Movie review: Percy Jackson and the sea of drowning

Director Thor Freudenthal misses an opportunity to use the action-packed plot.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is the second movie based on the popular series Percy Jackson & The Olympians by Rick Riordan. The first movie The Lightning Thief (2010) received negative reviews from fans of the book series and moviegoers alike, and it was expected that the sequel would not disappoint. Admittedly, Sea of Monsters is a slightly better cinematic interpretation. But don’t be surprised if the desire to leave the theatre midway persists throughout the movie.

Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) is the son of a human and the Greek god Poseidon, who rules the waters. Along with other half-gods, Percy lives in Camp Half-Blood, which is protected from other mystical beings by a magical tree. (It was born of the sacrifice of chief god Zeus’s daughter, to save the other half-gods). The magic tree is, however, poisoned, leaving the half-bloods vulnerable. And they need the extreme healing properties of the Golden Fleece to heal it.

But this is easier said than done because they would first have to undertake a precarious journey fraught with monsters to reach it. Our hero Percy is thus joined by his friends Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) and Grover (Brandon Jackson) to take on the challenge.

A spanner is thrown in the works as the villain, Lucas (Jake Abel), is also in hot pursuit of the Golden Fleece. He needs it to summon the demon lord Trigon who used to rule the earth. This will help him become master of the world and exact revenge from his father Hermes, the god of speed.

Given the classic action plot for Sea of Monsters — Good is pitted against Evil in challenging circumstances — it would be reasonable to expect a fair amount of action. However, this Percy Jackson film leaned more on the Disney side; whatever thrills it has are shortlived.

In fact, there was more drama in the camp itself where Percy’s character development is much more interesting.

One weakness of the film was the terrible voice acting. When villain Lucas is shown falling, his scream sounds more like a sarcastic exclamation than a fear-filled cry. Similarly bleached of emotion were the conflict points; the enemy was ridiculously easy to defeat.

The plot contradictions also grate on your nerves. Percy may be the son of the god of the sea, but instead of using his powers over water, he uses a magical horse from the sea, that is summoned by his brother after great persuasion.

The director, Thor Freudenthal, could have learnt from the mistakes made in The Lightning Thief. But instead this sequel feels more like a parody of Percy Jackson than the real deal.

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 15^th, 2013.