Tuesday 17 March 2015

Film Review: Sea of Monsters

Film Review:
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
 
Directed by Thor Freudenthal
Screenplay by Marc Guggenheim
Released: 19th of September, 2013
 
 
Starring:
 
Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson
 
 
Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth Chase
 
 
Brandon T. Jackson as Grover Underwood
 
 
Jake Abel as Luke Castellan
 
 
 
Before we begin, I just want to quickly note that this is my first film review - I have been meaning to get into reviewing films for a long time now though - and I am not going to be structuring it in a normal style review. I just want to make comments about various aspects of the film - what I enjoyed, what I didn't etc..
 
I also want to say that this review will not be making links to the book it is based on. It has been nearly two years since I read the book and I can honestly not remember much about it. Also, I am not really a fan of the series... *hides before the screaming fangirls can attack*... and know that I wouldn't do it justice.
 
But anyway, let's start.
 
My Thoughts on Sea of Monsters:
 
Casting:
 
I have to say that I am pretty happy with the casting. Readers are upset that characters aren't the age in the books but I honestly think its better the way it is. Think about though. Twelve-year-old protagonists are going to attract lesser crowds of viewers -  of non-readers, obviously - then having a sixteen-year-old Logan Lerman playing the lead would. And movie producers won't the biggest crowd of viewers possible.
 
I was super pleased by the change of Chiron's actor. One of my least favourite actors of all time is Pierce Brosnan and seeing him as Chiron just didn't work for me. He didn't have that old wise person vibe that was strongly needed. Anthony Head however looked the part - he looked academic, but secretive somehow, and fatherly, exactly how I pictured him in the books.
 
Percy's actor was fantastic - as always - so was Grover's, Clarrise's and Luke's. I have such a crush on Jake Abel after The Host! I also found Dionysus's actor surprisingly good and Tyson was perfect if he has just been taller!  
 
The one casting choice I wasn't fond of was Annabeth. Daddiaro as Annabeth was okay but she didn't capture book Annabeth. She looked nothing like I pictured.
 
 
Plot/Action:
 
I found the action to be as realistic as its going to get in a fantasy film. It wasn't overly dominated by the "good" side. Percy had a lot of cool moves but remained a little clumsy and all over the place - as it should be when you're fighting for your life.
 
Grover was also much, much more kickass in the movie then I would have expected. There was one scene in an amusement park and Grover did this awesome leap-like kick thing and it was just epic.
 
The journeying parts were also handled well. I know the directors cut a lot of things but I think it made sense from a film-observer's POV and it wasn't too spaced out. There was always something to keep you on your toes and entertained.
 
 
Special Effects: 
 
I think the special effects in Sea of Monsters were much better than The Lightning Thief. It wasn't as "obvious", if that makes sense. The blend between "real life" and "computered affects" was undeniably perfect.
 
Spoilers Below - BE WARNED:
 
The Cyclops were freaky and fantastic, especially Polythemus. The ink around his eyes and the skulls hanging from his belt, really made him.
 
I also loved the scene when they get sucked up into the monster's belly and the teeth are circling them like sharks. It was so intense!
 
The taxi ride with the three blind seers was fantastic!
 
Talia's tree was done even better than I could of hoped. I loved that we saw her body right there under the tree. During the book, I just thought she became the tree, as in turned into the tree and her body didn't exist anymore. This, however, had a much better effect.
 
Overall:
 
I know fans of the book series were strongly disappointed by this adaption but I rather enjoyed it. It was entertaining and funny, the acting was pretty good and the plot progressed well.
 
4 stars

4 comments:

  1. I'm actually still upset that they're not the same age as they are in the books, but Logan Lerman is a pretty fantastic Percy. He's sweet, cute, and a bit immature which is just adorable. I like Alexandra as Annabeth. She does great with the action scenes, but the problem is that her character seemed kind of dumb in this movie, but I guess that's not her fault since she didn't write the script.

    AGREED, I loved the taxi scene! It was both hilarious and amazing at the same time. :)

    Aimee @ Deadly Darlings

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    1. I think that if they found the younger actors and used the consistently across the movies - like Harry Potter - then it would have worked but Logan Lerman does do a fantastic job of Percy. Alexandra is pretty good at action scenes. I agree that they should of worked on her dialogue more, they made her too much of a sheep to Percy's commands.

      That taxi scene was my favourite of the movie. Grover in was hilarious!

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  2. Im with you Rachel, I liked the movie and I love the books. :) I thought Anthony Head was THE BEST for Chiron, and really love Percy's character but I was like fanning myself over Jake Abel ..I mean c'mon wow. I'd be the bad guy if he was in charge lol. I liked his acting too. Annabeth's character was dumbed down which I HATED< and although they made her hair blonde I feel like they had to make her dumb because of that? whatever. It annoyed me. Last movie she was kicking Percy's butt (ike the books) but this movie she's all like "aw, percy, help, I tripped " in the beginning which pissed me off because she was like that all film. BUT I still loved it and bought it and love watching both movies just because I'm such a fan of the books . I hope they continue the series on film!

    -Diamond @ Dee's Reads

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    1. Anthony Head was just perfect as Chiron. And Jake Abel...? *swoons* I adore him! Percy's hilarious as always. I love his sass! Maybe that's why she was dumbed down...? She was just that tad annoying. YES, YES that scene annoyed me so freaking much! That's when it all started. I did enjoy this movie a lot though too. The first one wasn't as good, I didn't think. I hope so too! I doubt they will though. This wasn't very popular and the actors have moved on to other projects. :"(

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