“What if all the good I've accomplished is just luck?”
This is just one of the questions that plague Percy in Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. This sequel to Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (both based on Rick Riordan's excellent books of the same names) opens with a flashback to the nighttime arrival of four young kids at Camp Half-Blood, a safe haven for children born to a human and a god. Giant monsters chase the children through the woods, but only three make it safely. The fourth is honored by the gods, and out of the ground beneath her body grows a tree which anchors a protective magical barrier around the camp.
Back in present day, teenaged demigods compete in a spinning tower of death challenge, and as half-bloods go flying, it's down to Percy, son of Poseidon, and Clarisse, bad-ass daughter of Ares. Percy's second place finish sends him into a tailspin of moping and soul-searching about whether he's truly the “hero” his friends make him out to be, but he quickly gets a chance to find out when a fire-breathing, mechanical bull breaks through the camp's magical protection. It seems Percy's nemesis from The Lightning Thief, Luke, is back, having poisoned the tree in order to distract the good-guy demigods from interfering with his newest plan for destroying the world.
In order to save the camp, Mr. D, camp director, sends Clarisse on a hero's quest to find the Golden Fleece, which is rumored capable of healing anything (including magical-barrier-trees, it seems). Of course, Percy follows Clarisse, as he cannot bear to left out — never mind that pesky prophecy in which the supremely creepy Oracle predicts that a child of Zeus, Hades, or Poseidon is destined to save the world or to utterly destroy it.
And so, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Percy's newly-discovered little brother, Tyson the Cyclops, head out after Clarisse, run afoul of Luke and his gang of “gone-to-the-dark-side” teen demigods, meet Luke's awesome dad, Hermes, and….well, a ton more happens in this action-packed movie.
I had a blast with this film. It's fast-paced, light-hearted (even when exploring ideas of fate, destiny, heroism, and luck), and has some delightful lines, most often courtesy of the adult actors in the film, all of whom add some serious geek cred. Stanley Tucci? Anthony Stewart Head? Nathan effin' Fillion?!
The film is also surprisingly lovely for an “action flick”: we saw it in 3D, and for once I feel the extra cost for those awkward glasses (especially for those of us who have to put 'em on over our regular glasses) is worth it. There's a gorgeous opening scene that makes good use of the 3D effect, and several scenes throughout are quite stunning, most especially a stained glass sequence that recalled, for me, the animation style of Disney's Hercules, which profiled a much more famous demigod.
Bottom line: If you enjoyed Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, you'll love Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (and do shell out the extra for 3D glasses). If you prefer accuracy in your book-to-movie translations…well, remind yourself that a movie has to differ from the book, and go see it anyway. You'll have fun, we promise!
We give Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters four and a half stars.
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