Percy (Logan Lerman), Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) and
Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) are back for a whole new quest – a quest that seems
to drag all of Camp Half-Blood with
them.
With a war waging between cousins, immortal fathers and
mentors seem impossible to communicate with – even the Oracle of Delphi’s
prophesy was more cryptic than a court jester’s riddles.
With his destiny on the line, can Percy live up to the
prophecy told long ago?
The Story
Based on the Percy
Jackson Series by Rick Riordan, this movie adaptation is much closer to the
book than the first film. I take my hat off to Marc Guggenheim for his
page-to-screen delivery of one of this century's endeavour to
revive Greek mythology for a new generation.
Unlike the first film where Poseidon is brought to life in human form, this film immortalises him into the deity that
seemingly abandons his child – but in reality, gives him a different
perspective when a certain “optically-challenged” half-brother is thrown in the
picture.
Guggenheim’s rearrangement of the events in the book was
classy and straightforward and really gave the film an edge.
The Cast
Logan Lerman – Reprising his role as the sole demi-god spawned
by one of the “Big Three”, Lerman is nothing short of brilliant. Although it is
not his best performance, he brought Percy to life, making his suffering as
the seemingly only son of Poseidon grappling with the fact that he has a
somewhat half-brother, along with the weight of the fate of the world in his
hands.
Alexandra Daddario – Loving the blonde that was missing from
the first film, Daddario is still her feisty self, yet less intense - which is
exactly what Annabeth needs to be through the progression of the series.
Retaining Annabeth’s bossiness, Daddario has found a great balance between her
driven Greek-demi-goddess side and her caring human-being side.
Brandon T. Jackson – Although Jackson was brilliant as the
film’s comic relief, he hasn’t really done anything new with the character,
which is both great, yet disappointing. Great in the sense that he’s the
audience’s constant, but I think in not growing as a character, he lacks the
essence of the Grover in the book series.
Douglas Smith – Perfect portrayal of Tyson. Sure the story
doesn’t allow for the childish nature of the Cyclopes mythology, but Smith
captured the Tyson of the books perfectly. He was a great contrast to Lerman in
regards to seeking and speaking with Poseidon.
Leven Rambin – I loved that we see Clarisse in this film! She’s
such a central character to the first two books of the series that I grinned so much when
she entered in the opening scene. Rambin captured her PERFECTLY and I’m dying
to see what she does with the character next!
Jake Abel – Also reprising his role as the lightning thief,
Luke, Abel gets a longer reign as the antagonist in this film. What Abel lacked
was a sense of consistency in his dialogue, which I think was on purpose in the
sense that he was trying to revive the titan of all titans, while trying to gain
revenge on Mount Olympus. So for me, I think Abel almost outshone every other
cast member, with the exception of Rambin.
Graphics and Visual
Effects
The mechanical bull, taxi ride, hippocampus and water
surfing were all done very well. What I hated was Kronos; he was too mechanical
or graphical to be believable. I really wish that we saw a human aspect to him.
Yes, I do in fact understand that
he’s the scary Titan who ate his children, but Greek pottery did portray him
with human-like features, had Kronos been portrayed in that way I think he
would’ve been much scarier against the theme park setting.
Overall, it was a great film. Well written and well executed. Kudos
to every single member of the cast and crew.
Star Rating:
Next on sL: The Royal Ranger - Reading with sL
Next on sL: The Royal Ranger - Reading with sL
