Movie Review - Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters ** (PG) This is the second feature film based on a series of popular fantasy novels for young adults. It chronicles adventures of a contemporary teen who happens to be the son of the Greek Sea God Poseidon and a mortal mom. In this round, Percy lives with fellow half-bloods in a magically-protected camp, because evil lurks without. He’s the most important because his dad outranks the other fathers of such offspring. When the barrier is breached, this quest begins, leading to a showdown with the biggest and baddest their mythology offers.

Compared to the Harry Potter phenomenon, it’s hard to imagine a mediocre movie like this boosting the print franchise to the same extent. Granted, big-budget pix make Greek mythology more accessible and retainable than a typical class curriculum, but the script is lame, illogical and tedious. Even on a 3-D screen, there are few moments of excitement or suspense. Actually, since this overlaps thematically with the two recent Titans flicks (Clash of and Wrath of), it winds up making them look better by comparison. Once again the gods of cinema were seemingly dazzled by the CG and other f/x powers they could deploy, leaving the screenplay and casting to lesser beings. Someone needed to remember: There’s no I in team... or in Mount Olympus. (8/7/13)