When Titans Ruled The Earth: Clash & Wrath of the Titans LIMITED EDITION 4K UHD Review

I recently picked up Arrow Video’s impressive When Titans Ruled the Earth 4K set which features the Clash of the Tians remake from 2010 and its superior sequel Wrath of the Titans from 2012.

Over the weekend I rewatched both movies and the special features so I thought I would review the collection. Sadly, this set doesn’t feature the original Clash of the Titans so for that alone, this loses a star. But let’s look at the two movies and see how they look and sound in 4K.

Clash of the Titans (2010)

Plot: In Clash of the Titans, Perseus (Sam Worthington), son of a god but raised as a man, is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson), king of the gods, and unleash hell on earth. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, can Perseus accept his power and defy fate to create his own destiny?

Review: Although it was met with mostly underwhelming reviews when it was released in 2010, audiences still flocked to see Clash of the Titans and it made just under $500 million at the international box office, so it’s no wonder a sequel got the greenlight.

It has a truly epic cast featuring the likes of Liam Neeson as Zeus, Ralph Fiennes as Hades, Mads Mikkelsen as Draco and Sam Worthington as our “hero” Perseus.

Sam Worthington’s iteration of Perseus is worlds apart from Harry Hamlin who brought a good-natured naiveté to the character whereas Worthington’s version is stubborn and not particularly sympathetic. He is offered great gifts by his father Zeus and he spurns them as he wants to make it on his own as a man rather than the son of a God.

Aside from that the plot is the same as the original with Perseus, the son of Zeus, getting caught in a war between gods and is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), the god of the underworld. With nothing left to lose, Perseus leads a band of warriors on a dangerous quest to prevent Hades from overthrowing the king of the gods and laying waste to Earth.

The visual effects are mostly impressive but I really enjoyed the music score; it’s not as whimsical as the original but it has a more modern and slightly somber feel that works perfectly for this update.

There is plenty of monster punching action with the Kraken no longer done stop motion, but is now a CG creation. It actually does have a sense of scale; the only problem is it’s all over too soon and is very anti-climactic. It’s funny how Medusa the Gorgon in this version is far less convincing than the stop-motion one from 1981; she just looks like a CG creation and is one of the weakest effects in the film. Some of the characters and dialogue are a bit bland too with nothing being all that memorable and you’ll feel little emotion through the entire picture.

Also, why the Bubo hate? He was awesome in the original and provided a few laughs for the kiddies. You could have just updated him and made him help guide the way in less comic fashion.

Overall, despite some impressive special effects and a great music score, Clash of the Titans leaves you feeling a bit empty and is rather forgettable. Sam Worthington feels miscast as Perseus and isn’t especially appealing.

Wrath of the Titans (2012)

Plot: Wrath of the Titans picks up ten years on from his heroic battle with the monstrous Kraken, with Perseus now living a quiet life by the sea with his young son. But war is raging between the gods and the Titans, and Perseus learns of a treacherous plan for world domination by his power-hungry uncle Hades and godly half-brother Ares (Édgar Ramírez). No longer able to ignore his calling, Perseus joins forces with warrior queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), Poseidon’s demigod son Agenor (Toby Kebbell) and fallen god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy) to enter the underworld, rescue the banished Zeus and overthrow the Titans once and for all.

Review: When Wrath came out in 2012 it was nowhere near as big a hit at the box office making only $305 million at the global box office and a 26% Rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes; it was hardly a failure though with plenty of moments to enjoy.

Set ten years after defeating the Kraken, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is living a quieter life as a fisherman and sole parent to his young son. Meanwhile, trouble is brewing on Mount Olympus: The gods are weakened by mankind’s lack of devotion, and they are losing control of the Titans and their leader, Kronos, whom they imprisoned in Tartarus long ago. When Zeus is betrayed by Ares and Hades and captured, Perseus leads a group to rescue him and save mankind from the ancient beings.

The biggest strength of this movie is that it isn’t a remake, so you could enjoy it as its own thing rather than comparing it to a beloved classic. Sam Worthington returns and is less stubborn this time around and his priority is keeping his son safe.

I think the visuals in this movie are superlative with some imaginative creatures and Kronos was very well realized where he looks genuinely massive.

I loved the idea that the Gods lose power when people stop praying to them which gives the story an added depth which was hinted at in first movie. Some have described this movie as bland, but I found this one surprisingly moving at the end and when Zeus passes away it was genuinely sad.

There are some fantastic action sequences in Wrath with Perseus battling giant cyclops and taking on the Minotaur one of the many highlights and the climactic battle scene against Kronos is awesome too.

Ares is a hateful villain played to perfection by Édgar Ramírez who is clearly relishing every moment. Then you have the always magnificent Ralph Fiennes returning as Hades except this time it’s his redemption tale.

Liam Neeson is so perfectly cast as Zeus and he brings the required gravitas for such a role; he underplays it as only he can when it could so easily have been over the top.

The music score is filled with epic choirs and is one of my favourite modern soundtracks with a memorable main theme.

Overall, Wrath of the Titans is an underrated fantasy gem with some impressive visuals, spectacular action sequences and an epic music score.

The Arrow 4K set for these movies is one of my favourites from this year:

2-DISC 4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• 4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray presentations in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of both films
• Original 5.1 DTS-HD MA surround audio for both films
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Illustrated collector’s book containing new writing by author and critic Guy Adams and film scholar Josh Nelson
• Double-sided fold-out posters for each film featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Joe Wilson
• Six postcard sized artcards
• Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Joe Wilson

DISC 1 – CLASH OF THE TITANS

• Scaling Mount Olympus, a brand new interview with producer Basil Iwanyk
• Sam Worthington is Perseus
• Zeus: Father of Gods and Men
• Enter the World of Hades
• Calibos: The Man Behind the Monster
• Tenerife: A Continent on an Island
• Scorpioch
• Actors and Their Stunts
• Wales: A Beautiful Scarred Landscape
• Bringing Medusa to Life
• Prepare for the Kraken!
• Sam Worthington: An Action Hero for the Ages featurette
• Alternate ending
• Deleted scenes
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery

DISC 2 – WRATH OF THE TITANS

• Unleashing the Beasts, a brand new interview with producer Basil Iwanyk
• Who Are the Titans?
• Hephaestus: God of Fire
• Lost in Tartarus’ Labyrinth
• Creatures of the Titans
• Path of Men (behind the scenes)
• Battling the Chimera
• Agenor: The Other Demi-God
• The Cyclops Fight
• Prison of the Titans
• Minotaur: The Human Nightmare
• The Heavens Raise Hell on Earth
• Deleted scenes
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery

Both films look near perfect although I found Clash looked a little strange at times during darkly lit scenes, however Wrath looked amazing. Both have HDR and the sound was faultless. The special features should keep you entertained for many hours, but the biggest let down is not having the original Clash in there.

Overall, When Titans Ruled The Earth: Clash & Wrath of the Titans is a must-have for fantasy fans as even despite the remake’s flaws, it’s still entertaining. I have a major soft spot for Wrath and it’s one of my favourite fantasy pictures. So, if you’re wondering if this is worth adding to your co0llection then the answer is a resounding YES.