Film review - 'Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters' is the most lacklustre big screen adaptation of a book

Film: Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
Cast: Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson, Logan Lerman, Nathan Fillion
Director: Thor Freudenthal
Rating: **


What’s it about
With a misleading title, Sea of Monsters is the most lacklustre and tepid adaptation of a book to the big screen. There really are no sea monsters in the film, unless you count the insides of a scaly giant creature as some sort of retribution.

Percy Jackson – the Harry Potter equivalent of a half baked magical world inspired by Greek Gods plays the lead role as the boy chosen to save their campus where all sorts of mythical creatures and humans stay in unison.

An invisible wall that protects their camp is breached when a rogue Cyclops poisons the tree that protects them. Now Percy (Logan) and his friends have to travel and bring back a blanket that will infuse life back into the tree.

What’s hot
There are those mandatory CGI scenes which look good, but the 3D really doesn’t do much. 

The film opens well, especially with the historical references and the sequence describing the birth of their nemesis the evil Cronos. 

Percy’s camaraderie with his friends especially Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) and Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) comes across as the most natural relationship between characters. The motor driven golden bull, the one eyed Cyclops and the scorpion dog all stand out with their detailed physical attributes.

What’s not
Unlike the Hunger Game series, this one struggles to find an age group or the right audience to cater to. The script and story is interesting only to entertain us for the first 30 minutes, after which everything gets predictable and characters go through the expected routine.

Logan might look like Percy, but he’s too bland and ordinary to stand out in a room. The climax in the monsters belly and the lead up to the big fight with Cronos seems weary and lethargic. Also Cronos doesn’t look menacing at all, with all those fiery parts that keep falling off!

What to do
If you are a fan of the books, then curiosity might tempt you to check this out, otherwise go revisit the Harry Potter series!

Watch the trailer: