Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
To win the right to marry his love, the beautiful princess Andromeda, and fulfil his destiny, half-God-half-mortal Perseus must complete various tasks including taming Pegasus, capturing Medusa's head and battling the feared Kraken.
Clash of the Titans (1981) is a beloved old-school mythological adventure with Ray Harryhausen's iconic stop-motion effects as its crown jewel. The plot faithfully adapts Greek mythology with a classic quest structure — competent but episodic and sometimes clunky. Acting is functional at best; Laurence Olivier's Zeus is theatrical but the leads are wooden. Cinematography is serviceable for its era. Novelty earns a solid score largely due to Harryhausen's singular stop-motion artistry — Medusa, the Kraken, Calibos, and the mechanical owl Bubo give the film a handcrafted, one-of-a-kind visual identity that no other film replicates. The ending delivers a satisfying if conventional resolution.