Just when I’d written off the series, too. Awwww. In a move straight from the pages of, “Good Gods, why?” Percy Jackson gets a sequel. What? Were we too warm to make Snow Dogs II that day? And get this — given a new director and new writer, it’s not bad, begging the question, “When did Lightning Thief director Chris Columbus lose it?” The contradictions don’t stop there — Lightning Thief opened, box office-wise, much better than Sea of Monsters and managed to illicit inferior performances from superior actors (like Uma Thurman and Sean Bean).
The first thing the noobs got right is sticking closer to the book. Of course, that makes Ares-spawn Clarisse (Leven Rambin) a whole lot more interesting than wisdom’s child Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario); this film ain’t perfect, either. It’s just … better. When a giant fire-breathing mechanical Swiss Army bull attacks camp half-blood, you actually pay attention. Oh, it’s fake. But it feels more like Ray Harryhausen fake than lame-CGI fake. In other words, you kinda care how Percy will escape. Another is the little moments — the eight handed barista, the quibbling Caduceus of Hermes (Nathan Fillion). Or the sacrilegious frivolity of Mr. D’s (Stanley Tucci) inability to derive anything but tap water from a wine bottle and then proclaiming, “You know the Christians have a guy who can do this but in the opposite direction, now that’s a god.” These are the things people will remember, which is really important in a film in which no hero seems to have a clarified personality.
In case you missed it, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is a about a bunch of demigods searching for the legendary Golden Fleece. They may as well be 
searching for careers. Logan Lerman (Percy) transitioned a disastrous first Percy Jackson effort into a very moving role in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Jake Abel (Luke) was one of the generic love interests in The Host. Alexandra Daddario (Annabeth) is trying to live down the massacred Texas Chainsaw remake. If one year ago, any of these three had fallen off the flat Earth, I’d never have gotten the memo. Luckily for them, even in the world of Greek Gods, the Earth is round and the Golden Fleece hangs out in the Bermuda Triangle. That’s a nice touch. They need it to heal a tree. Yes, they do.
Sea of Monsters isn’t without problems. For one thing, the thin blonde teen villain should certainly be played by Tom Felton. For another, Annabeth, the Hermione of the group, seems like she’s on a pleasure cruise for most of the tale and Tyson is a fire-resistant Rastafarian cyclops and still manages to leave no impression. Now, that’s a neat trick. But this isn’t a film for analysis; it’s for popcorn and a six-year-old. Can you get a hold of these things? It will help your enjoyment immensely.
Percy returns to the screen
A much more accomplished teen
You might guess the task
But please don’t you ask
You don’t want to know where he’s been
Rated PG, 106 Minutes
D: Thor Freudenthal
W: Marc Guggenheim
Genre: Popcorn ‘n’ Red Vines
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Kids who decades ago would have loved the films of Ray Harryhausen
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Strict monotheists
