Oh my gods, could it be true? Is the second Percy Jackson movie finally out? Yes, three years after the first film, the newest movie, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, officially hit theaters yesterday!
But is it worth spending your hard-earned drachmas to see the film? You don’t need the Oracle of Delphi to tell you the answer, just check out our review below — told in animated images because this is a moving pictures review, after all! (Hardy har har.)
First things first — this post contains SPOILERS about the movie and book, so beware!
And now back to the review: We were pretty excited about the movie, since it has been three years. So when we sat down in our seats, we were like:
Karen is the tall one, and Nancy is the one with the giant head.
Did you like the movie overall?
KAREN: I have to admit, I didn’t like it as much as the first movie, but I think that’s because it’s been so much longer since I’ve read the books. Before seeing the film, I was actually furiously studying up to refresh my memory, and then afterwards I was all like:
KAREN: But overall, I enjoyed the movie — especially the view of Logan Lerman’s face!
NANCY: Yes, indeedy. We both agree that Logan Lerman’s face, if you’re a fan of that sort of thing, is a good reason to see the movie. But beyond his cute face, I actually liked this movie more than the first one — maybe it’s just because my expectations were lowered after that first movie, but I found Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters plenty enjoyable!
How did you feel about any differences from the original book?
KAREN: Nancy can tell you, before the movie I was positively foaming at the mouth in rage over Tyson’s appearance. Tyson is one of my favorite characters in the series, and I always pictured him as a big, lovable, one-eyed dude.
Based on trailers and photos, I saw lots of Tyson looking like a normal two-eyed person instead of a Cyclops, and I was NOT happy with the movie people…
But it turns out, Tyson’s feelings about his face and his choice to sometimes be two-eyed are part of the movie’s message. So then I was all:
NANCY: Tyson’s eyes didn’t so much bother me, but I did expect him to be bigger! But my biggest beef with the movie was that they cut out a whole section that I thought could have been great: When Annabeth asks Percy to tie her to the mast of the Blackbeard’s ship so she can hear the Siren’s song (and see her greatest desires). I didn’t mind that there was no Blackbeard, but I thought that was really important to know how Annabeth still has hope for Luke!
What was your favorite part of the movie?
KAREN: Besides Logan Lerman?
NANCY: It is pretty tough to beat that adorable face:
KAREN: I loved the scenes at Camp Half-Blood, especially the opening sequence with the camp competition. Seeing all the demigods in their element and feeling like I was there, I was all like:
NANCY: Me too! The first scene with the camp challenge was great. Usually I’m not a huge fan of 3D, but I also thought the action scene with the bull was pretty kick-butt — especially when Percy figures out how to defeat it! For once, I was like this:
NANCY: I also thought the animated sequence where show the legend of Kronos was pretty awesome. Remember the animated telling of The Tale of the Three Brothers in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2?
It was just as cool as that!
What was your least favorite part of the movie?
KAREN: Weirdly, I felt like sometimes Percy and Annabeth weren’t acting with enough urgency on their quest. Like, hello, the lives of all your friends and the entire future of Camp Half-Blood depends on you guys!
Also, I felt like Annabeth didn’t get to show off her awesome smarts and abilities enough. I mean, check her out in the first movie:
NANCY: Well, this is kind of minor, but there’s a part in the movie where Percy busts out his awesome son of Poseidon powers, like when he did this in the first movie:
NANCY: Well, in Sea of Monsters, there’s a scene where Luke is also able to surf on water! Uh, c’mon. Luke is the son of Hermes (who was awesome in the movie, BTW), and last I checked, the children of Hermes do not have the power of controlling water.
Okay, I know why they did it. It was a cool scene. But still. C’mon.
Face you give the movie:
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KAREN: I give this movie a smiley face, but kind of a small smile instead of a big grin. If you’re not already a Percy Jackson fan, this probably isn’t the right movie for you, but if you like the books, you’ll enjoy seeing Sea of Monsters come to life on the screen.
NANCY: I’ve decided to give this one a solid big smile! It wasn’t perfect, but like Karen said, you’ll definitely enjoy most of the movie if you like the books. And if you haven’t read the books yet, you should, because reading the Percy Jackson series is like this:
We attended an advance screening of the movie as guests of Disney Publishing.
We can’t take credit for making any of these images — all taken from the Interwebs!
