Let me get this out of the way immediately: ‘Clash of the Titans’ is a good action film.

It is visually stunning and available in 3D (like everything nowadays), has a strong cast full of well-rehearsed actors and grueling back-to-back epic battle scenes. It depicts man’s struggle against the gods in great detail, from the top of Olympus to the pits of the underworld, and the last time I saw such gorgeous landscapes or heard such glorious music was during the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy. Warner Bros. Pictures has spared no expense in making it a fantastic film.

In ‘Clash of the Titans’, Sam Worthington plays Perseus, the son of the Greek god Zeus (Liam Neeson) and of a mortal woman. When Perseus’ mortal family is slain by Hades (Ralph Fiennes) during the god’s retaliation against the city of Argos, the demigod vows revenge against the lord of the underworld. To defeat him, Perseus goes on a quest to find a way to kill the gods’ most fearsome weapon – the Kraken. With an ever-dwindling troop of warriors at his side and the occasional gift from Zeus (always ready to assist his son), Perseus battles mythical creatures and demons alike in the most epic battle of the year.

Whew. Now that that’s over with, I can elaborate: I don’t consider this movie to be ‘Clash of the Titans.’ Yes, I’m that nerd that stays faithful to originals and spits on remakes, but even so, it felt like another movie altogether. To me, 2010’s ‘Titans’ seemed like it was just ‘Terminator Salvation’ in disguise – instead of robots, guns and Sam Worthington yelling that he’s not a robot, it’s mythical creatures, swords and Worthington yelling that he’s not a god. Replace all the urban dystopia with panoramic Greek landscapes and you have a new movie.

The plot of the movie has been changed, which again makes it feel like a different movie altogether. In the original, Perseus went on his mission to save the princess Andromeda (played by Alexa Davalos in the remake) from the Kraken because she would be his bride. 2010’s ‘Titans’ has the character out for revenge and little else. They may as well have written Andromeda out entirely, since her only significance to the plot is that she’s offered up to the Kraken. The spirit guide Io (Gemma Arterton) seems to take the place of Andromeda’s character in Perseus’ party. None of this actually takes away from the movie, however; it’s just a bit extra.

My only real peeve with the movie is that the dialogue is all modern even though the film is set in ancient Greece. It’s hard to feel like you’re immersed in mythical times when Perseus says “Let’s go kill that b**ch,” referring to Medusa. However, the inclusion of the owl prop from the original movie was a nice tease to fans that grew up with the film like I have.

As far as remakes are concerned, ‘Clash’ lives up to expectations. It’s been updated for a more modern movie-going crowd that expects huge flashy battles, a single nefarious villain to despise, typical love stories, and 3D glasses at every show. The casting is excellent – Neeson is a fantastic Zeus, Worthington adds some necessary badass to Perseus, and each character, be they man, god, or otherwise, is well-versed and convincing. It’s a good movie and it’s worth watching, but anyone who has seen the original will probably feel like the two films are not related except by name.

I would watch it again as long as there’s a non-3D version, since it’s hard for me to enjoy a film while wearing the ‘gimmick goggles’. Grade: B