The folks at Warner Brothers Lebanon were nice enough to invite me to the premiere of  “Wrath Of The Titans”, the sequel to 2010’s “Clash Of The Titans”. If you’re familiar with the first movie, you’ll know that the meat of the picture lies in its action scenes and visual effects. At the screening I attended, the movie was shown in 2D, and perhaps it’s the reason why some of  these effects looked so neat (I bet the 3D version looks murky and blurry). Of the movie, at least I can say that no one was tampering with a classic. The 1981 original had some terrific stop motion work (thanks to Ray Harryhausen and his wonderful imagination), but the story itself was weak and didn’t make much sense. Ditto the 2010 version, which left a lot to be desired, in spite of a great cast led by Sam Worthington, as Perseus. The new film, this time around directed by Jonathan Liebesman, introduces some new concepts and characters, while essentially following the same trend.Worthington, who made the first “Titans” film worth checking out, reprises his role as Perseus, now a fisherman with a son. The plot thickens (wow!) when Hades decides to capture his brother Zeus and unleash hell on earth. Or something like that (I was too busy wondering if Zeus’s beard was fake or real). Anyway, it’s up to Perseus to gather a group of warriors, grab some weapons, and kick some Gods ass. You know the drill. Key roles are again filled by a first rate cast; Liam Neeson is fun to watch as Zeus, and Ralph Fiennes makes an eerily effective Hades. Even Bill Nighy shows up here, playing a deranged weapon maker. If nothing else, part of the fun is watching these actors together in one movie. But the main point here is that “Wrath Of The Titans” has a vigorous and spectacular story to tell, which is why it’s so frustrating that the movie nearly drowns itself in a sea of confusion. The film has some epic encounters, but for the most part it’s cheesy (I won’t even mention the disastrous dialogue). What’s more, the finale is weak, even within the constraints of a tale that is meant to be continued (I expect one more sequel, at least). Overall, “Wrath Of The Titans” isn’t a bad movie, but it also isn’t terribly good. It’s the kind of “easily digested” entertainment I expect to find opening worldwide this time of year.

Rating: 2/4