A few weeks ago, at the Paramount Summer Film Classic screening of "Clash of the Titans", Director Robert Rodriguez previewed for us the above trailer. The film is set to premier on Netflix later this week, but we were inviter to the World Premier last night at the Paramount here in Austin. The audience was packed with kids and people who had worked on the film and the house was raucous. The film was shot in Austin and the main contributors are members of the Rodriguez family.
The film is the fifth in the franchise and it does not stray far from the formulas that came before it. Two young kids get involved in a spy plot because their parents are spies. They accidentally release a video game virus that combines with a program partially developed by Dad that will allow the designer to control all electronic mechanisms. The become spies themselves and fight back using the tech that has been given to their parents by the spy agency they work for.
One of the reasons that the audience at the "Clash of the Titans" was specifically invited is because the film is filled with Ray Harryhausen images, including sword wielding skeletons and crab like robots. This is a lot of fun and reinforces the fantasy elements as much as the gadgets do. The story is thin, like a kids film is likely to be, but it does have some values about family that are certainly admirable. It is clear this is a movie for families to enjoy together. The fact that parents were at the show last night, who had grown up watching the original films, and they were now bringing their own children to the series is part of the reason Rodriguez has returned to the stories.
We had a great time and the movie is light and breezy, so go ahead and stream it when it drops this week.
