Travel Light

Have you seen it? I did yesterday. The digital version.

I already liked Sam Worthington as an Avatar, but lesser as the demigod Perseus in the movie, Clash of the Titans. His role as Perseus was not as intense. He was just an angry guy who refused to acknowledge his godlike origins and plans to kill Hades on his own after his adopting family died on the sea. While all nice things can be said of the movie’s visual effects and actors (Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes played major god roles), the story has a major flaw – the story itself.

The movie is totally different from the Greek mythology. If you’re a huge fan of Olympus and have not seen the 80′s movie version like me, you’re bound to a series of disappointments. (But you know how things are like these days. Everyone is entitled to re-write about anything under the guiding light of creative license and some people wearing mens ties who can pull strings. If you want a movie faithful to the story of its dead author, get Peter Jackson.)

Clash of the Titans was basically written fanfic style. What if we get Io to babysit Perseus? What if we kill Danae? What if we put Djinns (originally part of Islamic folklore now depicted as sand-demons) into the story? What if Pegasus would just fly from the sky instead of coming out of Medusa’s bloody head? What if Acrisius (Perseus’ step dad in the movie) was recruited by Hades? What if we dress up Zeus like a knight of the round table? That was how the story’s plot was developed and screwed Greek mythology the way we knew it.

Perseus’ True Origins

Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danaë – daughter of Acrisius, King of Argos. Acrisius was desperate to have a son so he consulted the oracle at Delphi, who warned him that he would one day be killed by his daughter’s son. Danaë was childless and to keep her that way, he had her in his palace courtyard. Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold, impregnated her and soon she bore the child Perseus.

King Acrisius cast the two into the sea in a wooden chest fearing the gods retribution should he kill both mother and child. They were washed ashore on the island of Seriphos, and fisherman named Dictys received them and raised Perseus like his own son. The brother of Dictys was Polydectes, the king of the island.