- Joined
- Jul 3, 1997
- Messages
- 66,702
- Real Name
- Ronald Epstein
What can I say? I love 3D! From the moment I began watching 3D content in my home I quickly discovered that I needed more content. I suspect that those of you just purchasing your first 3D hardware will acquire the same ferocious appetite. That's why I became the HTF 3D ADDICT. I personally love images that pop off the screen and come inches away from your face without becoming overly gimmicky. However, I certainly appreciate the nature documentaries that offer beautiful depth and separation. These are not necessarily reviews of the film themselves. I am not going to concentrate on story or supplements -- you can find the 2D reviews elsewhere on this forum. My job is to let you know exactly what kind of 3D experience to expect from the titles that are being released. As I will be receiving a handful of new product from the studios expect to see more title coverage.
WRATH OF THE TITANS
Studio: Warner Bros.
Product Release: June 26, 2012
Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Running Time: 99 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
ON A SCALE 0-5
Overall 3D Presentation Rating: 4
3D Separation: 4
3D In Yo' Face Factor: 0
Kraken open a beer and enjoy!
Preparing myself to review Wrath of the Titans was like
preparing for a bad homework assignment that one would
hope to find any excuse not to do. After all, this is the
sequel to Clash of the Titans, which was poorly received
by critics in 2010 and then had the misfortune of becoming
the poster child for the worst post-unconverted 3D film ever
made.
Going into my review of Wrath of the Titans, I knew history
could very well be repeating itself once more. Once again,
here was a film that was not critically well received and
whose 3D was done entirely in postproduction.
However, once you actually sit in your favorite home theater
chair and begin to take in this film, you find something rather
remarkable has happened. This time around, there seems to
be a sense of a coherent storyline. The pacing is better thanks
to a seemingly endless string of action scenes and outstanding
effects that makes the film's 98 minutes seem well-timed.
Wrath of the Titans picks up 10 years after the first film. Since
defeating the Kraken, Perseus (Sam Worthington), the half-human
son of Zeus (Liam Neeson), lives as a simple fisherman bringing
up a family. It has become a time where people have stopped
praying to the Gods, and as such, their work has become undone.
It is these faithless times that have allowed Hades (Ralph Fiennes)
and Ares (Édgar Ramírez) to join forces and imprison Zeus while
they unleash Kronos to destroy the remaining Gods.
When Perseus witnesses the demons that have been unleashed
on earth, he has no choice but to take action. He joins Queen
Andromeda (Rosamund Pike) and Poseidon's son Agenor (Toby
Kebbell) in an effort to reach the underworld and save his father.
Normally, I would be totally turned off by a film such as this that
relies mostly on its special effects to tell a story. However, in this
case, it's obvious that a considerable amount of effort went into
making the effects work look believable, and as such, this film soars
as being the perfect popcorn flick that is enhanced greatly in 3D.
Yes, the 3D looks pretty darn good here, and that's something to
be said for a project the studio decided to upconvert rather than
film natively in the format. In fact, I would describe Wrath of the
Titans as being a mostly satisfying in-screen 3D experience thanks
to a well-defined level of depth that allows a lot of space for objects
(dirt, rocks, ashes and fire embers) to float and fly amongst the action
on screen. Overhead shots of Pegasus flying above the clouds, or
a nosedive shot into the chasms of the earth towards the underworld
look very impressive. I also found Perseus's battle with a winged
2-headed Chimera to be incredibly fun to watch with its added
dimensionality (though its frantic pacing forced my eyes to readjust
several times). Unfortunately, some of the darker scenes inside the
labyrinth and underworld lend to taking the viewer completely out of
the immersive experience (which I find to be a normal occurrence).
In the above paragraph, I described Wrath of the Titans to be a
mostly-satisfying in-screen 3D experience. That is true. Just don't
expect anything to venture beyond the confines of your display,
however. While there are a multitude of objects thrown forward,
none of it projects itself at the audience. Ghosting is not an issue
here whatsoever and I doubt anyone will experience any type of
double-imaging while watching this presentation.
The transfer looks wonderful. The video encode is flawless giving
great attention to detail without any signs of artifacts. Colors look
stable throughout, flesh tones are well balanced, and black levels
are deep. What I personally found to be a bit odd was the director's
decision to give the desert scenes a washed-out look to them. To
me, it looks rather overdone.
Be prepared to nail down the fixtures with this powerhouse 5.1
DTS-MA soundtrack that will test the limits of your subwoofer
and its potential impact for creating cracks in your ceiling and
walls. Battles with Cyclops, Minotaurs and other beasties are
relayed to the viewer with tremendous force thanks to the amount
underlying LFE activity. The rears do an excellent job of
supporting the film's effects that effectively pan across the
channels, making this a wholly-immersive experience to the viewer.
Dialogue remains crisp and intelligible, never getting overwhelmed
by the chaos happening around it.
Wrath of the Titans arrives as a 3-Disc (3D Blu-ray+2D Blu-ray
+DVD+Ultraviolet) combo packaged in lenticular cardboard
casing. Both the 3D and 2D Blu-ray feature a Maximum
Movie Mode that allows you to control your destiny and
choose one of two unique experiences: The Path of Men
or The Path of The Gods. The DVD includes a set of
deleted scenes.
CONCLUSION
While not perfect, Wrath of the Titans rises to the occasion
of being a better film than the original. The post-converted
3D is actually quite good, making the argument of purchasing
the more expensive version more plausible (if you are considering
either).
Images are for illustrative purpose only not representative of the picture quality of this disc.
Equipment
LG 60PX950 THX Certified 3D display
Oppo BDP-93 3D Blu-ray Player
Denon 3311CI Receiver
Atlantic Technology H-PAS AT-1 fronts, 4400 center; 4200 rear speakers
SV Sound Subwoofer
