Though it may come as a surprise, 2010’s “Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief” was a solid box office performer. At least it was internationally and on DVD; the flick’s combined worldwide and home video grosses were almost three times its production budget. So now, after a significant lag, a follow-up has arrived. Frankly, “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters” is difficult to review when it becomes immediately clear that it was intended specifically for youngsters… and I am not young.
This new tale finds Percy (Logan Lerman) attending Camp Half-Blood with friends Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) and Grover (Brandon T. Jackson). When villainous rival teen Luke (Jake Abel) wounds a magical tree that powers an energy field protecting the camp, Clarisse (Leven Rambin) is appointed to find the Golden Fleece that will resuscitate the force. However, the pro-active Percy decides to undertake the trek separately, taking his friends and Cyclops half-brother Tyson (Douglas Smith) with him. Little do they know that Luke has more devious intentions; this includes taking the Golden Fleece for himself and raising Kronos, a devil-like Olympian God with a penchant for destroying the world. What follows are a series of magical fights and chases across land and sea.
While the original “Lightning Thief” film may have had aspirations to reach a wide age demographic a la the “Harry Potter” series, “Sea of Monsters” has a different agenda. Director Thor Freudenthal (“Diary of a Wimpy Kid”) brings back its teen characters, but almost none of the adults who peppered the first film. It’s really all about the kids confronting problems on their own. All the same, as an adult everything about the plot feels familiar and one can’t help but feel like they’re watching a poor man’s “Harry Potter” adventure.
Yet, despite the middling visual effects and stiff dialogue, one can see how a child would enjoy the visceral thrill of it all. It’s well paced and never drags. Lerman carries the film through its creaky dramatic moments and is a likable lead. Smith also provides some welcome comedic relief as Tyson, a Cyclops who acts as though he joined the group after falling out of the back of a Grateful Dead tour bus. And for parents, there’s also a funny cameo from Nathan Fillion as Hermes that perks events up.
The 3D presentation was converted in post-production but is decent. It’s such a visual effects heavy film that the images (including large water spouts, deep underwater canyons and craggy caves) already lend themselves to the format and so the added dimension is a pretty distraction. Finally, there’s a simple, well-meaning message about not judging others based on their family background.
Truthfully, “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters” skews much too young for most of the people reading this review. As an adult, it was all too simple and silly – I can’t recommend it. However, I can see a review from a nine year old version of myself reading, “It was awesome when they were sailing inside that monster’s stomach!” or, “The Kronos thingee looked real cool when it was eating people!” So, while it doesn’t get a pass from my adult self, the smaller, more innocent me would have found it a fun way to spend a couple of hours.