Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters

Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters – When the tree protecting the inhabitants of Camp Half-Blood is poisoned and begins to die, Percy Jackson, his friends and newly found half-brother, a Cyclops named Tyson, embark on a quest to find the ‘Golden Fleece’; a magical garment that can bring anyone and anything back to life. Discovering that former foe, Luke, is behind the tree’s poisoning and that he also wants the Fleece to raise the evil Kronos from the dead, Percy is in a race against time to get there first. Having to navigate the Sea Of Monsters and a Cyclops with a taste for half-bloods, Percy’s quest becomes increasingly dangerous as he doubts his ability to fulfil his destiny.

Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters (2013) – Director: Thor Freudenthal

Rating: PG

Running Length: 106 mins

Starring: Logan Lerman, Douglas Smith, Jake Abel

Genre: Action/Adventure

REVIEW: ‘PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS’

Based upon the book of the same name by Rick Riordan and sequel to ‘Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief’, ‘Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters’ sees Percy suffering from severe doubts as to how important he actually is and whether he is capable of the things that his friends and teachers say he is. Wanting to confide in his father, Poseidon, but feeling ignored in his time of need, does not help to allay his fears. The first movie tried its hardest to cram as much Greek mythology into it as possible; however ‘Sea Of Monsters’ is actually a little lacking. It is a bit disappointing that there is only one ‘monster’ in the ‘Sea of Monsters’ which, after an initially impressive introduction, is relatively easy to defeat.

It is also a shame that they did not do more with the character of Tyson. He is perceived by several characters as someone to be suspicious of due to being a Cyclops (all other Cyclops’ are known to be aggressive and violent) but he does nothing to warrant this suspicion. In fact, their mistreatment of Tyson comes across as little more than prejudiced bullying. Percy himself has moved from a somewhat self-centered teenager in the first movie into a disappointingly nondescript young adult here. Much like the first movie, the interesting concept of half-bloods and demi-gods is barely explored and any characterisation is sadly lacking.

That isn’t to say the ‘Sea Of Monsters’ is not fun. We get into the action much faster this time and the introduction features a training sequence to rival Harry Potter’s Quidditch games! It isn’t long before our heroes are off on their quest and there is barely a quiet moment as they zoom from one set piece to another. This is movie that will probably appeal more to children due to it’s high energy and it just a bit of a shame that more depth couldn’t have been added to the characters (although Tyson’s friendliness makes him very likable). While it has its flaws, ‘Sea Of Monsters’ is a very entertaining, family friendly movie which is bound to be enjoyed by both kids and adults who want to watch a good, light-hearted  adventure story.

CONTENT: IS ‘PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

The movie begins with the story of four young ‘half-bloods’ (children of a god and a human) trying to reach Camp Half-Blood for safety. The narrative explains that only three of them made it there alive. One of them sacrifices themselves in order to save the others; the character stands up to two large monsters but is thrown several metres before landing heavily on the floor. As they are lying there, they look stunned and their breath seems laboured. The narrative explains that they are dying and a tree grows from their body which creates the protective barrier around Camp Half-Blood.

Towards the beginning of the movie, a large metallic, clockwork bull with bright, red eyes rampages through Camp Half-Blood . It is very aggressive and relentlessly pursues anyone it comes across, especially if they try to stop it. It can also shoot flames from its mouth and, when one character stands in front of it, the bull engulfs this character in flames, although this character is unharmed. It traps one character against a wall and three large, whirring blades come out of its mouth. These blades jab outwards to kill this character who is able to dodge them before they hit.

When Percy goes to see ‘The Oracle’ he is initially told that this encounter could send him insane. He enters a spooky room and sees a large skeleton-like doll with bright, glowing blue eyes which speaks in a scary and warped voice. This scene is quite short but could be scary for young children.

Also, when Percy and his friends meet ‘The Graeae’, three female witch-like creatures who drive a New York cab, they discover that they have no eyes and the black, empty sockets are shown on camera several times. This is not particularly gory but it is graphic. They then produce one eyeball which swivels to look around and one of the witches puts the eyeball into one of her sockets on camera. The other characters react with revulsion at seeing this.

Kronos appears in the final act of the movie. He is around 15 feet tall, is made of red glowing parts that are trying to re-assemble, and has burning yellow eyes. On appearing, he starts to eat people by throwing them whole into his mouth. Although any child that has been alright with the film up to this point should be ok, this scene could be scary for younger children due to Kronos’ large, threatening frame. Please bear in mind that in a cinema screen the noise and size will be magnified.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT

‘Sea Of Monsters’ does exactly what it promises, providing plenty of action-packed, family fun at a good pace. It isn’t perfect but that doesn’t make it a bad film and there are enough entertaining moments to make these failings forgivable. We feel that this movie should be appropriate for kids aged 6 and over.

• Violence:  2/5 (the majority of the violence is quite tame and is rarely prolonged over a few minutes)
• Emotional Distress: 2/5 (several characters are killed and other characters become upset at the loss. Some of these deaths are not always what they seem)
• Fear Factor: 2/5 (Kronos may be a little scary for younger children. It is explained in the dialogue (and shown in a stylised animated sequence) that he is evil and ate his own children. Towards the end of the movie he is brought back to life. He is very large, towering over all around him, and he eats several characters by grabbing them and tossing them whole into his mouth)
• Sexual Content: 0/5       
• Bad Language: 1/5 (one mild curse word and some mild blasphemy. One mild word is cut off half way through)
• Dialogue: 0/5  
• Other notes: Deals with themes of friendship, family, fighting against evil, self-doubt, prejudice and self-sacrifice.

Words by Laura Record

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