PERCY JACKSON: THE SEA OF MONSTERS – REVIEW

PERCY JACKSON: 

THE SEA OF MONSTERS – REVIEW

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is the sequel to Percy Jackson: The Lightening Thief, a film that wasn’t exactly magnificent but it was fun, enjoyable and entertaining. In other words, The Lightening Thief didn’t set the bar to high for the sequel, and yet somehow the sequel managed to be nothing more than ordinary.

The story centers on Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, who continues his epic journey to fulfill his destiny, as he teams with his demigod friends to retrieve the Golden Fleece, which has the power to save their home and training ground, Camp Half-Blood.

Sea of Monsters never really tries anything new, it never tries to set itself apart from the Lightening Thief. Instead it tries and hit all the same notes from the previous film without offering anything new.

The one big plus about the Lightening Thief was the characters, their relationships and the fun surprise cameos, that really made it something worthwhile.

While the story has certainly not improved, the writing of the film seems to have gotten worse, with humour that falls flat and narrative that simply drags.

The film does have its moments, but because it so few and far bar between, its simply a film that will fade from memory by the time you left the cinema after watching it.

Nathan Fillion’s cameo as Hermes in the film is probably the best thing about the film, giving us those good-natured funny moments we come to expect from Percy Jackson, while Douglas Smith played Tyson probably the most annoying character in the film.

While characters like Annabeth (played by Alexandra Daddario), who was a strong female character in the first film, is reduced to love interest without a sense of self, and Grover (played by Brandon T Jackson) who was the comic relief in the first film, now is relieved from the majority of the film.

The sequel didn’t try to strengthen the first film’s weaknesses; it didn’t even try and on build on the first films strength, instead its derivative of itself. The film could and should have been better than what it was.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is a film that is shrouded in a veil of mediocrity that perfectly balances the good and the bad of story telling and sequels to an unexceptional perfection.

My Rating

5/10