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Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

5K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  MegaTechPC 
#1 ·


The Review at a Glance: (max score: 5 )

Film:


Extras:


Audio/Video total rating:

( Max score: 100 )
93





Studio and Year: 20th Century Fox - 2013
MPAA Rating: PG
Feature running time: 106 minutes
Genre: Fantast/Adventure

Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: AVC (MPEG-4)
Video Aspect: 2.40:1
Resolution: 1080p/24


Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio, English/Spanish/French Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Starring: Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel, Douglas Smith, Stanley Tucci, Levin Rambin, Nathan Fillion
Directed by: Thor Freudenthal
Music by: Andrew Lockington
Written by: Marc Guggenheim
Region Code: A

Blu-ray Disc release Date: December 17, 2013
"In demigods we trust…"


Film Synopsis:


The magical, mythical adventures of teenager Percy Jackson — son of the Greek god Poseidon — continue in this heroic, action-packed thrill ride! Out to prove he’s not just a “one-quest wonder,” Percy and his demigod friends embark on an epic, cross-country journey into the treacherous Sea of Monsters, where they battle terrifying creatures, an army of zombies, and the ultimate evil. With time running out, Percy must find and bring home the fabled Golden Fleece, which has the power to save his world...and save us all!


My Take:


Like the first Percy Jackson film this is an adaptation based upon the book by Rick Riordan. My wife frequently tells me that I am a big kid especially when it comes to my fondness for fantasy themed films. Growing up I liked movies based or focused on Greek mythology. The original Clash of the titans remains a personal favorite. Prior to the release of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The lightning thief I had never heard of the book series. The character was born from Rick Riordan’s need to come up with an original bedtime story for his son. Rick loves Greek mythology and had run out of existing material so at his son’s insistence came up with Percy’s adventures. Like the books this film is aimed at a fairly specific target audience predominantly the tween aged crowd. I enjoyed the first film finding that it could easily appeal to a broader audience.

Percy Jackson: Sea on monsters is more elementary in terms of narrative scope adhering to the story’s fantastical elements while eschewing the deeper familial/social themes developed in the original. That isn’t a negative per se however it leaves little for general audiences to connect to. What we get more of instead is action coupled along with some new characters. The introduction of Percy’s brother Tyson is fine although the character/relationship lacks development serving primarily as light comic relief which negatively impacts the attempts at sentimentality later in the film. Clarisse La Rue has good potential but spends too much of the film painted as an adversary for Percy, rather than a worthy ally, and is ultimately ineffectual. The villain will be a familiar one to fans of the first film. Again decent potential but his motivations are nothing new which imparts a feeling of déjà vu.


The action is what you would expect but fun if you like the type of fantasy/heroism the story showcases. The production elements are spot on and the chemistry among the principle returning characters/cast remains quite good. The pacing is brisk but supports the conceptually shallow plot well which is a good thing. I probably enjoyed it more than I should have but my tolerance for campy fantasy/adventure is a bit higher than most I suppose. As with the first film, those going in blind expecting a complex narrative, extravagant/graphically depicted battles or deeper themes will be disappointed. The door for a third film was left wide open. I am not sure if this adaptation did well enough to warrant another but we’ll see. Percy Jackson: Sea of monsters probably won’t satisfy diehard genre fans but certainly isn’t a bad way to spend 90 plus minutes when you’re in the mood for a light story mixed with over the top fantasy action/adventure.


Parental Guide:


The rating is for fantasy action violence, some scary images and mild language.



AUDIO/VIDEO - By The Numbers:
REFERENCE = 92-100 / EXCELLENT = 83-91 / GOOD = 74-82 / AVERAGE = 65-73 / BELOW AVERAGE = under 65

**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**


Audio: 96

(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

  • Dynamics:

  • Low frequency extension:

  • Surround Sound presentation:

  • Clarity/Detail:

  • Dialogue Reproduction:




Video: 90

(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)


  • Resolution/Clarity:

  • Black level/Shadow detail:

  • Color reproduction:

  • Fleshtones:

  • Compression:


Percy Jackson: Sea of monsters comes to Blu-ray Disc from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that as an average bitrate of 28 Mbps and lossless DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio sound that has an average bitrate of 5.3 Mbps.


This is an excellent video presentation that that boasts image quality that is indicative of a newer release film coming to Blu-ray. Resolution is generally strong as images have crisp definition and lucid clarity. Objects onscreen appear dimensionally strong with clear rendering that discloses subtle minutia captured by the camera’s lens during close ups. The level of sharpness fluctuates here and there however this appears innate and attributable to the extensive CGI used. I never felt it adversely affected the quality of what I was seeing. The range of colors used appears vibrant with warm vivid hues and delineated textures that look great in high definition. Fleshtones are naturally rendered with warm accents that give them lifelike tonality. Blacks are inky and noise free with discernibly deep and variant shades that enhance the films many dark sequences. Bold use of contrast gives the image a dynamic quality that occasionally overdrives whites but rarely infringes upon fidelity. The deep shadows, gradational grays, delineated colors, and inky blacks looked terrific on my large screen. I didn’t see any overt signs of video degrading artifacts or extraneous compression related noise.


I often hear from many enthusiasts who rate the quality of an action based movie soundtracks by the amount, level, and depth of the bass it produces. There are a select few titles that are considered to be the “go to” for reference quality bass. Like its predecessor this lossless surround mix is brimming with deep, resonate bass that has tactile response that engages the room. The response in my room during several sequences attained infrasonic depths that could easily be classified as skin tingling. The sequence that takes place in the belly of the creature in the sea of monsters is filled directional sounds, swirling effects and potent LFE. This soundtrack will not only provide a workout for your subwoofer buts its ability to handle low frequencies at higher level SPLs because the LFE channel is mixed on the hot side.


In addition to the noteworthy bass response this is an active sound design that makes extensive use of the entire surround platform. There is a wealth of discrete and ambient related effects that envelope and revolve around the listening position. It generates an involving sound field that corresponds nicely with the onscreen action. Dialogue is clearly rendered and variably distinctive. This is an invigorating and dynamically supported surround mix that features high level detail, excellent directional correlation, and bass extension that is guaranteed to break your lease.

Bonus Features:

  • (HD) Tyson motion comic – 5 minutes

  • (HD) Deconstructing a demigod – 4 minute featurette

  • (HD) Back to camp half-blood – 2 minute featurette

  • (HD) It’s all in the eye – 5 minute featurette

  • (HD) Theatrical trailers 1 & 2

  • Bonus DVD

  • Ultraviolet Digital Copy




Final Thoughts:


Based on the novel by Rick Riordan Percy Jackson: Sea of monsters is the follow-up to 2010’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The lightning thief. Like its predecessor it’s a mildly entertaining modern day fantasy/action/adventure spin on the Greek God mythos. Its elementary components and shallow plot may not appeal to general audiences but its big budget production and employed action might be enough to quench the thirst of less demanding genre fans. It comes to Blu-ray Disc from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment featuring excellent high definition video quality and a rip roaring DTS-HD 7.1 channel soundtrack that is sure to shake things up. The bonus features are disappointingly sparse and include a handful of bland featurettes and a pair of theatrical trailers. I am not so sure that this qualifies as a blind buy however based upon its presentation on Blu-ray Percy Jackson: Sea of monsters deserves a spot at the top of your rental queue.










Ralph Potts
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews





Reference Review System:



JVC DLA-RS55 3D Ready 1080p High Definition Front Projector

(Calibrated with Calman 5 & C6 Meter from Spectracal )

Stewart Filmscreen - Studiotek 130 G3 100” 16x9 Screen
Carada Masquerade Horizontal Masking System

Marantz AV8801 11.2 Channel Audio/Video Processor

Sherbourn Technologies - 7/200 Seven Channel Amplifier

B&K Reference 200.7 Series 2 Seven Channel Amplifier

Oppo BDP-103D Universal Disc/3D capable Blu-ray Player (With Darbee video processing)

Panasonic DMP-BDT310 3D capable Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

Sony Playstation 3 Blu-ray disc Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

System Controller: Apple iPad/iRule Pro HD Universal Remote Control

Canton "Ergo" Series speakers

Axiom Audio QS8 Quadpolar speakers

SV Sound PB-13 Ultra (Rosenut finish)

APC AV S15BLK Power Conditioner/Surge Protector

Wireworld, Better Cables (Silver Serpent) - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling

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#2 ·
I watched the 3D version of this fim yesterday and agreed with your assesment of the film and audio. The 3D video was mothing to talk about. The film itself is much weaker than the first one. The audio is quite good.
 
#3 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by gonzalc3  /t/1506737/percy-jackson-sea-of-monsters-blu-ray-official-avsforum-review/0_20#post_24099573


I watched the 3D version of this fim yesterday and agreed with your assesment of the film and audio. The 3D video was mothing to talk about. The film itself is much weaker than the first one. The audio is quite good.

Greetings,


Thanks for chiming in with your impressions Chris. Merry Christmas to you and your family..




Regards,
 
#4 ·
Ralph, I remember some reviews back where you mentioned you were considering doing a rating scale for the deep ULF in movies, ring a bell? I was just wondering if you were still considering that since, as of lately, there's been very few movies that dig really deep. Either way, great review and I may just watch this after all
 
#5 ·
I concur Ralph. I watched this last night and really really enjoyed it. I had read the book and they hit on all the main points more or less. I thought the audio was fantastic. The use of surrounds was incredible as well as some great ULF. The belly of the beast scene was actually astounding at how 3 dimensional it sounded while as you said Ralph the low bass coated the room with a blanket of bass. It was like sound was coming from all directions to great effect. Not just that scene too. Levels seemed a little low going into the movie but as it went on it seemed to increase. I was able to play this movie very loudly and it sounded great. Can't wait to watch again.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the review. Sounds like it is fairly similar to the first one for story AND audio. My oldest has read the books and was excited for the first one but then let down by the movie. I, however, loved the audio and purchased the bluray mostly for ULF demonstration - which is prodigious.



Will have to check this one out even if I have to drag my kids to watch it with me.
 
#9 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ralph Potts  /t/1506737/percy-jackson-sea-of-monsters-blu-ray-official-avsforum-review#post_24099693


Greetings,


Thanks for chiming in with your impressions Chris. Merry Christmas to you and your family..




Regards,

Merry Christmas to you and your family too! Best regards,


Christian
 
#12 ·

Haven't watched this film yet but did see the first and have read all of Rick Riordan's books (including his spin off Egyptian series, The Kane Chronicles).  I have to say that I quite enjoyed the first film and have high hopes for this one.  Certainly I don't expect LOTR type production values but I think it will be a fun film to watch if not taken too seriously.  Speaking of Riordan and future films, I really wish they had decided to feature his latest works for screen adaptation as opposed to the original PJ series.  The latest book series (The Heroes of Olympus) still has the same characters as the original with many additions and is much better written and conceptualized.  I fear that Sea of Monsters lost much of the momentum of its predecessor and that the chances of this series getting finished on film is slim.  We shall see and I appreciate the detailed review of the Bluray adaption.  I will watch this film on my new 60" LG plasma and am looking forward to the many effects this film is sure to have.
 
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