This movie came out this past weekend. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters 2 ½ / 4 stars (okay movie) I haven’t read the second novel of Rick Riordan’s Greek mythology kid series that gets adapted here to the big screen in Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. This is like a poor man’s Harry Potter that is likeable, lovable and full of heart. The special effects are uneven as the CGI sequences are dazzlingly rich and expertly done while in between we have makeup and costumes. It is when the latter occurs that Sea of Monsters feels like a glorified Disney tv movie kind of in the vein of Halloweentown but themed out of the myths of Gods. This time around, Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) who is the son of Poseidon and of a human woman, gets thrown into another adventure with Annabeth (Alexandra Daddaria) and Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) his Centaur bodyguard. Whereas last time these three tried to prevent a war among the Gods over Zeus’s stolen bolt, they now set out to retain a golden fleece that is said to be able to heal anything. They need it to restore the invisible wall that protects Camp Halfblood from any enemy that would enter to destroy. The three friends must also deal with Luke (Jake Abel), the dysfunctional son of Hermes (Nathan Fillion) who plans on resurrecting Kronos to destroy the world all over again. From a storytelling standpoint and its imaginative elements, I loved this sequel to the Lightning Thief. The script brilliantly adapts Riordan’s theme of using the country’s significant states and landmarks to be the guise of landmarks in the parallel reality of Greek mythology. Everything from the White House getting mistaken as Olympus to the UPS store getting seen as OPS (named for a shipping center of the Olympians) is funny and simultaneously creative. In terms of the story, I ended up liking Percy and friends more and more as the story went on. Writer Marc Guggenheim invokes so many deep and yet cliché layers and their all well done. Whether it’s the message of getting past blood lines to see your real siblings or putting past traumas of a certain race behind you to see that race’s true kindness, all of the messages, big or small are all told with heart and soul. The CGI sequences are incredible, exotic and porously to tactile done to be totally convincing. The rainbow colored sea unicorn is a treat for the eyes, just as the surfing of Percy among the waves is as well. The Krakken like monster that is the parallel version of the Bermuda Triangle is right on par with any kaiju sequence in recent memory. I also was totally taken with the flame layered and massively tall Kronos. You can see writer Guggenheim’s taking with giant monsters getting fought by smaller but largely courageous heroes. Just watch the animated dvd feature of Green Lantern: Emerald Knights to see how he wrote his script. That story has a villain just like the one here and his name is Krona; just replacing the a with an o and an s. Now with all those compliments in mind, the filmmakers led by director Thor Fruddenthal decided to use costumes and makeup for certain characters such as the zombie army from the Confederate days or the three eyeless Gray Sisters and they come off cheap and cheesy. This scene by the way with the Gray Sisters which takes place in a taxi cab, has the look, feel and quality of Halloweentown from years ago which is not saying something impressive. The first film of this franchise had unknown youthful actors being surrounded by talented veterans. The formula here is no less the same but rather more clever. Instead of Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan and Catherine Keener, we have Stanley Tucci, Anthony Head and Nathan Fillion. Tucci is hilarious as always and plays Mr. D who oversees Camp Halfblood with dead pan dejection. You would think that Joss Whedon had a hand in the film or at least the casting. Here, we have two actors in perhaps his two finest television creations playing roles that are valedictions to their roles on Whedon’s series. Anthony Head who was Buffy’s mentor, is now the mentor and professor to the half-blood demigods as Chiron. Chiron as you may know was the upbringer of boys in Greek Mythology. Fillion gets a role just as fitting as Hermes. Just think of the parallels to his captain in Firefly who delivered goods on his ship through space. Here, he plays the messenger of the Gods and his comment on having a great tv show cancelled prematurely is humor for the fans who know that line’s connection to Firefly. In terms of the younger ensemble, Logan Lerman makes for a perfect B-movie Harry Potter while Brandon T. Jackson and Alexandra Daddario do justice as Percy’s own versions of Ron and Hermione. All in all, Sea of Monsters is fun, loveable and entertaining despite its few shortcomings. It isn’t on the level of scope or spectacle as the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter but maybe Chronicles of Narnia; in terms of a cinematic level. I do believe the Percy Jackson stories offer something unique to the genre of fantasy and especially the Gods and mythology. Don’t go in expecting a spectacle and you’ll enjoy this movie or you can wait a few months to catch it on dvd and watch it on your tv screen. It just may feel more at home that way as a theatrical experience feels half right and half wrong like a metaphor for the kids of Camp Halfblood who are half god and half human.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 16:42:07 +0000