Percy Jackson : La Mer des monstres

Greek mythology returns in "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters", the sequel to 2010's "The Lightning Thief". Based on the novels by Rick Riordan, the series puts a spin on the rich mythology by blending it with modern society, which is kind of interesting.

The bulk of all the characters here are demigods/half-bloods (offspring of gods and humans). But the protagonist is Percy Jackson, a demigod son of Poseidon. Previously, he along with his besties Annabeth (daughter of Athena) and Grover (a satyr), stopped Luke, the Lightning thief, from destroying Olympus. Here, Camp Half-Blood (demigods' safe haven) are under threat after Thalia's tree, the boundary that protects the camp, is poisoned. The only thing that can heal it is the Golden Fleece which is located on an island in the Sea of Monsters, or what we like to call the Bermuda Triangle.

The movie is quite action-packed and pits our hero against a variety of Greek monsters. I loved the scene where the half-bloods had to face the Colchis bull. The mechanical bull was quite extraordinary and that scene was entertaining. However, I felt that the climax was a bit of a letdown as all the tension that had been generated zipped away so quickly.

Characters come and go. In "Sea of Monsters", much of the ensemble cast that make up the deities from the previous film are absent. We will see no more of Zeus (Sean Bean), Poseidon (Kevin McKidd), Hades (Steve Coogan), Persephone (Rosario Dawson), and Chiron (Pierce Brosnan). That means most of the experienced actors are out (not to forget Uma Thurman as Medusa). In replacement, we get Dionysus portrayed by the reliable Stanley Tucci. The gods Hermes and Chiron have replacements (Nathan Fillion and Anthony Head, respectively). We also have the clumsy but humble Tyson (Douglas Smith), Percy's cyclops half-brother, and the self-eccentric Clarisse La Rue (Leven Rambin), demigod daughter of Ares.

The movie had lots of scenes involving special effects. It was okay but it wasn't excellent. Some of the creatures were stunning (the hippocampus was amazing and eye-candy) whereas some looked pretty cheap and effortless (Kronos).

Under the direction of a new director, the movie is more faithful to the source compared to the first movie's similarity to the book (although by a tiny bit). But that's not to say some of the scenes diverge from he book. The movie is quite well-paced and during the ride, there are plenty of laughs to enjoy.

Overall, "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" is quite an enjoyable film. It's not better than the first and it's not worse than the first. It has quite an interesting premise and some fine action sequences.

Rating: 6/10

Final Verdict: "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" is a decent sequel that provides plenty of action scenes and laughs, with passable acting and okay visual effects.

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.

There is a better film about gods and monsters: it's called Gods and Monsters.

I love the Percy Jackson books, it's one of my favourite book series. Thought the first film was alright, but a mediocre version of the books. When I heard that there was going to be a second one, I was very skeptical that it would work considering the number of bad changes they've done to the Lightning Thief.

But once I learned that screen writers Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski were hired to adapt it (who aren't credited for some reason), I began to feel hopeful for the Sea of Monsters. Alexander and Karaszewski had previously worked on the bio-pics Ed Wood, The People vs. Larry Flynt, and Man on the Moon. I thought that they'd look up the books and do justice to Percy Jackson.

Just came back from seeing it and I really like it, thought it was better than The Lightning Thief. I didn't think that it was a great film, some of the dialogue felt awkward to me, but overall I had fun and felt some justice was done. Yes, there was some changes made to the Sea of Monsters but nothing as bad as the previous film. I enjoyed watching Stanley Tucci (Mr. D), Anthony Stewart Head (Chiron), and Ron Perlman (Polyphemus).

Definitely see it if you like the books. Now I'm hoping to see the next films in the series!

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