Clash of the Titans Blu-ray 3D Review

Louis Leterrier and Warner Bros.’ Clash of the Titans remake was the first live-action film to hit Blu-ray 3D this past summer. It did so with a caveat: the release was exclusive to Germany. Early Blu-ray 3D adopters in North America spent the extra dollars to import it but now Warner has unsurprisingly included it in their first wave of North American Blu-ray 3D releases for November 16, 2010.

Sam Worthington (Avatar) bore the weight of Titans on his shoulders stepping into the role of Perseus, a demigod whose fate is to sever the head of Medusa and use it to defeat the mighty Kraken sea beast. Unlike the original Clash of the Titans where Perseus was a more sympathetic character easy to root for, Worthington’s Perseus is driven by revenge after Hades (Ralph Fiennes) kills his family while attacking Greek soldiers who were fresh off toppling a massive statue of Zeus (Liam Neeson). This act begins a war between the gods and man and by happenstance Perseus’ thirst for vengeance aligns with the city of Argos’ mission to stop the Kraken.

In this revised narrative, Andromeda is basically a prop strung out on chains as fleshy Kraken food and little else. Perseus could care less about saving her as the love that drives him in the original has been completely replaced by anger and revenge. He does, of course, but only for his own personal motivation and gain. That’s a hard hero to stand behind, one that hopefully embraces his humanity more in the planned sequel.

3D Presentation

Warner Bros. took a lot of heat for their rushed theatrical post-production conversion of Clash of the Titans to 3D. I did not personally see the film theatrically as my first viewing was the 2D Blu-ray version. From what I read it suffered from inconsistent 3D effects and some horrific layering that made some scenes look like a grade school collage of elements.

To Warner’s credit they rushed back to the conversion and made some improvements for the Blu-ray 3D release. They didn’t have to so it’s admirable that the critical backlash was received and something was done about it.

Because Clash of the Titans is a post-production conversion there is only so much you can do with it. The high definition 1080p raw elements are an equal match to the 2D version, a very digital image lacking any grain but suffering from some obvious edge enhancement at times. Remarkably the image quality is as equally punchy in 3D as 2D which delivers strong colors, contrast and detail.

Some of the inconsistency and excessive layering I read about in the theatrical review remains on Blu-ray 3D. I found those issues minor and inconsequential next to the difficulty in following the action scenes. Fast-moving action is hard enough to keep track of in 2D. In 3D, especially post-production 3D, watching the giant scorpions attack, Perseus dodge the Kraken or winged Hades minions harass humans struggled to remain focused. In these scenes the 2D version has the decided edge.

The identical 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix included on the 2D Blu-ray version appears here as well. It’s a solid mix that will get the heart pumping more for the use of sound effects (love that Kraken’s roar) than the understated and unmemorable score.

Beyond the Feature

This is our first look at how Warner Bros. will handle Blu-ray 3D packaging and the outcome is good but not great. A slipcover sleeve includes a lenticular 3D image of the cover art while the Blu-ray case has the 3D logo at the top. I still prefer Sony’s clear case and two-level imagery.

Three is a popular number with this release as it includes three discs: the first is the original Blu-ray release, the second the 3D presentation (with oddly black-and-white disc art) and the third is the DVD and a digital copy. There are no bonus features on the 3D disc as all are on the previously available Blu-ray.

Those bonus features include Maximum Movie Mode with the artisans who made the film chiming in on their work and efforts; 10 Focus Points which are a means of watching the Maximum Movie Mode segments directly from a menu; an Alternate Ending that sees Perseus confront his father Zeus; An Action Hero for the Ages, roughly 8 minutes dedicated to Sam Worthington preparing for his role; and nearly 20 minutes of Deleted Scenes in various stages of effects completion and the only bonus feature not offered in high definition.

Clash of the Titans is an “OK” action film with an appropriately “OK” 3D transfer. The good news is Warner has improved upon the theatrical mess and made it watchable enough on Blu-ray 3D to actually mostly enjoy. Neither the 3D transfer nor movie leaves much of a lasting impression so you’ll likely be looking elsewhere after a single play-through.

– Dan Bradley

Shop for Clash of the Titans on Blu-ray 3D for a discounted price at Amazon.com (November 16, 2010 release date).

TheHDRoom may be paid a small commission for any services or products ordered through select links on this page.

TheHDRoom