Cast: Logan Lerman, Douglas Smith,
Brandon Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Leven Ramblin, Jake Abel, Stanley Tucci,
Nathan Fillion, Paloma Kwiatkowski; Director:
Thor Freudenthal; Story: based on the book Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan; Screenplay: Marc
Guggenheim; Producer: Michael
Barnathan, Karen Rosenfelt; Music:
Andrew Lockington; Genre: Fantasy/Adventure;
Running Time: 107 minutes; Distributor:
20th Century Fox ; Location:
USA
Technical assessment: 3
Moral assessment: 3
CINEMA rating: V14 (For viewers aged 14 and above)
The
second instalment of the Percy Jackson adventures, as based loosely on Rick
Riordan’s novels, picks up in Camp Half-Blood, a haven and training ground for
demigods. The movie opens with Percy (Logan Lerman), the son of Poseidon,
narrating the sacrifice of young Thalia (Paloma Kwiatkowski) and Zeus’ reward for her actions. Apparently, a pine tree
that now emits a magical protective shield grew through her body. In the camp, a friendly tournament among
the demigods is taking place and ends with Clarisse (Leven Ramblin), daughter
of Ares and Percy’s rival, winning once again because Percy had to go all the
way back to the start to save a fellow competitor. This leaves Percy silently
resentful of not being able to be perceived as a champion or winner. However,
he keeps his feelings in check and humbly takes on a cleaning assignment from
the Camp Master Dionysus (Stanley Tucci). Percy is introduced to camp newcomer a
cyclops, Tyson (Douglas Smith), another son of his father Poseidon, and
receives more humiliating moments as camp residents rudely stare at his
one-eyed half-brother. Later, Luke
Castellan (Jake Abel), Hermes’ son and the antagonist of the series, attacks
the camp and poisons Thalia’s magic tree which endangers the existence of the
entire camp. Dionysus sends Clarisse on a quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece
to heal the tree. But Percy learns of a prophesy saying a demigod and child of
one of the Big Three Gods (Zeus, Poseidon and Hades) will save or destroy Mount
Olympus. He assumes the prophesy refers to him, sets off with his friend
Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), daughter of Athena, his satyr protector Grover
Underwood (Brandon T.Jackson) and his half-brother Tyson to find the Fleece,
stop Luke from resurrecting the Titan Kronos and destroying Mount Olympus.
A
mark of a good movie adaptation is its ability to stand on its own merits,
whether or not viewers have read the original book. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is somewhat in between. It gives
enough highlights from the book but does not confuse the audience with the side
stories and character backstories which are not fully developed. Although the
fans of Rick Riordan would complain that the movie version is so different from
the original novel and in a sense loses its mythological mystique, the first
time viewer can appreciate it as it is and find it worthy enough to try to
watch the first movie just so the context is better grasped. As always, Hollywood has perfected the
computer generated effects, and even if audiences already expect this kind of
magic, the special effects are still powerful and commendable. The greatest
value of the movie lies in the seamlessness of the post production works. Performances
and the script are a little predictable and shallow but they work nonetheless.
Over-all, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
may not belong to the “must watch films” but is enjoyable and worth the
effort.
There are two lessons to be derived from
the film. First, the value of family. Percy did not see Tyson as a worthwhile
brother but realized that looks and lineage are of little consequence. He also
thought that his father does not listen and later on realized that it was his
father guiding him all along. Families stick together, stay together and help
each other all the time. Family here does not merely refer to blood relatives
because at the end of the day, rivals Clarisse and Percy supported each other
to succeed in their quest to save the camp. Second, the value of sacrifice.
Thalia bravely fought the monster Cyclops to give her friends a chance to
escape at the expense of her life. Percy gave up winning against Clarisse in
the tournament because someone needed his help. In the end, despite wanting so
much to be recognized for his heroic contribution to the quest, he gave the
honors of retrieving the Golden Fleece to Clarisse as it was her original
quest. It is never about just winning but doing good and being humble about
it—a magnanimity of heart that is the mark of a true hero.
