If you're still waiting for the next Harry Potter phenomenon to launch on the big screen, your patience will be tested a bit longer. Back in early 2010, Chris Columbus (ironically the director of the first two Potter films) helmed Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief - the first installment of the Rick Riordan series of the same name that mashed Greek mythology with a contemporary setting. While Percy Jackson wasn't exactly a blockbuster ($88 million domestic), there's still a crowd out for a sequel.
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is the second installment lined up in the franchise as demigod Percy (Logan Lerman) believes himself to be a one-adventure wonder after procuring Zeus' missing lightning bolt. But as fate would have it, Percy and his get caught up in chasing after the fabled Golden Fleece somewhere in the Sea of Monsters or the Bermuda Triangle as it's known to mortals.
The world of Percy Jackson has changed much since the last time audiences caught up with Percy, his satyr buddy Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) and demigod Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario). Columbus has been replaced in the director's chair by Thor Freudenthal, who's no stranger to directing family-friendly films. Also gone are the big name actors from The Lightning Thief including Sean Bean, Catherine Keener, Rosario Dawson and Pierce Brosnan's been swapped out by Anthony Head as centaur Chiron.
So who's new to the mix? Stanley Tucci from The Hunger Games joins the cast as the wine god, Dionysus and Nathan Fillion (Serenity) is the messenger god Hermes, disguised as UPS owner. But it ultimately down the main three stars to propel any the audience has in Sea of Monsters. Logan Lerman's improved in this second outing and is also a much more confident actor, especially after The Perk of Being a Wallflower, but he can't hold all of the film's weight on his shoulders.
The problem is how much Sea of Monsters deviates from its source material with its second half bearing no resemblance to the book. Audiences well-versed in Percy Jackson lore will be shocked by the drastic differences, but for typical moviegoers the alterations serve the big screen transition. Percy's journey to recover the Fleece is fairly predictable without any severe consequences. Entertaining? Yes, but it's still not the appetizing adventure that will prolong the franchise to three additional movies.
Fortunately, Sea of Monsters isn't as overblown as the typical Hollywood sequel, trimming the journey from plot point to plot point, but still not too simplistic where it's painfully generic. Percy continues to face many of the same issues he did in The Lightning Thief, including is uneasy relationship with his father Poseidon, who doesn't make an appearance and his traitorous half-blood rival Luke, who's always a thorn in his side. Add an arrogant demigod rival who's looking to retrieve the Fleece for herself and a noisy CGI cyclops claiming to be Percy's half-brother and complexity ensues.
CGI is definitely not a priority for these Percy Jackson movies as the special effects appear outdated and cartoonish, however it's a not a make-or-break situation with younger audiences. Even Harryhausen effects from the 1980s are way more believable than the lot in Sea of Monsters. That's not saying much, but the effects from The Lightning Thief weren't nothing to brag about either.
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters leaves audiences dangling with a cliffhanger that ties into the third installment of the series, but time is running out. The trio is getting too old for these parts and it'd be a shame if a third wasn't made to tie up the loose ends of this sequel. Slightly better than its predecessor for sure, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters still doesn't cross oceans to stand out from other young adult adaptations leaping at the opportunity to become the next big franchise.
GRADE: B- (7/10)
No comments:
Post a Comment