Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

Will admit to have not read the book, though have heard nothing but great things here and from friends. While it was still quite flawed, found myself enjoying the first film taking it on its own terms. An attitude adopted watching its follow up 'Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters'.

A follow up that is very much inferior, with a lot of weak elements and basically a lacklustre film in general in its own way. Flaws are far more and the faults that 'Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief' had are amplified. Even those who haven't read the book will find a lot wrong here, it has been said that the film takes a lot of liberties and there is a lot left out, that was very obvious in the story execution. 'Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters' is not a waste of time and has merits, but can definitely understand the criticisms from those who disliked it and share very nearly all of them.

'Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters' has some nice photography and scenery and production design that is full of atmosphere and colour. Kronos looks cool, is an imposing character and effects-wise is by far the best-faring. While not the most memorable in the world, the music score fits very well and is rousing in its own right.

Stanley Tucci and Anthony Head are both solid and give by far the best performances. Nathan Fillion's cameo is amusing and Leven Ramin is the only standout of the younger cast, giving her all despite not liking her character for her treatment of Percy very much.

However, Logan Lerman, who has given good performances in the past, gives a dull and here charisma-free performance and Alexandra Diddario is wooden with both a lack of emotion and charm, over-acting some scenes too. Brandon T. Jackson is saddled with the clichéd comic relief role and it's often unfunny and unnecessary. Didn't get anything out of the characters, felt very little conflict or natural bond and the development was flimsy at best.

The dialogue is very forced constantly, with most of the humour falling flat due to placement and the way it's written. The story is very choppy and disjointed, with a lot of jumping about, lack of cohesive flow and it does give the sense of being cobbled together. There's very little imagination, no surprises and not much at stake, it's not hard to figure out how things are going to happen. It is further hurt by all over the place pacing, some of it draggy due to some drawn out scenes and others that felt like filler and other parts rushed with an anaemic and hastily thrown together climax. Similarly wildly variable are the effects, a few decent ones especially Kronos but others are laughably bad like the water effects and the fleece itself. The action is unexciting, lacks tension and suspense and has no wonder.

Overall, lacklustre but not a completely regrettable experience. 4/10 Bethany Cox

My expectations were very low for this movie. The reviews were rotten, I could tell it was nothing like the book from just the trailer, and it was cut from the ugly cloth of the Lightning Thief movie, despite both films being based upon source material with limitless potential. After watching this movie in the theater and bracing for Logan Lerman's flawless portrayal of dirt, I ended up getting thrown a real treat.

Not to say it was a really good movie. The acting ranged from good to sickening. The plot was already cursed to be soiled due to the the first film's failure at adaptation. Half the characters introduced in the first novel, but not the first movie, came up this time. It was nice to have Mr. D and Clarisse, and even Chris Rodriguez, make an appearance on the screen. Despite this, the script itself was full of corny lines (mostly uttered through the mouths of Logan Lerman and Alexandra Daddario). Some of my favorite script moments were Tyson's little comments here and there,("At least there's no line." and when he sings an all too familiar song...)and then Hermes(Nathan Fillion) was well adapted and written, and also portrayed well by the actor. Another thing to note was the film's overall humor. In the first film, the characters took the story so seriously, it was hilarious without their intention. In this film, the filmmakers, writers and actors, actually intend to have fun and be ridiculous, which makes the film more worthwhile.

I can't say the visual effects were the best, but they really weren't that bad. Many reviewers site "video-gamey" CGI. Well, if it's video game graphics, then it's the best video game graphics I've ever seen. They aren't super-realistic, but the special effects are decent.I have to point out that there was an awesome scene of CGI when the Oracle explains the story of Kronos to Percy. This scene was creative and well done, especially with it's stain-glass window style.

The film's score (composed by Andrew Lockington) was pretty epic, but not entirely memorable. It won't get much awards, but it was really well done and held the movie together.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters only settles for being an "okay" movie. There are constant deviations from the novel, only decent scripting, acting, visual effects, good music, and mixed acting. However, it is not a waste, especially for fans of Percy Jackson. I enjoyed the movie, and The Sea of Monsters is my favorite book, despite changes. Now that many characters and plot points have been set into place after being shattered y the first film, the makers of this film have paved a promising path for another film that may be even better than the first two.

The Camp Half-Blood is protected by Thalia, a daughter of Zeus that sacrificed her life to save the young Annabeth, Grover and Luke from an attack of Cyclops and was transformed by her father into a magical tree. Out of the blue, Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) is visited by his unknown half- brother Cyclops Tyson (Douglas Smith) and they discover that Thalia was poisoned and is dying. Then the camp is attacked by a Colchis Bull but it is vanquished by Percy. Soon he learns that Luke (Jake Abel) is the one that has poisoned the magical tree.

Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) discovers the mystic Golden Fleece is capable to heal Thalia and save their camp. But Mr. D (Stanley Tucci) assigns the winner demigod Clarisse (Leven Rambin) to the quest of retrieving the magic fleece. However Percy Jackson, Annabeth, Grover and Tyson decide to follow an ancient prophecy and they go to the dangerous journey to the Sea of Monsters to recover the Golden Fleece from Luke that wants to revive the evil Kronos to destroy the Olympus.

"Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" is a reasonable infantile adventure of the demigod son of Poseidon Percy Jackson. The beautiful Clarisse is an unpleasant character and Percy Jackson is a weak hero; Tyson is too dumb and Grover is funny but coward. Therefore the only attractive character is Annabeth, gorgeous and strong. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Percy Jackson e o Mar de Monstros" ("Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters")

It's refreshing to see a relatively non violent adventure fantasy suitable for younger audiences again. Yet older audiences can enjoy it too. I actually prefer the story to the Hunger Games stories with all the killing.

The effects and creatures are slightly fake and unreal looking but it adds to the charm. Cute blending of mythology and the present story.

Logan Lerman still looks young enough for the role but Alexandra Daddario is looking a bit older.

I remember enjoying the first one slightly more with the novelty of the characters but this one is alright enough.

Keying in my first review in IMDb after watching a premiere show for the first time.

Percy Jackson: Sea Monsters is a decent effort as a sequel to the lighting thief. It is not entirely necessary to watch the first part to watch. The story is good on its own. However I did notice that there were many dialogs just out of line. The script might have over worked to make it humorous.

The visual effects are not up to the mark overall but some places are pretty sweet and worth watching in 3D otherwise the depth is not that great. With that one can easily notice work of CG in not so important parts of the movie.

The actors have done well and delivered the script good that the subtle jokes and wits were understood and 95% effective. I was pretty much impressed by the actress in the lead and supporting roles than the men.

Overall, the movie is a good watch but not a great effort. If you really into 3D movies, I would watch in on the big screen with the expectation some weakness in CG. Otherwise I would wait for BluRay. I give it a 7 of 10.