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Saturday, August 10, 2013

Review of Sea of Monsters: From Mom, Dad, and Son (no spoilers)




Okay, let’s get one thing straight. The book is always, always better than the movie. Now, some great movies have been inspired by books  (Jumangi and The Invention of Hugo Cabret are great examples), but a book was written to be a book, not a movie (at least I hope so). In the case of the movies Sea of Monsters and The Lightening Thief, both stories are well-adapted and manipulated for the screen, but both truly lack the hilarity and originality found in the novels. I was impressed with the way the book’s themes were retained—there are messages about the role of relationships and confidence and working together. (I must admit my bias here, I’ve seen Rick Riordan, the author, speak at a conference, and interviewed and wrote a brief essay on his work). But, this is a review of the film.

Here’s a quick plot summary.
Percy rejoins his friends, Grover and Annabeth, at Camp Half Blood as they embark on a quest to save the camp. The mythical item they need is located on an island in the Sea of Monsters. Along the way, they meet several mythical characters who help or hinder their journey. Percy also learns a bit more about his past and his place in this world.

Random comments.
1. The film was well cast! Thanks so much for having Anthony Stewart Head from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I’m a huge Buffy nut and sort of scholar) and Yvette Nicole Brown from Community.
2. Some things only my nerdy family noticed: first the joke Nathan Fillion made about short-lived television shows (he was in Firefly—another Whedon connection) and in the scene on the deck of the Andromeda, Luke is listening to “Waltz” by Brahams. the fifth piece in Suzuki Vol. 2 book for violin. And, yes, the scene in the taxi is sort-of like the scene with the Knight Bus in Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azakaban.
3.  As far as watching the film, it was hard to concentrate when Emery kept whispering in my ear all of the things that were different in the movie than the book. Also, Emery thought the 3D was cool; I didn’t mind it, but I didn’t think it was necessary.
4.  I feel like with these two movies, they write them as stand-alone films in case someone is seeing them for the first time, and just in case they don’t make a sequel.  

My son and husband make two good points in their reviews: first, this is a film suitable for younger audiences (even younger than Lightening Thief) and you need to accept that this movie is not a faithful recreation of the book. Am I glad I went to see it, yes. Will we probably buy the DVD, yes.

Emery’s review of Sea of Monsters: the book  was 115% better. First mistake; Talia!!!!!!!  They pronounced her name wrong!!!!! It’s Thalia! They also took out the guinea pig  scene !! When they make the Son of Poseidon, they will regret that. Don’t get me started on Kronos! THEY just eliminated 1 whole movie because they moved elements from the Labyrinth to this movie. On the positive side, I like the special effects (ex the wind) and the plastic eye on Grover. If you read the book and you are flexible watch it if you are not don’t.

Victor's Review: Let me make it clear that my review of Percy Jackson and the Sea Monster is 100% aimed at the movie not the novel which I haven't read. I feel like the best way to go about this is to first admit that I had no real desire to see this film.  Rather, I had a desire to be with my wife and son, and since they were bound for the film, so was I.

I also feel that comparisons all not always fair ... but that's what I'm going to do anyway.  This Jackson film seemed to be aiming squarely at a younger audience whereas by comparison, the Harry Potter films seemed to transcend the YA label,  There was never a second I thought this Percy Jackson film was "for me."  The quippy dialogue bordered on the obvious, and the set pieces were all way tame ... again, I assume, aiming at a younger audience.  (The last film I REALLY enjoy was Django Unchained, so ....)

If you’re a good parent, and your kid wants to see it, then yeah.

If you think a movie with swords should have more stabbing ... then no.

So, what do you think? Did you or will you see it? What else are you watching this summer? 

3 comments:

  1. Unwatchable, and amazingly worse than #1, which was an awful movie.

    Casting is dreadful, they need to completely reboot the series with actors that are age appropriate, and Hollywood check out Harry Potter Series, yes this actually can work with a young cast.

    Fighting monsters at age 13 is terrifying (books) apparently fighting Kronos at age 25 (movie) is not a big deal.

    who the heck is Percy Jackson, the whining, crying, pathetic creature as portrayed by Logan does not resemble the PJ of the book at all. His pity party by the ocean (large lake?) was laughable.

    Who is Annabeth ? She lacks confidence, lacks a baseball hat, and lacks a knife. We are told she is smart, but all she does is ask the men what she should do. She accomplishes nothing in the entire movie, she could easily be removed from the film, and you would not notice.

    Who is Clarisse? She's a daughter of Aphrodite in this movie. Stunning looks, people love her, she hands out compliments. Whatever.

    Who is Luke? Never uses a sword, is about 30 years old, has water powers and can water surf, gets his boat to the island minutes after Percy? They should have just stayed on board with Luke. Oh and he has the hots for a 12yr old. Great, just great.

    Who is Grover? He asks "Is that an offer?" a possible love interest to Annabeth. Well ok....



    ** SPOILER **


    When Annabeth dies
    a) umm, you just revived a 3,000 year dead God, you just MIGHT be able to revive a wounded girl. zero drama
    b) I did not care. Wow, I love the books and I felt nothing. Her character is so pathetic you just don't care
    c) The film departs so significantly from the book I hoped she was dead, I thought maybe a Clarissa / Percy pair might be interesting.

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  2. Oh, my 3 kids agreed with me, most of above is their comments

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for sharing your and your kids' comments and I appreciate the observations on the (mis)(lack of)characterization of the roles from the book to the film.

      Glad to see someone else is noticing the lack of sword action. And, Emery, also agree with the missing cap.

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