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I learned that the Gods of Olympus are real and sometimes they have children with humans called half-bloods. We’re pretty much like anyone else you’d meet but with a few notable differences. We live in the only place that is safe for our kind… until now.” as Jason’s Movie Blog returns to the cinematic world of Riordan’s best-selling novel for the “cinematic flashback” look at 2013’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Sea of Monsters.
PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: SEA OF MONSTERS
“In demigods we trust”
Director: Thor Freudenthal
Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Starring: Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Douglas Smith, and Jake Abel
Run Time: 106 minutes
Release Date: August 7th, 2013
Rated: PG
THE STORY
Trying to make the most of his time at Camp Half-Blood, Percy Jacson (Logan Lerman) isn’t feeling the “majestic” thoughts of his heroic destiny, with his doubt alleviated by the wisdom and guidance from teacher Chiron (Anthony Head), while discouragement comes in the form of fellow Half-Blood camper, Clarice (Leven Ramblin), the demigod daughter of Ares. Introduced to his half-brother, Tyson (Douglas Smith), a Cyclops, Percy embraces the possibility of a family of Greek Olympian side, though he’s unsure of the clumsy one-eyed stranger. When the camp’s magical barrier protecting the area is shattered by a former demigod camper Luke Castellan (Jake Abel), revealing the weakness of a half-blood who sacrificed herself long ago, Percy and Tyson, along with the satyr Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) and demigod Half-Blood Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) set out to retrieve the fabled Golden Fleece, hoping to stop Luke’s plans to resurrect the titan god Kronos and destroy Olympus. When Grover is suddenly kidnapped, the rest of the group form a plan to enter the Sea of Monsters and nab the Golden Fleece, with Annabeth forced to trust Tyson and his monstrous Cyclops heritage, while Percy further continues to develop his demigod powers.
MY THOUGHTS
Like many out there, I found 2010’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief to be a frustrating adaption. I won’t go into too much detail about my opinion on the movie (be sure to check out my “cinematic flashback” of The Lightning Thief HERE), but, suffice to say, that the first cinematic outing of Percy Jackson was plagued with numerous problems, especially since its failed to grasp Riordan’s source material. Given the unfavorable success rate that the movie held, I wasn’t expecting for a follow-up sequel to materialize anytime soon. As fate would have it, a sequel was greenlit by 20th Century Fox and would follow the second book of the Percy Jackson series titled Percy Jackson & the Olympians: Sea of Monsters. The film’s promo and marketing campaign was a bit better handled and showcased a little bit more mature and darker toned presentation of this second outing, which (for fans out there) looked quite promising. Thus, I was interested to see what Sea of Monsters had to offer and did see it when it first came out in theaters (during its opening weekend). Unfortunately, I found the project sequel to be another disappointment film adaptation endeavor. Since then, I haven’t revisited Sea of Monsters in quite some time, so let’s take a look back at this movie and see if my “cinematic flashback” will shed light on this second (and last) outing for this potential live-action film franchise.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: Sea of Monsters is directed by Thor Freudenthal, whose previous directorial works include Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Starman, and Hotel for Dogs. Given several of his works behind of the “kid friendly” variety, Freudenthal seems like a suitable choice for such a project, approaching the film with a bit more “focused” fixed idea on what the movie wants to tell. It’s quite clear to see that Freudenthal shapes the movie to have a bit more of a “maturer” feeling, quickly setting up a new plight / problem during the beginning of the movie, which has a more darker tone, and clearly defining the film’s characters problem without wasting time for recycled moments. Given that this is a sequel, a lot of the introductions of the characters are handled well, with Freudenthal getting that out of the way quickly and plunges head first into Sea of Monster’s main plot. The sense of fantasy adventure still rings true in this installment as Freudenthal keeps everything engaging and entertaining (to a certain degree). In addition, I do like how certain characters (i.e. Mr. D, Clarise, and the Oracle), which were absent in The Lightning Thief, are reincorporated back into Sea of Monsters and do make their mark on the narrative, which certainly pleases fans out there.
For its visual presentation, Sea of Monsters does certainly improve upon what was displayed in The Lightning Thief and generates a much more visually appealing adventure throughout the picture. CGI efforts are enhanced and showcase a wide array of spectacle moments to help further develop some of the more fantastical elements that display the mythological beings, creatures, and Greek powers that the movie throws into the mix. Production-wise, everything looks pretty good and keeps in tone with the same type of caliber (sets, decorations, costumes, etc.) from the first film. Even the film’s score, which was composed by Andrew Lockington, is quite good and helps provide some fun and cinematic film soundtrack moments throughout the movie’s presentation.
Unfortunately, the movie does falter greatly due to a weaker script handling than its predecessor, with Sea of Monsters having that disjointed feeling throughout. The narrative structure for the film, with the script being adapted by Marc Guggenheim, tries to make the feature draw to more of a climatic end point…more so than what was presented in Riordan’s novel. This tactic has been done before in other movies (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of Dawn Treader) to help build up more tension and keeps the stakes for a third act finale. That being said, what’s presented in the movie becomes problematic, especially since Guggenheim starts to take a little bit of narrative ideas from future stories of Riordan’s world….with plot devices from The Battle of the Labyrinth, Riordan’s fourth book in the Percy Jackson series, being incorporated into the movie, which feels like a bit awkward and forced. Because of this “build up”, Guggenheim tries to cram too many narrative pieces into the film and this ends up having a rushed feeling in the feature, including several new characters and storytelling elements that don’t exactly pan out correctly.
Another problem is the somewhat lopsided tone that the movie can’t overcome. Yes, I do praise the film for having a lot more “serious” tones in the ways and means of character and storytelling reflections and thematic overtones, but the unbalance nature of the movie is rather wonky with more lighthearted (sometimes goofy scenes) jarring against the more serious and epic sequences. Again, the movie tries to show all-around maturity in its presentation, but can’t strike quite the proper balance that say something that the Harry Potter movies were able to achieve, which found a proper rhythm of still retaining fun / lighthearted moments as the narrative storytelling grew darker and deeper with each installment. Sea of Monsters wants to be many things, but is quite unbalanced in its tones and themes, which is disappointing.
For the cast, the main trio of Percy, Grover, and Annabeth, who are once again played by actors Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, and Alexandra Daddario respectfully. For their parts, the three acting talents have a little bit better understanding of their characters and feel a tad more comfortable playing them, with Lerman having a more confidence in playing Percy, who is seeing as a bit more maturer individual who is still trying to figure out his place in the Greek Mythology ridden world. Daddario’s Annabeth is given a little more depth than just a classic “know-it-all” clone of Harry Potter’s Hermoine, showcasing a more prejudice side that showcases with her stance on Percy’s cyclops half-brother. Jackson’s Grover gets a bit less screen time this go around, but that might be a good thing, especially laying off more of the wise-cracking jokes. Still, Jackson was better handled (and better focused) in this movie than the first one.
Replacing the character of Grover (in the company of main trio) for most of the feature is the character of Tyson, Percy’s cyclops half-brother, who is played by actor Douglas Smith. For his part, Smith is okay, but he (or rather the character of Tyson) wasn’t exactly what I was picturing for the character that Riordan wrote in his book. Thus, the character seems rather clunkily handled throughout the movie and feels more like “odd man out” of the main cast. Likewise, the character of Luke Castellan, the main antagonist and who is once again played by Jake Abel, seems to be more like a poorly drawn out villain for the feature rather than a great baddie on how Riordan written him to be. That being said, Abel looked like more how I pictured Luke to be in my mind.
Sadly, the movie does minimalize the supporting cast and not much of recognizable acting talents were attached to the feature, especially when comparing all the familiar actors / actresses that previously populated The Lightning Thief. We do get some…. like Stanley Tucci, Anthony Head, and Leven Ramblin playing the roles of Mr. D, Chiron (replacing Pierce Brosnan), Clarise, while Shohreh Aghdashloo and Ron Perlman provide some fun voice works as the Oracle and Polyphemus. Heck, the only “god” that is actually featured in the movie is Hermes, the Messenger of the Gods, who is wonderfully played by actor Nathan Fillion, but (again) compared to the first Percy Jackson movie, this is woefully pitiful and disappointing.
Much like its 2010 predecessor, the legacy of Peter Jackson and the Olympians: Sea of Monsters was another failed miscalculation from Hollywood, with the movie receiving mixed reviews from both critics and moviegoers alike, with many citing praises from its visual and action, but had a poor grasp of the source material and a weak script / plot as well as usage of some characters. Sea of Monsters went onto to receive roughly $200 million at the box office worldwide, which was estimative less than what The Lightning Thief received during its theatrical run (a difference of $26 million), with a production budget of $90 million. Because of mixed opinions on the movie and less modest success rate at the box office, the planned third Percy Jackson film (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan’s Curse), the third book in Riordan’s five book series, was eventually cancelled and ended the franchise altogether, leaving the future of seeing other adaptations from Riordan novels (i.e. the rest of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians novels, The Kane Chronicles trilogy, and spin-off sequel to Percy Jackson titled The Heroes of Olympus) left untouched and unapproached for any type of film adaptation. However, Disney, with their acquisition of 20th Century Fox studios, has revitalized the brand of Riordan’s Percy Jackson in Percy Jackson and the Olympians, a TV series where the first season will cover the narrative of The Lightning Thief (each season will be adapted from each of the books) and will be released on Disney + streaming services on December 20th, 2023. Only time will tell how the TV series will be received by viewers.
In the end, Peter Jackson and the Olympians: Sea of Monsters does strive to be better than its previous installment and improves upon some filmmaking and cinematics to make for a more wholesome viewing experience. However, like The Lightning Thief, still ends up being another forgettable and poorly executed YA fantasy film adaptation, with the feature cliffhanger ending feels rather awkward due to the cancelled planned franchise tag, and basically things left unanswered as if the feature itself was a bridge to between two films for a franchise that would be “dead in the water” after this sophomore installment.
Cinematic Flashback Score: 2.9 Out of 5
Fun Fact: Portions of Circeland were filmed in the now-defunct Six Flags New Orleans location, which was formerly known as Jazzland. The park was forced to close due to damage from Hurricane Katrina.
