Action buries plot in 'Titans'

Sound and fury: Liam Neeson stars as Zeus in the action-heavy 'Wrath of the Titans.' (Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Wrath of the Titans is a hot mess of warring gods and a cyclops or three.

No more than five minutes go by without a fiery explosion. The audience never gets a chance to recover from the last mighty blast, or an attack by an overbearing fiend, to care about the characters.

Somewhere amid the mind-numbing barrage of action sequences, there's a story based on Greek mythology. But its essence is buried amid the clatter.

This all-action-all-the-time sequel to 2010's Clash of the Titans is a lot better than its predecessor because of a few key performances.

Several members of the impressive cast from the first film return, but a new action star is born with Rosamund Pike, who plays plucky warrior Queen Andromeda.

Also new to the franchise is Édgar Ramírez (HBO's Carlos) as the vicious Ares, who hates his father, Zeus (Liam Neeson), and his half-human brother, Perseus (Sam Worthington). Bill Nighy joins the cast as Hephaestus, a fallen god who falls with finality too soon.

He brings much-needed comic zest to a film that lumbers with so many serious, bellowing performances.

Neeson, Worthington and Ralph Fiennes as Hades reprise their Titan roles in this reboot, set a decade after the first film, in which Perseus defeated the monstrous Kraken.

Now widowed, Perseus is living as a fisherman and raising his son, Helius (John Bell). But upheaval lurks when he's approached by Zeus for help.

Apparently, humanity isn't as devoted to worshiping the gods as they were, and the pantheon is in danger of losing its immortality. Armageddon looms.

Perseus initially avoids entering the fray, but soon he's thrust into a struggle involving Hades and Ares, who have joined forces and captured Zeus, aiming to siphon off his godly powers.

Though the special effects are sharper than those in Clash of the Titans, the dialogue is equally uninspired.

Nuances of jealousy, resentment and revenge are lost in the thuddingly dull screenplay.

Watching Perseus ride off on winged Pegasus, it's hard not to long for a similar escape from Titans' relentless, blustery wrath.

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