, as well as several scenes within the volcanic national park of Mount Teide. And as a backdrop to a number of sea scenes, the Los Gigantes cliffs provided a suitably magisterial setting. In the film, Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson star once again as gods at war under the direction of Jonathan Liebesman in this latest chapter of the Titans' franchise. A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus (Worthington) - the son of Zeus (Neeson) - is attempting to live quietly as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year-old son, Helius (John Bell). However, unbeknownst to him, a struggle for supremacy has been raging between the gods that will come to threaten his idyllic life. Dangerously weakened by humanity's lack of devotion, the gods are losing hold of their immortality, as well as control over the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers, Hades (Fiennes) and Poseidon (Danny Huston). The triumvirate had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the gloomy abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous Underworld. Perseus is unable to ignore his true calling as Hades, along with Zeus' godly son, Ares (Edgar Ramirez), switches loyalties and makes a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus. The Titan's strength grows as Zeus' remaining godly powers are siphoned - and hell is unleashed on earth. Enlisting the help of the warrior Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), Poseidon's demi-god son Agenor (Toby Kebbell), and fallen god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), Perseus bravely embarks on a treacherous quest into the Underworld to rescue Zeus, overthrow the Titans and save mankind. As you do. Its predecessor, 'Clash Of The Titans'. released back in 2010, was one of the worst films of that entire year, but still ended up making $493m at the worldwide box-office. Clearly, there's a big market out there for ancient swords and sandals epics - even if they lack anything resembling a decent plot and assured acting. The good news this time around is that 'Wrath' is much better….but that's not really saying a lot. The story takes that old Hollywood chestnut, the gunfighter-mercenary with the heart of gold who just wants to be left alone in peaceful retirement who is forced back into combat readiness to save the town/world/mankind. With Perseus having defeated Kraken in 'Clash', he now needs to man up for a bout with the evil Hades to prevent the world from tipping over into complete destruction. Like all good heroes, Perseus finds a few willing accomplices to help him in this battle against overwhelming odds. Opting to back-pedal the mythology to manageable bite-size chunks, 'Wrath' is a pacy actioner with a few standout moments - especially navigating the labyrinth protecting the underworld city of Tartarus. Along the dangerous journey, the brave band are led by Hephaestus (Nighy), a wonderfully wry former god who's fallen from grace - and not a million miles from the raddled rocker he played in 'Love, Actually'. The stars of the film - Neeson, Fiennes and Worthington - make a decent fist of their roles, despite occasionally looking like they're phoning it in. Mostly though, 'Wrath Of The Titans' delivers the action goods with aplomb, courtesy of director Liebesman, veteran of 'Battle LA'. Frothy stuff for Easter and the perfect accompaniment to chocolate eggs.