Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters gets a big waterlogged

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters movie review

One of the best words to describe this sequel to PercyJackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief is “demi-good.”  If you enjoyed the first movie, you’ll get a kick out of seeing the characters move on to another adventure.  If you felt the first movie was mediocre, I’ll warn you that this sequel is more cheesy than ever.

If you’re completely unfamiliar with the Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan or the first movie, it helps to know that they’re based on Greek myths, bringing classical characters to life with a modern twist.  Unfortunately, the characters in the movie are a bit one-dimensional and the acting certainly won’t win anyone any Oscar nominations.

Kids between 6 and 15 will probably enjoy it, but most adults will experience a mixture of mild humor and rolling of the eyes. The dialogue is pretty lame, such as when the Greek god Hermes says “Rome wasn’t built in a day….trust me, I was there.”  On the other hand, he later tosses a golden nugget when talking about the “Hercules Show” and says “It was the best TV show ever.  So, of course it was canceled.”    Who hasn’t experienced that?  I laughed out loud during one of his sycophant moments when he said “I am killing these shorts.”

The entire movie felt like I was on a Disneyland ride.  Now, I enjoy the “Pirates of a Caribbean” ride at Disneyland, but you have to admit it’s pretty cheesy and tired.  There is some mention of “half-bloods” and this movie franchise seems to try a little too hard to replace our beloved “Harry Potter” flicks.

Die-hard Percy Jackson fans say the movies aren't completely true to the books, yet satisfying enough to make for a fun ride.

Grade: B-

Parental guidance:  The language is clean, and appropriate for family viewing, but small children may be frightened by some of the scary scenes.