Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013)

When it's over, Sea of Monsters is a monster disappointment. I tried to give this series a chance, I really did, but this sequel is even worse than the first film. Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) and his friends travel to the Sea of Monsters, aka The Bermuda Triangle, to find the magical golden fleece. Their perilous journey is met with evil forces, as other half-bloods turned bad also want the fleece in order to unleash the powerful Kronos from his slumber. There are five books in the original Percy Jackson series written by Rick Riordan. The first film, The Lightning Thief, is decent and introduces the characters, and I was hoping this sequel would continue the characters’ and story’s development, but it fails on all levels. How is it possible to have a weak story when there is such good source material? The filmmakers only have to follow the story as it unfolds in the books. The seed of the problem is that the story is becoming more “loosely” based on the books, which hurts the film in a major way. Poor performances do little to engage the viewer or strengthen the story development. Lerman is a good actor, as demonstrated in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. He just makes a lousy Percy Jackson. The action sequences lack the tight choreography needed to make them look believable. Plus, I am surprised a film that relies heavily on CGI fails to take advantage of the possibilities technology has to offer. Perhaps, for budgetary reasons? To be completely honest, the whole Percy Jackson series would work better as a television series, giving it the time it needs to develop. For young audiences, this film may be a fun adventure, because it has plenty of action, but all of it is low key. It will also incite an interest in mythology, which educationally speaking, is always a bonus. But for older children, the lack of thrills will be a complete turnoff.

My rating: 2 out of 5