Word of Mouth: Back for Round 2 of ‘Titans’

When it comes to cinematic scapegoats, few movies have been hammered like 2010’s “Clash of the Titans.”

Even though the Warner Bros.Greek god drama grossed nearly $500 million worldwide, the film’s last-minute 3-D conversion, done to take advantage of higher stereoscopic ticket prices, sparked uncharacteristically blunt condemnations from industry leaders. DreamWorks Animation’s Jeffrey Katzenberg said the film’s hasty 3-D makeover “snookered” ticket buyers, while “Avatar” creator James Cameron said of the conversion, “There was no artistry to it whatsoever.”

The people behind Friday’s sequel,”Wrath of the Titans,”clearly feel that they have something to prove. Said Basil Iwanyk, who produced both “Titans” productions: “We heard your complaints.”

The first film’s director, Louis Leterrier, is out, replaced by Jonathan Liebesman (“Battle Los Angeles”). The production budget has been boosted (from $125 million to $150 million), costars Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes enjoy more screen time than in the original, the mythological beasts are bigger and meaner, the humor a bit broader. And most important, the 3-D alteration was not jammed through in the time it takes to plan and host a dinner party.

“We’ve worked really hard,” Liebesman said, “to make a better movie.”

For all the changes, “Wrath of the Titans” still faces formidable challenges at the box office.

It must fend off the second weekend of”The Hunger Games,”which opened to $152.5 million and is certain to retain the No. 1 spot. Audience tracking surveys suggest that “Wrath of the Titans,” thanks to interest from men, could open to as much as $50 million in its first three days — a solid start, but less than the first film’s $61.2-million debut. . Early reviews so far have been better than for the first “Titans” film, a key ingredient — but not as important as fanboy word of mouth — if the sequel is to have staying power.

“Wrath of the Titans” picks up several years after “Clash of the Titans”ended. Having defeated the sea beast Kraken in the original film, the half-human, half-god Perseus (Sam Worthington) faces challenges a bit more vexing than parenting his young son. He initially must battle a multi-headed Chimera; rescue his father, Zeus (Neeson), from the underworld; and deal with a severe case of sibling rivalry by his half brother, Ares (Édgar Ramírez).

Rather than shoot with digital 3-D cameras, Liebesman wanted to use film, photographing “Wrath of the Titans” on location in the United Kingdom, Patagonia and the Canary Islands with two-dimensional equipment. “For a Greek epic, I wanted a film look,” the director said.

But the production team included a stereoscopic consultant from the start, and the film’s many visual effects were conceived, designed and delivered in 3-D. While the first movie spent a mere six weeks on its 3-D conversion, “Wrath of the Titans” had a full year to translate the original images into stereoscopic frames, just slightly less time than Cameron spent converting”Titanic”to 3-D for its April 4 re-release.

Because “Wrath of the Titans” was always intended to be presented in 3-D, Liebesman, who spoke with Cameron about 3-D conversions before production commenced, planned any number of sequences for the immersive technology. While some 3-D filmmakers do not like calling attention to the technique, Liebesman at regular points hurls objects toward the audience and fills the frame with dust, embers and smoke so that moviegoers never forget what kind of presentation they’ve chosen to see.

“You’ve paid an extra five bucks — here’s why,” the filmmaker says. “You want to have fun with the 3-D. It doesn’t need to be subtle. People like to feel they are experiencing 3-D. They go to see it so that something lands in their lap.”

As with any number of expensive epics in recent years, the ultimate success (or failure) of “Wrath of the Titans” will not be told by its domestic revenue. The first film grossed $163.2 million in North American theaters, and $330 million overseas. “The Greek myths are universal in almost every territory in the world,” Iwanyk said. “In some ways, we have the characters from a bestselling book. And it’s a monster movie. People around the world love giant robots and monsters.”

The director and the producer concede that even if “Clash of the Titans” represented a huge return on investment, its legacy is not altogether positive. “I think it was overly maligned, but I think it was not good,” Liebesman said. “I remember taking off my 3-D glasses in the middle.”

The audience will have the final say on whether the new “Titans” film is a marked improvement over the first one. But one thing is certain: The sequel could not possibly incur as much 3-D wrath.

“I feel like it’s just a better movie overall,” said Iwanyk. “Very few times in life do you get a chance to do a total do-over. But we did.”

john.horn@latimes.com