PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS
Sorry this is late... I wasn't sure what I was going to post about today. But, then we went out to see a movie Friday night... but time got away from me... :)
Instead of Meet the Character Monday... I thought today I would do a Movie Review Monday.
We went to see Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters on Friday night, and it was really quite fun. The theater was unsurprisingly empty. People seem to be suffering from a bit of movie-theater-burnout this summer... and who can blame them what with all the great movies that have been coming out?
Iron Man 3, Star Trek 2, Man of Steel, Planes (haven't seen it, but I'm assuming), I've heard that Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University were both quite good... and the next thing that was on my radar was Ender's Game. But then we had the opportunity for an unexpected date night, and Percy Jackson kind of sounded like fun.
I wasn't expecting much at all from this movie.
I have read the entire series of books and I watched the first movie. Now, the first movie was fine, but it wasn't anything to write home about. I think if I had to rate it I'd probably give it 3/5 stars. It deviated from the book rather a lot (but in a way that made sense), the acting was fine, the writing was fine, the special effects were fine... but it just didn't "Wow" me.
This second installment... however...
WOW!
I loved it. I'm fairly certain there were a lot of deviations from the book (but I haven't read the book since it came out, so it wasn't fresh in my memory, and from what I do remember I think the movie stayed as close to the book at least as the first one). There were a few lines in the movie that I remember being straight out of the book, and the movie at least captured the overall feel and tone of the book. It possibly did a better job at capturing the tone than the first movie did.
So, what did I like about this movie?
1. The characters. I know that the characters were older in the movie than in the book, but I didn't actually mind that. They changed the prophecy to say "twenty" instead of "sixteen" when talking about his birthday, so I would guess that means they want to use the same actors for the next movie (if there is a next movie). Despite the fact that Percy is supposed to be 14 in this story, and the actor is 21... so they made it seem more as if he was 18 or so in the script... I thought they did a great job portraying the characters truly. I think Percy and company make more sense as older characters in a movie (while we can suspend our disbelief for a book and pretend that 12 year olds really are capable of fighting monsters and saving the world... it just doesn't look right on film).I also really liked the way they softened the character of Clarisse. The script-writers were far kinder to her than Rick Riordan was, as Clarisse never struck me as a very attractive character. However, in the movie, I felt they captured her essence of competitive spirit and sort of macho attitude... but they also softened her into a far more sympathetic character you could actually root for, someone who, under the right circumstances, could be a friend.
2. The action and the pace. This movie is just a fun, wild, crazy ride. There's definitely enough action for the most action-hungry film-goers, but there's plenty of story and character development for those who are more interested in that.
3. The tone. There were serious moments, and an underlying theme of learning to accept people even if they look kinda strange (or... very strange), but there were also many witty remarks and an overall fun sense of humor that is very present in the books (and that I felt was kind of missing from the first movie).
4. The story. Honestly, of all the books, I thought this one was the most boring. However, the changes to the story really spiced it up and made it a lot of fun. I also felt like there was far less meandering and wandering around wondering what to do, and much more of a final destination and goal to the story in the movie format.
5. The family-friendly aspect. I wouldn't take my four year old to see this movie... because it is intense. However, it is rated PG and it is extremely clean. The big problem with many of these sorts of books getting made into movies is that many of them have these huge battle scenes... which are hard to do in the confines of a PG rating without just coming off cheesy. However, Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters manages to pull it off brilliantly. The battles are fierce and will draw you to the edge of your seat, but they are also nicely lacking in gore or graphic-violence. There is nothing inappropriate in the language used in the movie, obviously there are no sex scenes, and I can't even remember any crudeness... which probably means it wasn't there, as I am fairly sensitive to crudeness (humor/innuendo/etc) in movies - especially kids' movies.
6. And finally... Nathan Fillion. Yes, he gets his very own number. I just love that guy. He shows up briefly as Hermes and ... well... if none of the other things I've mentioned compel you to go see the movie... go watch it just for him, because he is AWESOME. (Yes, I'm a bit of a fangirl, I guess...) If you like Firefly and/or Castle... you'll love his role in Percy Jackson. He's hilarious and just... so... Nathan Fillion. :)
So in conclusion... this movie is one of those hidden gems of the summer. If you're not suffering from theater burn-out... and you're looking for something fun to go do in the next weekend or two... I highly recommend Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters. You'll have a blast!