Okay, I'm going to start where every good reviewer starts... at the very beginning.
I was originally, as readers of this blog will know, going to be reviewing Despicable Me 2...
How the best laid plans of mice & men oft get laid to waste, huh?
I had already decided that Man of Steel was the first of my summer blockbusters that I was going to see, with Despicable Me 2 supposed to follow the week after a rather disastrous meeting with an internet "date" (though date is hardly what I'd call it as it crashed and burned faster than a kamikaze pilot, lol).
After the meeting though, I was then made aware that Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters was coming out at my local cineplex a matter of weeks later, leaving me with a dilemma over which of the two films I chose to see. You can tell by my lack of a review of D.M. 2 that I was vastly underwhelmed by it, so I instead chose to wait for this one.
Again this was another 3D affair (albeit not Team 3D, that's for sure, HA!) with the REALD technology being behind my viewing experience at the AMC in Manchester.
I turned up what I thought was around ten minutes late to the film (around 3:24 when the film, well adverts/trailers was due to start at 3:15), only to be told by the desk clerk that the production start time I'd quoted was for a non-3D release only. The next one was due to start at 4:30 so I figured what the hell, my folks were in Blackpool for the afternoon anyways, bro's!
From the opening bat (sorry, I've just finished watching the 2nd test at the moment so cricket quotes are fresh in my mind) it was plain to see that REALD is here to stay as one of the main outputs of 3D entertainment now that it's the in-thing again.
The logo with the li'l dog chasing a ball that lifted from the ground and actually came into the cinema to hover and open up into a bone-type-thing for him/her/it (depending on your philosophical slant) to play with was a riot and arguably made the bar higher than unfortunately what Man of Steel could deliver in my opinion.
But we're not here to talk about that are we?
Having thoroughly enjoyed Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief from 2010 when I first saw it a year or so ago on TV, I quickly went and sought out the DVD, which at the time was rarer than rocking horse poop (only for me to get it and within a couple weeks find out it was on Blu-Ray... scheiße!)
I was oblivious towards the arrival of this one thanks to my obsession with 'The Idea' (or my business ethic mindset that was being upgraded as I lived out my life) so it was common sense really that this one took the place of Gru & co as it was simply a case that I wanted to see this one waaay more!
So the question comes was I disappointed?
No, no I was not disappointed!
I deliberately opted against a tacky hint in the title like I've become akin to (and shall consider whether to stick with them in due course!) doing on my motorsport reviews so that I could let you all know what I thought without a surprising heads up spoiling the party.
I am telling you now, this was the ideal film that was made for the word "awesome", so now I've got to go about stating my case as to why!
Easy, from the word go the title screen was showcasing an underwater theme (no, really with a title that has the word 'Sea...' in it, you weren't expecting that?!) with bubbles and wisps floating through the screen and then BLAMMO jellyfish!
This was truly a breathtaking experience to see such a creature in close proximity (CG'd as it was to buggery!) that you actually could think you'd get lost in its tentacles and it gave away the fact that this one was finally going to be one that would be worth the premium of £3-4 (dependent on whether one had glasses or not) that was now de facto added onto the price of admission.
There was the mechanical bull sequence that was worthy of note and created destruction on a scale far more realistic than the Superman/Zod b.s. with bits doing the mandatory fly out of the screen & miss your cheek by mere millimetres. I don't know why, but that's what I always feel when I watch these, it's always my poor right cheek that feels the implied violence! XD
Also there was the Avatar-esque immersion factor which for me was why Man of Steel was such a letdown as it just didn't really immerse me in the film as much as I was hoping for.
Again I digress...
For Percy Jackson this was a return to the screen for Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth again. She is one of my all-time favourite actresses and much under-rated, with such roles as found in Bereavement and The Attic (don't see these if you're of a nervous disposition as they may just be *gulp* the death of you, HA!) proving that there is more to her than meets the eye... much more.
This time, there were more half-bloods & other such folk as to, not pad out the film, but lend credence to the fact that there was a much bigger world at stake than the one introduced to us in The Lightning Thief. I pay particular kudos at this point in time to the performances of both Douglas Smith as Tyson, Percy's half-brother & Leven Rambin as the feisty and at times annoying (in a good sense as everybody needs a healthy dose of competition now and then, don't they?!) compatriot, Clarisse La Rue.
La Rue it was who was going to argue over who got the responsibility for the quest for the golden fleece (sound familiar anyone? been there before anyone? Clash of the Titans anyone? same mythology anyone?) until it became obvious that there were more important and far bigger fish to fry.
I was really impressed seeing Anthony Stewart Head as Chiron the Centaur a role I frickin' knew I'd seen in the previous title, where the effervescent Pierce Brosnan played the role to perfection... boy was it funny seeing the pair of them in that role, they're quali-tee actors!
I have to make special mention to the sequence involving the almost destruction of the camp that would set out the pace for the rest of the film and the quest for the golden fleece. Once the barrier went down in true 3D style, the already mentioned mechanical bull (whose name, mentioned by Daddario's character Annabeth, escapes me at this present time) was unleashed to wreak havoc using a whole manner of contraptions within itself including, but not limited to, a flamethrower and a triple grinding wheel similar to those found in underground mining excavations (no doubt that too has a name, but I haven't got it at this time).
The flashback sequence, explaining how Thalia Grace was turned into a tree that served as the border to Half-Blood Hill, played quite a vital role as it set up what would be the ending and thus the Lazarus-style effect that saw Thalia, played effortlessly (I should really stop saying that as it's gotta be a helluva lot of work to do what they do by profession!) by Paloma Kwiatkowski and I doubt we won't be seeing more of her.
The climax and easily the best part, saw the resurrection of Kronos, a devastatingly effective CG'd demon, voiced to perfection by Rob Knepper (some may remember him as T-Bag from the series Prison Break that ran for 4 years). The way the 3D effect on this guy drew you into this disassembling & reassembling in a way that Man of Steel failed abysmally for me, was sublime with bits flying from the screen again and I'd swear it's like he was deliberately trying to swat you with his swaying arms & kicking legs that seemed to break free of the reel and try to make it in the reel (sic!) world, lol!
I have to mention before I forget (and before sleep takes over me!) that the sense of depth you got throughout the entirety of this film left you feeling as though you were standing in amongst the action with items in the foreground just as clear as those in the background. It gave you a true sense of immersion (a word I don't often use yet I've used it twice so far in this blog!) as though where the camera was focusing was directing your attention whilst making it feel like you were in amongst the thick of the action.
Yet at no stage did it make you feel overwhelmed by what was going on on-screen as when the camera was looking over someone's shoulder, you really were looking over their shoulder as though you were part of the crowd!
So by now you've figured out that I'm wholly impressed with this REALD technology after the disappointing effect laced upon Man of Steel, which leaves me no alternative now than to offer up my final verdict.
This is the first in my revamped scoring system that now allows me to add a graphic (proving this blog is evolving just as I'm evolving and not standing still!) and this is just the beginning I assure you!
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| Percy Jackson was a film I'd definitely see again and was a truly fine example of how 3D cinema technology should be utilised! |
Peace out!
The Lanky Penguin
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