User blog comment:Darkcloud1111/Official "The Sea of Monsters (movie)" Discussion/@comment-3974711-20130819171234

I'm not the most hardcore Rick Riordan fan, nor the true film addict, but I'd like to give my honest review of the film. '''This will contain massive spoilers. '''

I can say that I am one of the very few Percy Jackson fans that enjoyed the first film. However, it did feel too much like a TV movie, and it made little effort to win over the fanbase to support the franchise. But I was determined to see the next one.

I felt the opening scene was done well. Percy narrates the premise to inform those who didn't watch the first one. It was a good idea to incorporate Thalia's story into this film rather than the first one, as it only starts taking effect here. The "bad cyclops" trauma for Annabeth was moved here, so as not to extend the film with an additional flashback. There is the continuity shift with the barrier being moved though.

Next is the camp scene. Good establishment of Clarisse's character after being absent from the first film, and there was a subtle hint to Percy's fatal flaw when he decided to go back and help the other camper. Stanley Tucci plays a convincing Mr. D (and as a Christian, personally loved his line about God) and Anthony Head matches Pierce Brosnan, though there were several times where he was unintelligible. Tyson's introduction felt kind of forced in, though admittedly it also felt forced in (but to a lesser degree) in the book. The fight scene looked cool at first, but then you realize why all these demigods are unprepared to fight a real monster.

The quest itself was quite a step down from the books. Having watched The Lightning Thief, I fully expected this. Of the events that did happen, I felt they were not paced so well. The Andromeda scene raises questions of how they expect to accomplish certain things in the future (such as its size, and recognizing Silena as a traitor) Percy's powers also seem inconsistent and difficult to follow, and his ability to determine his exact location in sea, while nicely adapted from the book, sort of came out of nowhere in the film.

The third act was definitely the weakest, in my opinion. I feel Polyphemus was given too little exposure as an intimidating cyclops, or as a contrast to Tyson. Raising Kronos was something I did not expect. It wasn't done particularly badly, but as before, questions are raised as to how this will affect the future. I also did not see the need to nearly kill Annabeth. The Fleece had already shown it was capable of powerful healing. If they wanted it to be a scene to increase the romance between her and Percy, they could have peppered hints earlier.

All in all I thought that Sea of Monsters was overall a much bigger, more cinematic film than The Lightning Thief. It also shows signs of the franchise being closer to the sources. Whether or not this is a good thing is a matter of opinion. The books are great, but has many concepts that come off as campy, and do not translate well to film. I enjoyed this film more than The Lightning Thief, but it does have its glaring flaws. Annabeth once again comes off as being Athena's daughter in name only, and Clarisse's acknowledgement of Percy might be interpreted by others as Percy becoming a Mary Sue type. Logan Lerman is decent enough, but he would e better if he could expand his acting range (I was not convinced when he said he apologized to Annabeth about her prejudice). The director needs to read the books. This cannot be stressed enough. And not just the one book, but the whole series. They need to realize that what needs to be formed is an overarching plot that is culminated in the 5th movie, but is built up by the other 4.

I suggest watching the film for yourself, then make judgement. Remember studios think by the numbers. If the series is boycotted by fans who think that doing so will produce a remake, executives will think that people just aren't interested in seeing the movies period, and so will stop making them, and won't give a thought to rebooting. As for me, while not a great film, Sea of Monsters exceeds my expectations.