Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters Review

Justin, Dad & I saw Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters on August 8, 2013!! This was a visually impressive movie with fun characters and a plot that had me interested the entire time. As a huge fan of Rick Riordan's book series, and how impressed I was with The Lightning Thief I was eager to see this. Right off the bat, the movie introduces viewers how Camp Half-Blood has been protected. I liked the way this was handled-the Talia story is great to see played out on screen. Talia was part of a group of four that came to Camp Half-Blood (the other three were Annabeth, Grover, & Luke). What happened is Talia was fatally wounded by a Cyclops and this leads to Zeus using Talia as a conduit to create a protective tree that will keep out intruders. It's really fun to follow as I like fantasy genre material. I felt that the pacing and dialogue was well done. The cast definitely has alot to do with that as they are able to shape the characters in their own image. I think Logan Lerman who plays Percy is one of the best young actors today. He did an incredible job in Perks of Being A Wallflower and I always found his performance as Percy to be a breakthrough performance. His chemistry with Alexandra Daddario is natural. I liked that Annabeth's hair was made lighter as her hair is blonde in the books. Daddario has gorgeous eyes. When I read the book, I instantly became a fan of Clarisse. Though she is somebody that always brags about herself, she is a skilled warrior being the daughter of Ares. I liked the character. On the other side, you have Tyson, who is Percy's half-brother as well as being a Cyclops. If you follow Greek mythology stories, the Cyclops is one of the most feared entities. However, in Tyson's case he is kind of like Quasimodo (deformed, but has a great heart). Both Leven Rambin (Clarisse) & Douglas Smith (Tyson) did the roles justice. I like the genuine rivalry between Percy & Clarisse. The chemistry with Lerman and Rambin was really great to watch. The inclusion of the new characters is great as it keeps things fresh. Similar to the events of the first movie, Luke causes the portal that protects Camp Half-Blood to weaken. Dionysus leads Percy to a prophecy which says a child of one of the three main Gods (Zeus, Hades, & Poseiden) will either save or raze Mount Olympus, Camp Half-Blood, & humanity. Clarisse is sent to find the Golden Fleece, but Percy, Annabeth & Grover want to go on the quest to not only prove themselves, but to figure out how the prophecy will play out. Percy wants to save his kind & his home while Luke wants to resurrect Kronos (the father of Zeus, Hades, & Poseiden) and destroy Mount Olympus & the gods. The adventure, much like the first movie, keeps going. I like how much of a role Tyson plays in determining the outcome of what happens. Annabeth is skeptical of him because she doesn't trust Cyclops, and Percy doesn't believe he is related to him. Tyson does everything to prove himself and is personally one of my favorite characters because of the sacrifices he makes along the way. The battle scenes with mechanical bulls, ferocious beasts, and Kronos himself are some of the most amazing visuals you will see. The action flows very well. The characters put their differences aside to band together. The characters, plot, memorable battle scenes, impressive visual imager, along with an excellent cast including cameos by Stanley Tucci (hilarious as Dionysus), Nathan Fillion (great as Hermes), & Anthony Head (Chiron) make this a 4/5. I am a huge fan of the Percy Jackson series and the ending to this resulting from the Golden Fleece leads to some interesting developments for the next installment. This was very well done in my opinion!!