A Tale of Two Sequels

I'm sure you've noticed that one of the big rages in Hollywood over the last few years has been sequels. It seems like there's always a "2" or "Part 3" or "Whatever 7" coming out. This past weekend, I saw two sequels, and thought I'd use this opportunity to stretch my reviewing muscles just a bit.

Wrath of the Titans

Wrath of the Titans is the sequel to the 2010 remake, Clash of the Titans, which is actually the first thing I ever really blogged about (in a column for the now defunct "Heckling from the Balcony," an article that can be found here). One of the things I've often said about the remake is that it really is a hideous abortion of a movie. If that's the case, then its sequel is a horribly botched abortion that should never have been attempted in the first place. I would love to give you a complete recap of how awful it is, but it couldn't hold my attention well enough for me to be able to tell you that. I can tell you that, just like Clash, the only good thing about Wrath are the visual effects, but the action scenes are just as muddled and incoherent, the acting might be even worse (Sam Worthington is a bad choice for a lead actor; he does have some talent, I've seen it in other movies where he's a supporting character, but he lacks both the necessary amounts of talent and charisma to carry a film himself), and the plot is just a mess. The only explanation for why Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes would come back to this series would have to involve what I can only assume is one hell of a paycheck. How a third installment in this series is already being written is beyond me.

American Reunion

Maybe it was the nostalgia, but I absolutely loved this movie. The first movie in the series since 2003's American Wedding (and the first to feature the entire cast since 2001's American Pie 2), I thought American Reunion featured the same perfect blend of humor and heart that has been the signature characteristic of the whole series. Not the most talented cast in the world, they still pull their jobs off well, being funny as hell in the comedy and convincing enough in the heart-warming aspects. Sure, the actual reunion is sort of given short shrift, only taking up the last fifteen minutes or so; it doesn't matter though, as the real reunion is between the characters that, if you're like me, you've grown up with, and that starts off right away. One of the themes of the movie is that life goes on and things change, but that it's still nice to be able to look back and fondly remember the past... and a fond look back is exactly what this movie is.