Percy Jackson and the Gods of Olympus is a fantasy novel that is very popular among young people in the United States. The second film adaptation of the series is Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Sea of Monsters. It is based on the second novel in the series, The Adventure of the Devil’s Sea. The previous film in the series was also met with mixed reviews, and this film has also been met with mixed reviews.

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A work full of Greek mythology subplots.

The Movie Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters continues the Greek mythology story from the previous film. While the earlier film featured relatively royal Greek mythological motifs, this film had more core elements than that. The Bermuda Triangle, the “Devil’s Sea,” is the most familiar. Some people would recognize it if it were Cyclops or Cronos. The Golden Fleece and the Pines of Taleia, which were central to the story of this work, were minor. Even if you don’t know the original Greek mythology, the play explains what these things are all about, so if you don’t know them, you won’t be left entirely out of the movie. However, you will enjoy the film more if you know them. Greek mythology is unfamiliar to Japanese people, so the hurdle was a little high.

Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle is a triangular water area connecting Miami, Florida, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the Bermuda Islands. It is famous for the alleged unexplained disappearances of ships and aircraft.

Many mysterious anecdotes have been told about this area since ancient times, and it is also known as the Devil’s Triangle Sea Area. However, scientific studies also indicate that the accident rate in this area is not particularly high.

The changes in the cast of playing characters, such as Hermes and Chiron, made the story more challenging. This part of the story is hard to follow since Greek mythology is not as familiar. There has been a gap since the release of the previous film (2010). There are supplementary explanations, but there is other information that needs to be processed, which hinders immersion in the story.

Powerful visual beauty with a focus on the sea.

The movie Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is more potent than its predecessor in terms of visual technology, which is part of its charm. In particular, this time around, the title of the film includes “The Sea of Monsters,” and many ocean scenes appear in the movie. Considering that the main character, Percy, is the son of Poseidon, this is a natural setting. In some films, the images may become too dark in sea battle scenes, making it difficult to understand what is happening. However, this was not the case in this film, making it very easy to watch. Besides the ocean, the CG used to represent the characters and the CG used for the special weapons that appear in the action scenes were very natural and easy to see.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters Concept Art by Sebastian Meyer | Concept Art World

Entertainment Designer Sebastian Meyer has released concept art that he created for the fantasy-adventure film Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. His work

On the other hand, while the previous film offered an enjoyable fusion of actual scenery of famous cities in the U.S. and a fantastical world created by computer graphics, this film has fewer of these elements. In the sense of differentiation from the previous movie, this film succeeded. However, since the last film had a road movie element, which was an interesting point, this film was a little lacking in this respect.

Growth of distressed protagonists.

The best part of the movie Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is the growth of the main character Percy and his friends. The film is older than the original to accommodate the age of the cast. It allows the movie to function as a teen drama. By depicting the problems and struggles that teenagers tend to have, the content is more sympathetic. In particular, it is a good point that Percy’s sense of inferiority, which seemed to have been left out in the previous film, was emphasized in this film. Everyone can relate to the scene in which Percy struggles with the meaning of his existence through an encounter with his half-brother. Also, the problem of having been active only once and not being able to achieve any visible success after that is something that everyone has to deal with, and it is easy to relate to. The storyline of the troubled relationship with the father is also universally accepted.

I also liked the presence of Percy’s half-brother Tyson, who was newly introduced in this film. I felt the bond between the brothers as they struggled to respond to Percy’s trust in them despite his unreasonable treatment.

However, I often felt that the overall character portrayal was shallow to keep the film somewhat compact. It made connecting the characters and the audience challenging, and I thought the film’s climax lacked excitement. Even though the audience was raised to be teenagers, this was not fully utilized in the interpersonal relationships. Also, many of the cast members were too old to be called “teenagers,” and a strange sense of calmness did not seem to fit. Since the original story is a five-part series, this film was made with the expectation that there would be a sequel. Still, the ending conveyed to many viewers that this would be difficult.

Summary

The movie Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is an adventure story that people of all ages can enjoy. The connection to Greek mythology is interesting; in the sea scenes, you can feel the connection between Percy and Poseidon. And many of Percy’s problems were ones that many could relate to. It is a film that children can safely watch, so I recommend it for a family movie night.