Year:2013
Created by:
Director: Thor Freudenthal
Writers: Marc Guggenheim (screenplay), Rick
Riordan (based upon the novel "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of
Monsters"
Certificate:
PG (106 minutes running time)
Genre:
I think this film is a mixture of:
- Adventure
- Fantasy
- Family
- Action
View trailer:
Plot:
“In order to restore their dying safe haven, the son
of Poseidon and his friends embark on a quest to the Sea of Monsters to find
the mythical Golden Fleece while trying to stop an ancient evil from rising”
Use of Iconography:
Iconography is used to describe the visual
language of cinema within the field of genre criticism.
The iconography for this film starts off
with a chase in the woods; the four children are running away from Cyclopes who
are trying to harm them, because they are half-bloods and the Cyclopes hunt
half-bloods as prey/food, this would appeal to the specific audience targeted
because the characters are in harm’s way and that gives the audience an
adrenaline rush and they then wonder what happens next.
Target
audience:
I feel that the target audience is:
·
10-25 year olds
·
Male and Females
·
Fantasy Lovers
·
Adventurists
·
Fans of the books
·
Creative people
·
Gamers (quests)
·
People with an colourful
imagination
·
Action Lovers
·
Daring people
I think this
audience profile is suited for this film because the stereotypes I have listed
are the type of people who would enjoy this film. Obviously, the fans of the
books would definitely go to the cinemas and see a visual side of the book that
they enjoy reading and seeing all the different concepts compared to the book
itself. There is a lot of action in this film, not as dangerous as the likes of
the film A-team which includes a lot of violence, there is just enough to get
you excited throughout the film. I have included fantasy lovers would be interested in this film because it’s a fantasy film which includes different characters and
creatures that you would see on a day to day basis. The certificate for this
film is PG, which means that most ages can watch it, however this might not be the case due to the fact that younger children might/might not be
interested in this type of film and also they could be frightened by some of
the action/battle scenes.
I generally
don’t think there is a specific audience profile for this film, even though
there are some parts of the film that wouldn’t appeal to people it would appeal
to others, I for one don’t fit the criteria for the audience profile for this
film, however I really enjoyed watching it and am excited for the next
installment. The aspects that support
this audience profile are the quests to accomplish this “Golden Fleece” which
would appeal to the adventurous type of people and the whole concept of the
film/novels would appeal to the fantasy lovers due to the sayings and clothing
that the characters wear in this film, yet also appeal to the more modern
person as some of the younger characters wear more modern clothes compared to
the older characters.
My thoughts on
the film:
I thought this
film was amazing, it is not the type of film that I would usually watch but I
decided to go for another film genre and I’m glad I did. The whole concept of
going on a quest to find mystical things really drew me in, I had previously
watched the first installment of the chronicles and I fell in love with it, so
I had to go see the second one, which was the best decision I ever made, if I’m
honest. People say that the second films aren’t as good as the first ones, well
in this case, it was better, there are so many different sort of battle/combat
scenes in this film that give you an adrenaline rush, for example at the
beginning of the film the “half-blood” characters have to complete an obstacle
course as part of winning the challenges and also preparing them for battle and
defence.
I am
currently reading the novels that inspired these films, so far they are really
vivid and descriptive in regards to the events that occurred in the first film
and give the reader another opportunity to really see what the story really
entails. With regards to the film what really makes it interesting are the
characters and how they are easy to follow and you automatically have in your
head what is going to happen next, however the creators really do surprise you with
the change in the story line compared to the books.
"The Obstacle Tower" Movie Clip:
The scenes that had the most impact, for me
personally where whenever the character Percy and his friends go to the sea of
monsters (the Bermuda Triangle) in order to rescue Grover from the hands of a
Cyclops only to be attacked/eaten by Charybdis who is a sea monster that guards
the sea of monsters. Another two scenes I found to have had the most impact where whenever the cat/tiger/scorpion creature tries to attack Percy, I know it isn’t real but they detail in the making of this creature was a success as I would be afraid if that thing tried to kill me. The return of Kronos who was a leader of the first generation of titans, had arose with the help of Luke and the Golden Fleece, again the detail and work that has went into creating such a horrific demon/god is amazing, throughout the film there are quite a few impacting scenes but I think these are the most impacting on my behalf as well as Tyson (Percy’s brother: Cyclops) getting killed by Luke, only to be resurrected due to the helping power of the water, as he is a son of the Greek water god, Poseidon, who is also the father of Percy, hence brothers. The only thing that would turn people away from this film is the whole Greek Mythology behind it, as there are common names in this film where people who have no knowledge would find this film quite hard to understand, boring if you will.
Narrative:
The narrative of this film is closed as in
the first film we see Percy defeating Luke as they soon find out that he stole
the lightning bolt, however it can also be open as Luke returns leaving matters
unresolved, but the narrative for this film is more closed as there is a happy
ending for the group. This narrative also has a linear content as there is a
simple structure in order not to confuse the audience. The film begins with Percy going over the
story of Thalia and her great sacrifice to protect her friends, with that the
quest to find the Golden Fleece in order to help Thalia’s tree which has been
guarding the half-blood’s home from intruders that has been poisoned by Luke,
yet no one knows about it yet. The scene moves swiftly on to the competition
help in the camp between Percy and Clarisse, Percy unfortunately loses after
helping a fellow camper who has been injured/ in harm’s way. An investigation
is therefore in place when Tyson the Cyclops passes through the border, which
we later find out, is Percy’s half-brother; the camp is then attacked by a
Colchis bull that breaks through the border and runs a riot. Luke suddenly
appears and confronts Percy about converting to his cause. With refusal, Luke vanishes, the campers then
realise then Thalia’s tree has been poisoned. Percy questions about the
Prophecy and how it may refer to himself.
The proposition for the quest to find the
Golden Fleece is said; however they must take the fleece from a Cyclops’s lair
in circle land, which is located in the sea of monsters. The choice wasn’t to send
Percy and his friends on the quest rather Clarisse and hers to. However, Percy
convinces Annabeth and Grover to accompany him on the quest, Tyson joins them
on their quest. Taxi drivers tell Percy his prophecy and give him coordinates
to the sea of monsters, moving along they meet with Hermes who gives them a few
items in order to help them on their journey.
After that the group locates Luke’ yacht and head to rescue Grover, they
are captured and locked in the brig, using the items that Hermes gave them,
they escape.
The group is then eaten by Charybdis and
they discover Clarisse in the monster's stomach. Percy and Clarisse work together
to escape, and soon they arrive at the lair. Percy finds Grover and the five
escape, taking the fleece and trapping him in his cave. Afterwards, Luke
arrives and demands the fleece from Percy, who refuses. Luke shoots a crossbow
bolt at Percy but Tyson takes the bolt in the chest before falling to the water
below which is a shock to Percy.
Luke begins resurrecting Kronos. The team
then escapes captivity and a fight begins. Percy and Luke fight over the
Fleece, but Luke easily gains it. Luke is suddenly attacked by Tyson, who
survived the arrow. The group however watches in horror as Kronos rises from
the sarcophagus. Kronos consumes Luke and Grover, before battling Percy.
Percy realises that the cursed blade of the
prophecy can kill Kronos he proceeds on to destroying him. Annabeth is stabbed
from behind by the cat thing that is killed by Clarisse and Grover. Annabeth
dies in Percy's arms, but is resurrected by the Fleece. Percy then gives the
fleece to Clarisse and they return to Camp Half-Blood.
Clarisse places the fleece on Thalia's tree
with Annabeth protecting the tree overnight. The next day they find that Thalia
is alive, as the fleece healed Thalia too much and returned her to human form.
The film ends with Percy realising that Thalia is a child of Zeus, and
therefore is another possible child of the prophecy about either preserving or
destroying Olympus.
This plot can appeal to the films audience
as there is a good few things happening in order to retrieve this Golden
Fleece, the producers made this film to be adventurous and appeal to the
audience there wouldn’t be much appeal if there wasn’t a few obstacles along
the journey in this film.
Characters:
These are the main characters of this film-
- Percy Jackson
- Annabeth
- Tyson
- Grover
- Clarisse
- Luke
- Mr. D
- Chiron
- Hermes
- Thalia
- Kronos
The 'Percy Jackson' Cast Talks 'Sea of Monsters':
When looking at the film, you notice that
the older characters have an older Greek Language compared to the younger
characters, keeping in mind that Percy didn’t always know he was a son of a
Greek god; he spoke as a normal, nowadays, American teenagers and now with a
hint of Greek Mythology sayings. I feel the media producers use the likes of Greek Mythology saying
for targeting the audience and meeting their needs to keep the story real, as
this film and the first film was based on the book it wouldn’t keep the same
thrill as reading the book whilst the saying are being used in the book and not
the film.
Settings/Location:
I think the film is set in modern times
however in another dimension/ world/land fantasy whatever you want to call it,
it was certainly a time where the Greek Gods where alive, well as the film
suggests. But when you do actually look at the film, where the camp is there
are such things as iPads, yet no televisions, so that does bring questions into
your head, I think the film producers wanted people to actually be interested
in this film by putting modern phrases and technology into a time where they
would have existed.
Words
and Language:
Again the use of Greek prophecy’s and Greek
phrases and names are used throughout however as I said previously the language
is modern and no proper paragraphs of Greek are said, only if they are talking
to the Gods, for example there is a part where Luke has revived Kronos and uses
phrases like, “my lord”.
Modality:
The use of text isn’t as realistic as it
should be, due to the fact that the creators wanted to make the story more
modern and easy to understand due to their target audience and the age group,
they have made the film so that people could imagine that they were in that
situation and believe the characters and how they are perceived. If they made
the language difficult no one would fully comprehend what is going on and
happening whilst they are watching the film, they have considered the audience
and tailored the language in order to suit their needs while also keeping to
the storyline.
Performance/
modes of address:
The performances of the actors/actresses
throughout this film are good, the casting director knew who would be perfect
in order to make the story come to life, however in some parts of the film the
performances could have been better, in my opinion, I wanted to really imagine
myself witnessing some of the lines that were delivered by Luke and Tyson but
it just didn’t work, they weren’t believable enough, however that doesn’t mean
they weren’t good, Tyson’s character was portrayed to be an awkward, outcast
who obvious doesn’t fit in with the rest of the characters, his performance
alongside Percy’s was moving in the scene where he is resurrected after being
killed by Luke.
Tone
and mood:
thought the tone of the film was
portrayed well, in the different scenes the tone changed depending on what was
going on, for example the Circle land scene where they had to steal the Golden
fleece from the Cyclops the mood was scared and thrilling, until Luke came and
killed Tyson which quickly turned the mood sad and regretful, to the other
characters and especially Percy, who didn’t actually treat Tyson like a
brother, in which he always wanted.
Lighting:
The lighting in this film were a mix
between dark and light, the lighter scenes were displayed when there was more of
a happy excitement in the film, for example when they were competing at the
obstacle course, to the more darker scenes when evil was in the character's presence, for
example the last scene where Kronos was revived the setting was quite dark and eerie,
this I thought was brilliant purely for the fact you couldn’t make that scene
light because of the detail in which the designers had created Kronos, it
worked so much better with a dark setting to highlight the red (fire) around
and in the rock figure which also emphasised the rocks and colours around the
figure.
Camera Techniques:
Close Up
Mid Shot
Long Shot
Camera Techniques:
Close Up
Mid Shot
Long Shot Sound track:
Sea of Monsters Soundtrack- YouTube:
I think the soundtrack for this film really suits the overall appeal to the audience as the music really adds to the film, at each stage of the film adding in the certain tracks really create the mood and makes the audience either feel sad or excited for example when, say a sad scene appears you would hear a sad song playing which the producers include to get a reaction from the audience so that the film is interesting and entertaining for them, generating sucess for the film and developing the popularity of the film leading to profit for the producers, hence creating more films to be watch and enjoyed by their audience. However, I think that there could have been more modern day type music to add to the film as there is always different types of genres that would appeal to audiences and thier tastes, saying that I thought the producers had included a different variety of music that really added to the film and brought the film and story to life.
Mise-en-Scene :
As this film is aimed at a more modern era/
audience the use of computer devices are out of place in the mise-en-scene. The
use of roman battle clothes really tie in with the concept of the film, and
give the audience a sense of what they wore back in those times. The use of
fictional characters used throughout this film really gives it that extra
appeal, as the film is a fantasy you really need to make the audience want to
believe that the characters are real and doing so the media producers have
given the film more appeal to potential new viewers/audiences, the use of props
in this film is key to the success of making the book come to life, chalices
and swords to bowing arrows and character are used to set the scene for most of
this film as the media producers had to make this film modern yet still keep
the setting and time that the story was based, you can’t portray this type of
film using guns and military equipment, that would just take away the whole
feel of the film and the way the media producers made this film and kept to the
story was amazing. the use of colour throughout this film is amazing, as this is a fantasy, adventure sort of film there is such a wide variety of colours to really draw you into the film, the use of bright colours really add to the experience of the film. The dark colours really let you know that something bad has happened in the film and gives you the feel that something is going to effect the journey that Percy and crew set out.
There has been quite some editing involved
with this film as the producers had to create different fictional characters in
the film using editing techniques, the producers also used different music and
edited them for the purpose to tie in with the mood of a particular scene for
example the use of “Light ‘em up” for the opening of the competition. The
camera angles and different shots were also edited, again to get the whole feel
of the film with regards to the more fantasy scenes, for example the use of
wide shots and long shots to show Percy and friends travelling to Luke’s boat
on a giant sea horse had to be edited so that you could see the surroundings
and the quest to certain places in the film.
Technology in Production:
There is alot of technology used throughout the making of this film, the use of special effects are used quite frequently,for example the use of special effects regarding the makeup of the characters the videos below show how the makeup artists created the look of Tyson and the other Cyclops featured in this film:
This applies to add the different "mystical" characters in the film, which I think is really amazing as it takes so much work in order to get the desired look to portray the modern day perception of these mythical creatures. There is also quite alot of of computer generated images regarding this film, for example there had been a lot of computer work involved with the creation of Kronos who was recreated with rocks and fire which wasn't played by an actor but was all created using computer software which applies to more of the creatures taking the cat like creature as another example.
Deleted Scenes:
Sea Of Monsters: Deleted Scenes-YouTube
This is a deleted scene/featurette for the Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters film. It features the main characters explaining what the film is about in a way in which the audience would understand.
Representation/Stereotyping:
There isnt really many things you can talk about when it comes to representation, however I think that this film is supposed to represent the American's perception of Greek Mythology where they have illustrated the different Demi Gods being lived throughout thier children's lives, instead of seeing the God's perception of the modern day era we see the off-springs going on adventures in order to obtain specific things that would play a key factor in the Greek Mythology story line that they are trying to portray. The stereotype for this particular film is a sort of an underdog story where the main character isn't your typical Demi God type, he isn't, co-ordinated, heroic, generally the opposite of what we would call a Demi God for example, Hercules. It's the typical few people who go on a quest to restore some sort of peace etc that has been broken due to the typical bad guy. There is also an issue regarding family issues in this film, where Percy doesn't accept the character Tyson as his brother because of the way he looks which is also a form of stereotyping as in those types you would regularly see the typical "pretty" Amercian family scene where everyone looks flawless.
Criticism:
To be honest there were a few things that I didn't like about this film, for example the whole language that they were using throughout the film, it was so annoying, the whole concept of the film was to be based around the modern day version of the Greek Mythology, using the likes of iPads and clothing from this era, whereas using the mannerisms made the film a bit cliche with regards to what they were trying to portray. I really disliked the character Luke, I generally found him useless in the film he didn't even look like a "Bad Guy" however, saying that it was good in a way that they had done that, "always expect the un-expected" which they had illustrated throughout this film and the first.
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