Review - Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (2010) & Sea of Monsters (2013)

          Hey guys, Chuck here, and while we're still about a year off from the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, I wanted to take a look at the two feature films based on the Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan: 2010's The Lightning Thief, directed by Chris Columbus, and 2013's Sea of Monsters, directed by Thor Freudenthal. This trilogy stars Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, and Jake Abel, along with a rotating cast of fantastic supporting players. 

        So the first movie, The Lightning Thief, opens with a meeting between brothers Zeus and Poseidon, and Zeus accuses his brother's son, Percy Jackson, of stealing the Lightning Bolt, which is Zeus's most powerful relic. Zeus demands that the Bolt be returned before by the Summer Solstice or there will be war amongst the Gods of Olympus. It's here where we meet Percy Jackson, who is a typical teenager suffering from disabilities like ADHD and Dyslexia. He feels most at home in the water, and has to deal with a drunken douchebag of a stepfather named Gabe Ugliano. 

         One day, at a class trip to a local museum, Percy is shown to be able to read Ancient Greek as though it were English, and one of the teachers, Mrs. Dodds, reveals herself to be a Fury named Alecto, sent after Percy by his uncle, Hades. After being scared off by Mr. Brunner, Percy is sent home with his best friend, Grover Underwood, and given a pen (which is said to be a "powerful weapon"). Percy and Grover, along with Percy's mother Sally, take their leave and head upstate to a safe haven for Percy: Camp Half-Blood. Unfortunately, Sally is abducted by a Minotaur and sent to the Underworld. 

         The next morning, Grover, who is revealed to be a satyr, and Mr. Brunner, revealed to be a centaur named Chiron, tell Percy the truth: he is a Demigod, born to one of the Gods of Olympus. And his disabilities are actually skills from being a Demigod: his dyslexia being because he's naturally set to read Ancient Greek instead of English, and his ADHD is natural battle reflexes. And, of course, it's revealed that Percy's father is Poseidon, God of the Seas. During his trials at camp, he befriends Luke Castellan, son of Hermes, and Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. After a bout of Capture the Flag, where Percy wins for his team, a campfire at night is interrupted by Hades, who demands the Bolt in exchange for Percy's mother's freedom. 

         Joined by Grover and Annabeth, and equipped with a map to Persephone's pearls and a shield from Luke, Percy heads on a cross-country road trip to reach the Underworld and save his mother. Along the way, he encounters Medusa in a plant nursery, a Hydra in the Parthenon in Nashville, and finds himself in the Lair of the Lotus Eaters, which is the Lotus Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. After getting the pearls, it's off to the entrance to the Underworld, which is just behind the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles. After paying the ferryman in Gold Drachma (collected in Medusa's Lair), it's off to the Underworld and the home of Hades and Persephone. It's here where we learn that Luke was the Lightning Thief, and his it in the shield he gave Percy as a means to deliver it to Hades.

       So, Persephone zaps her dickbag of a hubby with the Bolt, gives it to Percy, and Grover stays behind while Percy, Sally, and Annabeth head to the entrance to Olympus, which is atop the Empire State Building in New York City. Luke arrives, and he and Percy have a fight, where Luke reveals his motivation: force the Gods into all-out war, this allowing the next generation to take over. Percy defeats Luke, and returns the Bolt to Zeus on Olympus. Percy then reveals that Luke was the thief, and was angry at all of the Gods. Zeus thanks Percy, frees Grover from the Underworld, and allows Poseidon to speak with his son, where he reveals that the law forbidding contact between the Gods and their children was because Poseidon was becoming more human the more time he spent with Percy and his mother, whis isn't good for a God. However, Poseidon tells Percy he'll always be there to guide his son anytime. Also, we see Annabeth meet her mother, Athena, who reveals how proud she is of her. 

        Back at Camp, things settle back to normal, but Grover now has his horns. Sally dumps Gabe, who gets turned to stone by Medusa's severed head. Movie over. 

       Okay, so back in 2010, I had fun watching this movie. I enjoyed the action and humor quite a bit, and I loved the comraderie between Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, and Alexandra Daddario as Percy, Grover, and Annabeth. Jake Abel was a bit bland as a villain in the form of Luke, but I kinda think that that's the point. Remember, Luke isn't some evil mastermind, he's an angsty teenager filled with resentment towards his father and all of the Gods. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the incredible supporting cast, like Pierce Brosnan as Chiron, Uma Thurman as Medusa, Steve Coogan as Hades, Rosario Dawson as Persephone, Sean Bean as Zeus, and Kevin McKidd as Poseidon, just to name a few. 

       Unfortunately, the movie has plenty of issues. Now, many of them are deviations from the book, including aging up the main trio from pre-teens to high school teenagers, the fact that everyone already knew Percy was the son of Poseidon, which was a big reveal in the book and rendered Percy an outcast for a while, and so much more. Also, some of the music choices just felt cliched and hackneyed. For example, after Luke mentions the "highway to Hell," the AC/DC song "Highway to Hell" kicks on. Also, songs like "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga and "Tik Tok" by Kesha just felt forced and date this movie almost instantly. 

        So, with that in mind, do I like the movie The Lightning Thief? Yeah. I do like it. But, I will admit it's not perfect, and definitely feels more aimed at kids in at least middle school, for sure. So, I'm giving Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief a rating of 3.85/5. 

          Three and a half years later, and we got a sequel. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters saw the returns of the four main actors from the previous movie, as well as new additions. The movie opens with a prologue with a group of kids running from a Cyclops while trying to reach Camp Half-Blood. One of the kids, Thalia Grace, sacrifices herself to save the other kids: Annabeth, Grover, and Luke. Honoring her sacrifice, Thalia's father Zeus turns his daughter into a tree, which emits a barrier surrounding Camp Half-Blood. Years later, and Percy is constantly getting his ass kicked in competitions by Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares. One day, after he seeks counsel from his father, Percy is introduced to his half brother Tyson, who is a Cyclops and son of Poseidon. That day, a massive Colchis bull attacks the Camp, having been sent by Luke, who poisoned Thalia's tree, thus weakening the barrier protecting the camp. 

          After getting counsel from Chiron, Percy is told a prophecy about a great clash, and the child of one of the Eldest Gods will either save or destroy Olympus. Meanwhile, Annabeth and Grover go to camp director Dionysus with a solution for Thalia's tree: the Golden Fleece, which is located in the Sea of Monsters (the Bermuda Triangle). Ultimately, Dionysus give the task of locating the Fleece to Clarisse and her protector Ichneutae. However, Percy, Grover, and Annabeth head after the fleece themselves, with Tyson in tow. The four enter the Chariot of Damnation (cleverly designed to look like a New York City taxi), which gets them as far as Washington DC. Unfortunately, Luke and his acolytes, including Chris Rodriguez, take Grover and head out to the Sea of Monsters to get the Fleece themselves. Annabeth suggests seeking aid from Luke's father: Hermes. And, Hermes points them in the direction of Luke's yacht, the Andromeda, and a message for his son that he shouldn't be angry with the world for his father's mistakes. 

        With the aid of a Hippocampus, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson reach the Andromeda, and Luke reveals what he has in store for the Fleece: resurrect Kronos, and have him destroy Olympus and the Gods. And where did Luke get the sarcophagus of Kronos? Tartarus, and evidently Luke had to get there through Cleveland. Okay, that's pretty funny. Anyway, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson escape, only to be devoured by Charybdis. In her bowels is Clarisse, who is aboard a naval warship. Ultimately, they use the ship's turret to escape from Charybdis, and are led straight to Polyphemus' island, which was once home to an amusement park called Circeland. Yeah, apparently, Circe herself decided to build an amusement park on an island inhabited by the Cyclops Polyphemus, which was disastrous upon opening day. A lot of demigods were devoured. Yeesh. 

        Okay, so with Tyson and Grover's help, Percy, Annabeth, and Clarisse get the Fleece from Polyphemus, only for Luke to arrive to use it to resurrect Kronos. A mass battle takes place, Percy defeats Kronos and Luke, Clarisse defeats the manticore, and everyone heads back to Camp Half-Blood, where the Fleece heals Thalia's tree. Percy accepts Tyson as his brother, and everyone is called to the tree. It turns out that the Fleece was more powerful than previously thought, as it completely resurrects Thalia herself, meaning that there are now two children born of the Eldest Gods: Percy, son of Poseidon, and Thalia, daughter of Zeus. But, we don't get the mystery solved as to which one the prophecy spoke of, as this was the end of the Percy Jackson film series. 

         Alright, so much like with The Lightning Thief, Sea of Monsters also deviates quite a bit from the book, but not nearly as drastically. Some omissions were a means of helping the film flow better cinematically, which I understand. But, it's still an issue. 

          Of course, the main trio of Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, and Alexandra Daddario were great once again. As for newcomers, I did enjoy both Leven Rambin as Clarisse and Douglas Smith as Tyson. I also liked both Stanley Tucci as Dionysus and Nathan Fillion as Hermes. And while I did miss Pierce Brosnan, I absolutely loved Anthony Stewart Head as Chiron in this movie, feeling that he was more of a kindly mentor and figure of counsel for Percy. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Nathan Fillion makes a couple references to his popular television series like Firefly and Castle. See if you can spot those references, cuz they're pretty funny. 

       And much like the use of songs like "Poker Face" and "Tik Tok,' this movie also dates itself with the use of the song "My Songs Know What you Did in the Dark" by Fall Out Boy. Now, while the song does date the movie, it's featured in a scene that is fast paced, and it does fit the scene that it's featured in. So, a bit of a wash on this one. 

        Overall, while not absolutely fantastic, and certainly not a faithful adaptation of the book, I still enjoyed the movie fine, and it's definitely one worth checking out. I'm giving Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters a rating of 3.75/5. 

        So, what's the deal? Why did this series not continue after the second movie? Well, both movies did pretty well at the box office, mostly due to having moderate budgets. And, the critic scores were pretty middling, ranking in the fourth percent range on Rotten Tomatoes. So, more movies could have worked out. Unfortunately, 20th Century Fox took too much time in between movies, so the lead cast pretty much aged out of their roles. So, there was really no chance of adapting the remaining books with the movie cast due to slow rate of development on the movies. But, as said earlier in the review, we are getting a new adaptation, but this time as a streaming series on Disney+, and with more direct involvement from franchise creator Rick Riordan. And with a collection of actors attached to the series like Adam Copeland, Toby Stephens, Lin Manuel Miranda, Jessica Parker Kennedy, just to name a few, the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians definitely has some promise to it. As for these movies? While they're not required viewing in my book, I definitely enjoy them and definitely recommend checking them out of your at all curious. 

        Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys later.