1godzillafan
06-29-2010, 06:47 PM
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/616m0Af9uvL._SS500_.jpg
Blu-Ray Review
The Feature
6/10
Chris Columbus learns from the criticisms of the first two Harry Potter movies and comes to the wrong conclusion.
The Extras
7/10
About as afraid of expansion as the film is.
What You See
If there's a fantasy book series that you would love to see adapted to film, chances are 20th Century Fox has their eye on it.
Maybe it's just me, but ever since the final curtain call on Star Wars, Fox seems to have been desperately trying to start a new fantasy franchise to compete with the popularity of the wave of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Twilight popularity, wanting a piece of the multi-million dollar pie as well. They pumped out the appalling Eragon, so unoriginal that I found an annoying presence of deja vu pestering me through its entire runtime (I haven't read the book and I don't intend to). Then there was the pathetic Jumper, based on Stephen Gould's lightweight anti-superhero teleportation fantasy that tried to spice up an uneven story in all the wrong ways.
Fox seemed to get their wish when they acquired the rights to the successful Chronicles of Narnia series after Disney tossed it into the dumpster. We'll see how that goes for them, but I'm sure they're eagerly anticipating this winter for a big box office return.
Before that, Fox put another series up for consideration of the audience, an adaptation of Rick Riordan's bestselling pre-teen book series Percy Jackson & the Olympians, a $100 million production that came close to equaling that amount domestically and more than doubled it worldwide. Whether they intend to follow it up or not is up in the air, probably depending on DVD/Blu-Ray sales of the first feature.
I'll admit it straight off the bat, I absolutely adore the books and have read all five, and I eagerly anticipate the follow up series, Heroes of Olympus, when it kicks off this October (the first two chapters of the first book, The Lost Hero, are available online at www.camphalfblood.com. Type in newhero as the password). In a search for a good fun book series to read last year, I was swept up in the hype for this movie and read the first as a curiosity, and the rest because I couldn't put them down. I went into the film based on the first book, The Lightning Thief, with high hopes, yet was willing to accept it on its own terms if necessary. On both fronts, I have to admit that I was a bit let down.
A lot of talk was given to the director Chris Columbus, which marked his return to the fantasy genre after launching the highly successful series of Harry Potter adaptations in 2001 and 2002. Since their release, Columbus' Potter films received a heavy backlash, especially following the masterful Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by Alfonso Cuaron, which defined the film series far more than Columbus' films did, serving as a strong visual basis for the directors that followed. Columbus was criticized for following the books a bit too closely, resulting in long talky films which lack the much more enhanced pacing and dynamic flare the follow ups succeeded in delivering.
Columbus seems to have taken this criticism to heart and puts what he has learned to the test in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. He puts out a product that isn't long or overblown, but is rather one that moves too damn fast and unfortunately makes very little sense.
The film is so damn afraid of exposition it's startling. Books aren’t afraid of explaining their plot because words are easier to get when they're printed, and films enjoy telling stories on a more visual level. I get that. What I don't get not allowing the story to sink in and leaving the audience behind while you're looking for something else to do. I have trouble accepting a film that doesn't convey emotion at the apparent death of the main character's mother.
And I thought everyone had seen Bambi.
While the film's plot resembles that of the book well enough, it adds unnecessities to make it work with less of a random misadventures feel. The novel is about Percy Jackson, the son of Greek God of the sea Poseidon, finding refuge from the monsters who seek him at Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods like him (the amount of children is staggering. Some of these Gods get around). The king of the Gods, Zeus, discovers his Master Bolt has been stolen and blames his brother Poseidon, accusing him of using is son to do his dirty work. Percy and his friends Annabeth, daughter of Athena, and Grover, a satyr, are sent on a quest by the camps Oracle to find the Master Bolt, which they assume is in the possession of Zeus and Poseidon’s other brother, Hades. On their quest, the trio runs into random events that slow them down.
In the film, instead of being sent on the mission, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover sneak out of camp after learning that Hades has taken Percy's mother captive and wants to trade Percy his hostage for the Master Bolt, intending to plead with Hades with his innocence. This take is somewhat anticlimactic and less thrilling, however the somewhat tossed in challenges for the trio in the book are given a bit of a meaning in the film, as they go through them to seek out special orbs that will ensure their escape from the Underworld.
One of my least favorite sequences in the book was the Lotus Hotel chapters, where Percy and the gang find themselves enchanted by a hotel that promises them an eternity of rest and relaxation. While the Lotus Hotel sets up plotpoints in later books, it's a very awkward sequence that makes the book come to a sudden halt. However, it's turned into a comical highlight of the film as the kids get high off of Lotus flowers and start loosening up to the tune of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face." It's a wild sequence that could either make or break the film for any given person...
IMKXGjv79dk
The Grover of the books would never have torn his pants off and showed off his moves on a dance floor, I'll tell you that much.
On that note, the cast is really fun. Logan Lerman is quite a find. He brings Percy alive with a boyish charm and enough gusto to ensure that Percy stays the hero of the movie. Brandon T. Jackson tries his best to steal the spotlight from Lerman every chance he gets as the satyr Grover ("You're half donkey!?!?" Percy screams at the realization of Grover's species, much to Grover’s bemusement). He updates the book's Ron Weasely take on Mr. Tummis by infusing a bit of a Mike Epps attitude in him, and he truly turns the role from a forgettable supporting character into someone you can't wait to appear onscreen again. The weak link of the trio is Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth. Percy's smart and tough galpal of the books is given little more to do than scowl and/or look pretty. Daddario is lovely, but I'd like to see more traits of the Annabeth I knew from the books showcased. The supporting cast is made up of several big names, including Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Joe Pantolianno, Rosario Dawson, and Uma Thurman.
The cast makes sure the film maintains the wit of the book it's based upon, but I just feel it lacks the guts. There are all too many attempts to make the film stand on its own. Considering a sequel still isn't greenlit, that might be a good thing, but it makes the film feel more shallow than it needs to be. The mastermind of the entire Master Bolt scheme and Percy Jackson's Lord Voldemort nemesis, the Titan lord Kronos, is mentioned in passing early on but never directly linked to the events of the story, leaving the solving of the mystery anticlimactic. The romance between Percy and Annabeth, which wasn't alluded to until the third book, is unconvincingly shoved into the film (Annabeth's line "I have strong feelings for you, I just don't know if they're positive or negative yet" is a great description of their relationship wasted on an underdeveloped subplot), as well as Percy scolding the Gods about how they suck as parents. A similar speech played out in the fifth book, but seeing how it wasn't released when the film began production, I don't know if this was just a poor jump ahead decision or just awful writing.
And I don't know about anybody else, but I was pissed that Percy's duel with Ares, the aggressive God of War, was entirely cut. That was my favorite part of the whole damn book.
I've spoken to several people who have never read the book claim that Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is one of the best fantasy films they've seen. This somewhat leads me to believe I'm just being a stubborn book fan. I don't like being one. I freely admit that had films like the original Planet of the Apes and Jaws followed their novels closer than they did, they would have been much worse. So, is Percy Jackson a good movie? My response to you is "You tell me." I think children will love it, whether they've read the books or not, and parents who watch it with them will come out of it amused and unscathed.
But if it chooses to continue on, I implore it to not be afraid of the mythology set up in it's source material. There's a Percy Jackson fanbase for a reason. I don't want such a fun book series to sit on the Hollywood shelf of false starts, like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or the Golden Compass. I'd rather see a Sea of Monsters adaptation than another Narnia movie, or even the long stalled Hobbit films. I don't need to tell you I'd rather sit through another one than another Twilight film (oh the pains of being a boyfriend).
I'd even give Chris Columbus another shot should he choose to return. Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a very contemporary fantasy series, and I think his contemporary style is a great match for it. But if he still can't pull his act together...then maybe we should call in Alfonso Cuaron or David Yates to do some fine-tuning on yet another franchise he started?
What You Get
If there's one thing I prefer about Columbus' Harry Potter films compared to the films that followed in his wake, it's the vivid colors. I understand tone and atmosphere, but I find that the brightness of his films bring out a great deal in an HD TV. Percy Jackson looks great too, with not quite as many vibrant colors, but looks about as grand as I could have imagined it. The Blu-Ray is a combo pack with a regular DVD and a digital copy. Like so many films out there, it looks good on DVD but it explodes to life on Blu-Ray.
The Blu-Ray also features more special features than the DVD. The DVD only holds five deleted scenes. On the Blu-Ray, there are ten. None of them would improve the film, though the only one worth noting is Grover telling Percy a shortened version of the story of Thalia, the daughter of Zeus who was hunted down by monsters only to turned into the a tree by her father in an act of mercy before she died. The part about the tree is omitted, as are the inclusion of Annabeth and Luke from the story, but it would have been a nice nod to have since she plays a role in future events in the series. This scene is featured on both the DVD and the Blu-Ray.
Another feature on both discs is a 5 minute discussion with author Rick Riordan, Chris Columbus, and others on the origins of the book and the adaptation into film. It's fun, but lacks any depth to the history of the book or the film. One can't help but feel they're holding back. There's also a Discover Your Powers quiz (I'm a son of Poseidon apparently, which confuses me since I said getting lost at sea would make me cry) and the theatrical trailer.
Exclusive to the Blu-Ray are four more brief featurettes: a following of Brandon T. Jackson where he basically goofs around for a while, a look inside Camp Half Blood, discussion on the featured demigods, and a talk with composer Christophe Beck. The last one is an oddity, since unlike the others, it was non-anamorphic (yet filmed in widescreen). They offer a good glimpse into the film's production, but nothing to get excited about.
Last but not least is biography section for Gods, demigods, and monsters, which will give you a brief summery of Percy, Grover, Annabeth, Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Hades, Persephone, Hermes, Chiron, Luke, Medusa, the Minotaur, and the Hydra.
All of this equals a good but not great set. I can't help but feel there was more stuff available, but was probably held back because of the lukewarm domestic success of the film.
Final Verdict
The spirit Percy Jackson & the Olympians is alive, but the product is a bit too inferior. I'll see a sequel; I just hope it's not afraid of expanding its mythology.
Blu-Ray Review
The Feature
6/10
Chris Columbus learns from the criticisms of the first two Harry Potter movies and comes to the wrong conclusion.
The Extras
7/10
About as afraid of expansion as the film is.
What You See
If there's a fantasy book series that you would love to see adapted to film, chances are 20th Century Fox has their eye on it.
Maybe it's just me, but ever since the final curtain call on Star Wars, Fox seems to have been desperately trying to start a new fantasy franchise to compete with the popularity of the wave of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Twilight popularity, wanting a piece of the multi-million dollar pie as well. They pumped out the appalling Eragon, so unoriginal that I found an annoying presence of deja vu pestering me through its entire runtime (I haven't read the book and I don't intend to). Then there was the pathetic Jumper, based on Stephen Gould's lightweight anti-superhero teleportation fantasy that tried to spice up an uneven story in all the wrong ways.
Fox seemed to get their wish when they acquired the rights to the successful Chronicles of Narnia series after Disney tossed it into the dumpster. We'll see how that goes for them, but I'm sure they're eagerly anticipating this winter for a big box office return.
Before that, Fox put another series up for consideration of the audience, an adaptation of Rick Riordan's bestselling pre-teen book series Percy Jackson & the Olympians, a $100 million production that came close to equaling that amount domestically and more than doubled it worldwide. Whether they intend to follow it up or not is up in the air, probably depending on DVD/Blu-Ray sales of the first feature.
I'll admit it straight off the bat, I absolutely adore the books and have read all five, and I eagerly anticipate the follow up series, Heroes of Olympus, when it kicks off this October (the first two chapters of the first book, The Lost Hero, are available online at www.camphalfblood.com. Type in newhero as the password). In a search for a good fun book series to read last year, I was swept up in the hype for this movie and read the first as a curiosity, and the rest because I couldn't put them down. I went into the film based on the first book, The Lightning Thief, with high hopes, yet was willing to accept it on its own terms if necessary. On both fronts, I have to admit that I was a bit let down.
A lot of talk was given to the director Chris Columbus, which marked his return to the fantasy genre after launching the highly successful series of Harry Potter adaptations in 2001 and 2002. Since their release, Columbus' Potter films received a heavy backlash, especially following the masterful Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by Alfonso Cuaron, which defined the film series far more than Columbus' films did, serving as a strong visual basis for the directors that followed. Columbus was criticized for following the books a bit too closely, resulting in long talky films which lack the much more enhanced pacing and dynamic flare the follow ups succeeded in delivering.
Columbus seems to have taken this criticism to heart and puts what he has learned to the test in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. He puts out a product that isn't long or overblown, but is rather one that moves too damn fast and unfortunately makes very little sense.
The film is so damn afraid of exposition it's startling. Books aren’t afraid of explaining their plot because words are easier to get when they're printed, and films enjoy telling stories on a more visual level. I get that. What I don't get not allowing the story to sink in and leaving the audience behind while you're looking for something else to do. I have trouble accepting a film that doesn't convey emotion at the apparent death of the main character's mother.
And I thought everyone had seen Bambi.
While the film's plot resembles that of the book well enough, it adds unnecessities to make it work with less of a random misadventures feel. The novel is about Percy Jackson, the son of Greek God of the sea Poseidon, finding refuge from the monsters who seek him at Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods like him (the amount of children is staggering. Some of these Gods get around). The king of the Gods, Zeus, discovers his Master Bolt has been stolen and blames his brother Poseidon, accusing him of using is son to do his dirty work. Percy and his friends Annabeth, daughter of Athena, and Grover, a satyr, are sent on a quest by the camps Oracle to find the Master Bolt, which they assume is in the possession of Zeus and Poseidon’s other brother, Hades. On their quest, the trio runs into random events that slow them down.
In the film, instead of being sent on the mission, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover sneak out of camp after learning that Hades has taken Percy's mother captive and wants to trade Percy his hostage for the Master Bolt, intending to plead with Hades with his innocence. This take is somewhat anticlimactic and less thrilling, however the somewhat tossed in challenges for the trio in the book are given a bit of a meaning in the film, as they go through them to seek out special orbs that will ensure their escape from the Underworld.
One of my least favorite sequences in the book was the Lotus Hotel chapters, where Percy and the gang find themselves enchanted by a hotel that promises them an eternity of rest and relaxation. While the Lotus Hotel sets up plotpoints in later books, it's a very awkward sequence that makes the book come to a sudden halt. However, it's turned into a comical highlight of the film as the kids get high off of Lotus flowers and start loosening up to the tune of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face." It's a wild sequence that could either make or break the film for any given person...
IMKXGjv79dk
The Grover of the books would never have torn his pants off and showed off his moves on a dance floor, I'll tell you that much.
On that note, the cast is really fun. Logan Lerman is quite a find. He brings Percy alive with a boyish charm and enough gusto to ensure that Percy stays the hero of the movie. Brandon T. Jackson tries his best to steal the spotlight from Lerman every chance he gets as the satyr Grover ("You're half donkey!?!?" Percy screams at the realization of Grover's species, much to Grover’s bemusement). He updates the book's Ron Weasely take on Mr. Tummis by infusing a bit of a Mike Epps attitude in him, and he truly turns the role from a forgettable supporting character into someone you can't wait to appear onscreen again. The weak link of the trio is Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth. Percy's smart and tough galpal of the books is given little more to do than scowl and/or look pretty. Daddario is lovely, but I'd like to see more traits of the Annabeth I knew from the books showcased. The supporting cast is made up of several big names, including Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Joe Pantolianno, Rosario Dawson, and Uma Thurman.
The cast makes sure the film maintains the wit of the book it's based upon, but I just feel it lacks the guts. There are all too many attempts to make the film stand on its own. Considering a sequel still isn't greenlit, that might be a good thing, but it makes the film feel more shallow than it needs to be. The mastermind of the entire Master Bolt scheme and Percy Jackson's Lord Voldemort nemesis, the Titan lord Kronos, is mentioned in passing early on but never directly linked to the events of the story, leaving the solving of the mystery anticlimactic. The romance between Percy and Annabeth, which wasn't alluded to until the third book, is unconvincingly shoved into the film (Annabeth's line "I have strong feelings for you, I just don't know if they're positive or negative yet" is a great description of their relationship wasted on an underdeveloped subplot), as well as Percy scolding the Gods about how they suck as parents. A similar speech played out in the fifth book, but seeing how it wasn't released when the film began production, I don't know if this was just a poor jump ahead decision or just awful writing.
And I don't know about anybody else, but I was pissed that Percy's duel with Ares, the aggressive God of War, was entirely cut. That was my favorite part of the whole damn book.
I've spoken to several people who have never read the book claim that Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is one of the best fantasy films they've seen. This somewhat leads me to believe I'm just being a stubborn book fan. I don't like being one. I freely admit that had films like the original Planet of the Apes and Jaws followed their novels closer than they did, they would have been much worse. So, is Percy Jackson a good movie? My response to you is "You tell me." I think children will love it, whether they've read the books or not, and parents who watch it with them will come out of it amused and unscathed.
But if it chooses to continue on, I implore it to not be afraid of the mythology set up in it's source material. There's a Percy Jackson fanbase for a reason. I don't want such a fun book series to sit on the Hollywood shelf of false starts, like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or the Golden Compass. I'd rather see a Sea of Monsters adaptation than another Narnia movie, or even the long stalled Hobbit films. I don't need to tell you I'd rather sit through another one than another Twilight film (oh the pains of being a boyfriend).
I'd even give Chris Columbus another shot should he choose to return. Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a very contemporary fantasy series, and I think his contemporary style is a great match for it. But if he still can't pull his act together...then maybe we should call in Alfonso Cuaron or David Yates to do some fine-tuning on yet another franchise he started?
What You Get
If there's one thing I prefer about Columbus' Harry Potter films compared to the films that followed in his wake, it's the vivid colors. I understand tone and atmosphere, but I find that the brightness of his films bring out a great deal in an HD TV. Percy Jackson looks great too, with not quite as many vibrant colors, but looks about as grand as I could have imagined it. The Blu-Ray is a combo pack with a regular DVD and a digital copy. Like so many films out there, it looks good on DVD but it explodes to life on Blu-Ray.
The Blu-Ray also features more special features than the DVD. The DVD only holds five deleted scenes. On the Blu-Ray, there are ten. None of them would improve the film, though the only one worth noting is Grover telling Percy a shortened version of the story of Thalia, the daughter of Zeus who was hunted down by monsters only to turned into the a tree by her father in an act of mercy before she died. The part about the tree is omitted, as are the inclusion of Annabeth and Luke from the story, but it would have been a nice nod to have since she plays a role in future events in the series. This scene is featured on both the DVD and the Blu-Ray.
Another feature on both discs is a 5 minute discussion with author Rick Riordan, Chris Columbus, and others on the origins of the book and the adaptation into film. It's fun, but lacks any depth to the history of the book or the film. One can't help but feel they're holding back. There's also a Discover Your Powers quiz (I'm a son of Poseidon apparently, which confuses me since I said getting lost at sea would make me cry) and the theatrical trailer.
Exclusive to the Blu-Ray are four more brief featurettes: a following of Brandon T. Jackson where he basically goofs around for a while, a look inside Camp Half Blood, discussion on the featured demigods, and a talk with composer Christophe Beck. The last one is an oddity, since unlike the others, it was non-anamorphic (yet filmed in widescreen). They offer a good glimpse into the film's production, but nothing to get excited about.
Last but not least is biography section for Gods, demigods, and monsters, which will give you a brief summery of Percy, Grover, Annabeth, Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Hades, Persephone, Hermes, Chiron, Luke, Medusa, the Minotaur, and the Hydra.
All of this equals a good but not great set. I can't help but feel there was more stuff available, but was probably held back because of the lukewarm domestic success of the film.
Final Verdict
The spirit Percy Jackson & the Olympians is alive, but the product is a bit too inferior. I'll see a sequel; I just hope it's not afraid of expanding its mythology.