Author: mfordfeeney

#140RVW

Forget the snobby reviews – this was a very fun, very entertaining movie. Overlong like POTC sequels, rocky middle 3rd, but overall a blast.

What’s more:

Some of the stars were outspoken after the movie “tanked” this summer, criticizing the media and critics for intentional negative reviews borne of deliberately low expectations when the film seemed in trouble. At the time it seemed like people trying to right the ship and/or push off blame for poor receipts, but something about their claim struck true with me. Too often people smell blood in the water and pile on. There is a definite enjoyment in crowning the next Ishtar.

Having now seen the movie, I can report that the cast had every right to be defensive about being labeled a failure. This was a good movie, and if you are open minded enough to go into it not looking for problems you will enjoy it.

 

Perhaps part of the problem is Depp. Despite being a wonderful chameleon over the years, he’s getting a little long in the tooth for some of these roles. The whole quirky act is getting a little old and going back to the well with the Pirates team was likely to attract some criticism.

So how is he? He’s good. Hammer is really charming and the two have a nice chemistry. The good casting kind of hits a wall after that. Tom Wilkinson is his usual capable self but in a sort of tone deaf role, and the next time I’m happy to see Helena Bonham Carter in a movie will be the first time. Basically the cast is fine, but the characters are kind of crap.

In all, it’s basically two movies. The fun, modern western with gorgeous visuals and thrilling action pieces, and the overly involved plot-heavy  one that drags the middle of the movie out. Too bad, because this came quite close to being an excellent movie, but ended up being Pirates 5.

The major problem, as I see it, is that there seems to be a little confusion over what movie they were making. Disney seemed to market this as a family movie; there was a Lego tie-in for goodness sake. And a big portion of the movie fits this description. But there’s all sorts of dark and weird stuff in here with genocide and cannibalism that was neither interesting or necessary. I know the Pirates movies had some gruesome stuff, but I don’t think this is in the same category, possibly because the subject is less fantastical in nature.

So, expect fun and you’ll get it. But save some popcorn for the middle, because you’ll be looking for something to do…

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#140RVW

Better than 1st in most ways. Tony Head replaces Brosnan. Clearer but maybe not as epic; toothless. New characters mixed bag – Tyson cool…

What’s more:

Since the first movie doesn’t seem to have many supporters, it was a little surprising a sequel was green-lit. Thank the gods for international receipts. Personally, I think a sequel was warranted; it’s a great premise, a good setting, and the books have sold well.

The feedback on this one was almost universally, “it’s much better than the first movie”. Damning with faint praise, maybe, but after listening to the bitterness and derision towards the Lightning Thief film from fans of the book, I guess this is progress.

And it is better. Not night and day better. Despite my protestations, my daughter couldn’t wait to tell me all the things they got wrong, and which parts actually were in the first book and that they made up the majority of the ending. I was trying to review the films themselves, not the adaptations. But it’s very hard to divorce the two when watching anything that has been adapted.

Character development is slightly better, but then, it couldn’t have been worse. The ridiculous looking centaur played by Pierce Brosnan has been replaced by a ridiculous looking centaur played by Anthony Stewart Head. A very cool character named Tyson has been added. A very annoying character named Clarisse has also been added. These take time away from the sidekicks Grover & Annabeth, who really didn’t have time to spare.

Stanley Tucci continues to make the rounds on the cameo circuit to no useful end, but the cameo of 2013 goes to Captain Hammer, Nathan Fillion.

All in all, I thought this movie was exactly ok. I didn’t have the baggage that the fans of the novels were burdened with, so I took this as it came. And it was fine. No more than fine, but fine.

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Lightning doesn’t strike twice for Columbus. Haven’t read books so there was no letdown. Never takes itself seriously enough. Poor casting.

What’s more:

Many people love these books, including my wife and daughter. I haven’t read them yet, and after seeing how disappointed they were in the movie version, I don’t think I’ll be reading these until all the movies are done. Just seems that these types of fantasy movies are always better if you haven’t read the source material.

The effects are pretty good, and it’s really cool to see many of these classic creatures like the Hydra & Minotaur come to life. It’s a great premise for a movie & book series, and that makes up for a lot. Not for Uma Thurman as Medusa, but a lot.

The issue I had with the movie more than anything is that it just doesn’t seem to take itself seriously; the characters always seem to be smirking or making flip jokes. There’s tons of action, but there never seems to be any real peril. Partly this is the young actors lack of experience, but mostly it’s the direction and/or script.

The characters mainly seem under-developed. Percy has absolutely no character arc. The Annabeth character doesn’t really have much to do. Don’t know if the character of Grover in the book is given the job of being the wise-cracking sidekick with the stereotypical black character lines, but the filmmakers clearly were looking to fill a certain need.

Maybe I’m just not the right audience for this. If this came out when I was a teen I probably would have loved it like I loved the old Clash of the Titans. (I haven’t had the courage to watch the remake.)

I really love the fact that the main character’s dyslexia & ADHD are actually products of his demigod status and gifts; it’s a nice touch and empowering message for kids dealing with these learning disorders.

Some really awful casting decisions here. Joey Pants? Rosario Dawson as Persephone? Steve Coogan is like the paring knife of actors – absolutely perfect for certain things, but if you try to use it for anything else it just doesn’t quite feel right. Sean Bean is at his Sean Beaniest (this is a good thing). Catherine Keener is a wonderful actress but somewhat underused here.

Surprised that this earned the right to a sequel; heard that it did well overseas. Let’s see if #2 is better…

Moira’s take:

Hydra-horrible film. So many important characters from the book left out or reduced. Didn’t even touch on 2 of the major parts of the story.

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