Jim's Go or Don't Go... This time I actually went

We usually can count on one hand the number of times in a year that we actually go to the movies. However, my pastor wanted to see Clash of the Titans, and asked if I would to join him in some male bonding. I guess we both knew that our wives would not go anywhere near this movie.

I used to be somewhat of an astronomy buff, and I took Miss Varley's mythology class in 9th grade, so I'm roughly familiar with this film's subject matter. But since I spent far more time goofing around in class with my other nerd friends than paying attention, I can't verify how true this film is to actual Greek mythology. I don't think that it matters that much. Let's face it, you should really only be so much of a nerd.

Clash of the Titans is the story of Perseus, the illegitimate son of Zeus and a human queen. Raised by loving human parents, he is unaware of his partial godly lineage, and is perfectly content in his life helping with the family fishing business. In the current state of the world, humans have generally grown indifferent toward the gods. This raises concern on Mt. Olympus, and Hades, the brother of Zeus, decides to stir things up on earth in hopes of getting the people to turn back to the gods. However, when his family becomes collateral damage as a result of one of Hades's tirades, Perseus takes it pers-onal. And after finding out that he is a demigod, sets out to destroy Hades and his pet attack monster, the Kraken.

I love it when an action movie comes out swinging, and Clash of the Titans was not a letdown: within the first 10 minutes, winged, demon pterodactyls were gobbling up the soldiers of Argos. Cool. In his pursuit of Hades, Perseus encounters giant scorpions, creepy witches and of course, the dreaded Medusa. And let's not forget what you wait the entire movie to hear ... "Release the Kraken!" Well the Kraken got released, and I was not disappointed.

As our president would say, let me be clear about this; Clash of the Titans is not a great drama filled with meaningful, life-changing dialogue. It's an average action flick, with bits of talking that connect the better-than-average fight scenes. This movie will work best if you just turn off your brain and sit back and relax. This is definitely a guy flick, so the ladies may want to skip it. However, it's virtually void of anything offensive, and even has an honorable message: no matter how much we fight it, we all need help from a Higher Power. I don't recommend making Zeus your higher power, but I didn't say it was perfect.

From what I hear, skip the 3D version - it wasn't filmed in 3D, and it just doesn't add anything. Since going to a movie is such an expensive proposition, you may not actually want to "go," but it's worth a rental. I say "Go."