Above, a scene from “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.” (Photo credit: 20th Century Fox)
‘Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters’ a commendable sequel
A little older, a little less humor, a little more responsibility and a lot more consequence. There’s more than a touch of the boy wizard’s magic (and a strong sense of deja vu) weaving throughout “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.” (Which is a bit strange, since this movie wasn’t actually directed by a “Harry Potter” director, unlike the first film.)
Continuing from its box-office success of a predecessor, “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief,” “Sea of Monsters,” dosed in its mythology of choice (Greek), reintroduces us to the title hero (played by Logan Lerman), Annabeth (Alexandra Daddrio) and Grover (Brandon T. Jackson). The issue in this movie (based on the book of the same name by Rick Riordan) revolves around saving Camp Half-Blood, the training ground (and de facto home) for demigods and mystical creatures. When the magical tree that protects the camp with its aura is poisoned, leaving everyone in danger of attack, campers sets out to retrieve the legendary Golden Fleece. The Fleece, according to legend, is capable of healing any living being, possessing god-like restoration properties needed to help the wounded tree.
So, Percy, being ever so impatient, decides to join the fray. Why? Because there’s a prophecy, of course. Informed by centaur Chiron (a well-cast Anthony Head, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Percy learns the ever-cryptic message involves the Golden Fleece and the child of one of the three main gods of Olympus (Zeus, Hades and Poseidon). And since Percy is the only living child of one of the Big Three, he feels both obligated and terrified of the destiny looming over him. (There may be a part where the prophecy states he may end the world as we know it. Maybe that’s causing the stress …)
But there’s an issue: This wasn’t Percy’s quest. Instead, Mr. D (Stanley Tucci portraying Dionysian) hands the quest to Clarisse (a scene-stealing Leven Rambin of “The Hunger Games”), daughter of Ares and most than slightly resembling Annabeth from the previous movie.
And then’s there the injection of the Lightning Thief and series nemesis, Luke (Jake Abel), which just makes the situation all that more hectic. (Speaking of Luke, son of Hermes, Nathan Fillion plays the father role.)
The heroes set out to the Sea of Monsters, otherwise known as the Bermuda Triangle, to retrieve the Fleece. In tow is Percy’s newly discovered Cyclops half-brother, Tyson (Douglas Smith). His feature — the one eye — comes across as poor CGI, which is probably why he wears sunglasses or uses potions to make him look human.
Directed by Thor Freudenthal (“Diary of a Wimpy Kid”), “Sea of Monsters” doesn’t try to fix what’s not broken, giving us more of what made “The Lightning Thief” appealing, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. He makes solid use of 3-D rendering, notably the vertigo-inducing Charybdis and the fiery resurrected Kronos. Movie fans may notice some familiar riffs, making some clever references.
“Sea of Monsters” will appeal to typical moviegoers in their teen years, but fans of the book may be disappointed or angered by some creative licensing that took place. After the viewing this critic watched, there were more than a few audience members grumbling about some of the drastic changes. Take that for what you will.
Being the second part of a five-part series, we know there’s more to come, and the ending of “Sea of Monsters” leaves no doubt the sequels will be produced. “Sea of Monsters” could have used a bit of work, especially with some of its stale writing, but it was a solid follow-up, and it should sate the longing for those who miss their yearly Harry Potter movies. Worse could be said of a movie.
Three Grecian stars out of five.
Following Silver Screening Reviews on Twitter or like us on Facebook.
Silver Screening Reviews 