“Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,” the follow-up to “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief,” dwarfs the first in both scope and storytelling.
Based on the book series – which I haven’t read yet, so don’t expect any comparisons – the film follows the tale of the half-blood children of the Greek gods and other mythological creatures in their adventures. When the tree that protects Camp Half-Blood from the evil creatures that want to destroy it is poisoned, Percy, along with his friends Grover and Annabeth and his newly discovered Cyclops half-brother Tyson, set out to find the Golden Fleece, the only object with the power to heal the tree. On the way, Percy and company, now with their peer Clarisse, must also stop Luke – the bitter half-blood son of Hermes – from obtaining the Fleece.
The story of “Sea of Monsters” is more engaging than “Lightning Thief.” An added advantage is that the character of Percy in this film is less cocky and more introspective. That goes a long way to making this film better than the first. Logan Lerman shows some of that sensitivity that he brought to “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and none of the blind arrogance of his D’Artagnan in “The Three Musketeers.”
The rest of the cast, without exception, also dig their heels in and do some decent acting. Alexandra Daddario, Douglas Smith, Brandon T. Jackson, Leven Rambin and Jake Abel – Annabeth, Tyson, Grover, Clarisse and Luke respectively – are all in their middle to late 20s, but they look young enough for the audience to buy it.
The most compelling facet of the film is watching these kids long for their parents. They are, essentially, orphans. Unlike the first film, none of the Greek gods are ever actually shown. It’s a nice touch as it leaves an almost tangible vacuum where their parents should be.
Overall, the film is extremely sweet and a little heartbreaking. The Camp Half-Blood kids are trying to do the right thing, trying to avoid feeling the bitterness of having a parent abandon them. Those that still have human parents were separated from them upon entering Camp Half-Blood, so most of them have very little parental guidance outside of the adults that run Camp Half-Blood – Anthony Head’s Chiron (a centaur) and Stanley Tucci’s Mr. D (or Dionysus if you’re up on your Greek mythology).
“Sea of Monsters” is a fascinating and thought-provoking study of what happens when kids are left to grow up on their own. It’s a strangely haunting film and it hasn’t left me yet.
