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Really Surprised!

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

This film begins with a young woman named "Danae" (Vida Taylor) and her infant son "Perseus" (Harry Hamlin) being imprisoned within a small floating vessel and then cast into the sea by "King Acrisius" (Donald Houston) of Argos who was angry with her for being impregnated by Zeus (Laurence Olivier). Needless to say, Zeus becomes livid over this and orders the temporary release of one of the Titans--known as the Kraken--to destroy Argos and King Acrisius in the process. In the meantime, the floating vessel bearing Danae and her son arrive at Seraphos where Perseus grows up into a man. Unfortunately for him, while he has the favor of Zeus, "Calibos" (Neil McCarthy) the son of the goddess "Thetis" (Maggie Smith), has committed a crime that so infuriates Zeus that he has him turned into a monster that is so vile and ugly that his fiancé "Princess Andromeda" (Judi Bowker) refuses to have anything to do with him. This, in turn, enrages Thetis who decides to take it out on both Andromeda and Perseus and there is only so much that the gods of Olympus can do to help them. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was one of those movies which seemed tailored for a younger audience even though it had a couple of brief scenes involving some nudity. That being said, while I would have preferred a more serious type of plot I still found this film to be worth the time spent watching it and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Maggie Smith has won more awards and nominations than anyone else I know, so it's a shame to find her giving the most amateurish performance of her career in this movie. Admittedly, she was pressed hard by an incredibly woeful line-up led by Sir Laurence Olivier of all people. To add insult to injury, the hero is wet and the heroine offers little more than the charm of youth. This general thespic malaise even extends to Burgess Meredith. Admittedly, his is easily the most capable performance in the whole show, but why didn't he seize the opportunity to turn his role into a comic character? Admittedly, the whole movie improves truly dramatically in its last half-hour, but by that time all this really good stuff is totally wasted because most of the audience has frittered away. The preview theatre was packed to the doors at the start. Two hours later, at the end of the movie, there were just over fifty of us left!

You wonder why this stinks so much , I mean, Haussen's "Jason and the Argonauts" was older, maybe less accomplished, and magical. This thing is a groan fest. Olivier, Bloom, Meredith - these are superlative actors, why are they in this thing? It's not an Actor's movie - the point is to tell a story, entertain kids, and kids don't need to know Olivier is Zeus, just get on with the action. But the action seemed so laboured, totally lacking the flair and intrigue that marked Ray's earlier films. Were they trying too hard to make an epic in the great style with all this talent? Then they should not have had all these toy monsters flying around, it's an imbalance in genres, and as for that owl, you just want to shoot it, honestly.

King Acrisius of Argos sends his daughter and her son Perseus off in a wooden coffin. An angry Zeus (Laurence Olivier) releases the Kraken to destroy Argos. Perseus is saved and grows up in safety. Calibos is the son of sea goddess Thetis (Maggie Smith) engaged to Princess Andromeda (Judi Bowker). However Calibos hunted Zeus's sacred flying horses and he is transformed into a monstrous satyr. In revenge, Thetis leaves Perseus (Harry Hamlin) to chance abandoned in Joppa while cursing Andromeda. Perseus is aided by an old poet named Ammon (Burgess Meredith). Zeus sends Perseus a helmet of invisibility from Athena (Susan Fleetwood), a sword from Aphrodite (Ursula Andress), and a shield from Hera (Claire Bloom). He captures Pegasus and answers the riddle of Andromeda breaking her curse. However Thetis is insulted at the wedding and commands that Andromeda be sacrificed to the Kraken.It is the end of Ray Harryhausen's era as stop motion photography fades in light of the new computer technology. It is the last and finest example of his work. This has great old fashion actors doing their best to give this movie substance. The story is a little bit complicated but the expositions do a good job. The movie just works. It's high adventure on a grand scale like old Hollywood.