This is probably not fair, but I am going to do it anyway. Over the weekend, as well as being riveted by the election coverage on the ABC, I also watched two other shows I was saving up. The first was my weekly dose of “The Street” on ABC2 which I had saved using Windows Media Center (to save Big Pond bandwidth if I used iView) and ignoring the bandwidth thing, Clash of the Titans downloaded using my PS3.

While the storylines couldn’t be further apart, it was the production values that caught my eye.
‘The Street’ (which I highly recommend), has brilliant writing, acting by well-established UK actors of the genre but most importantly, simplistic settings that do not detract from the storyline – which a reviewer would most likely label “gritty”.

Clash of the Titans on the other hand seems to be all over the place. The sets are overly gaudy and confusing, the storyline I am having trouble grasping, and the acting – even if it is Sam Worthington, a local boy in WA – seems to be wooden and forced.

Worse, the special effects are w-a-y over the top, almost as if they need a film in which to exist instead of the film being the drawcard, and the effects to enhance it. The one that especially springs to mind is the decapitation of Medusa which is overly long and truly horrible. I feel it could have been done much more effectively.

I guess the point I am making here is that you don’t need a gazillion $ budget, direct access to The Mill or Animal Logic and a superstar-in-the-making to make a gripping, entertaining and powerful drama.

I don’t doubt this critique will draw howls of protest from Titans fans (but I’ll guarantee not as many as my take on the last Star Trek which was utterly horrible).