Percy Jackson 2: Sea of Monsters (2013)

Elevator Pitch: You may remember from the previous film that Percy Jackson is the result of a coupling between Mrs Jackson and Poseidon. He is therefore a demi-god and as a result is being trained with other demigods in a camp protected by an invisible barrier. However when the barrier is broken he and the others are at risk, and it is determined that the only way of restoring it is for some of the young people to go on a quest to find the Golden Fleece. Percy has a brother, a Cyclops who joins with Percy, Annabeth and the satyr, Grover, on the quest braving both rivals and monsters of the deep.

Content: No sex or nudity, or anything else to offend except possibly the plot. The camp is attacked by a mechanical bull, resulting in the need for the Golden Fleece. There is a competition to see who will carry out the quest. The villain has a yacht which they board using a sort of seahorse. Later Percy et al escape in a rubber dingy. There is a battle with a monkey, and they are swallowed by Charybdis which appears as a whirlpool with teeth. Inside the monster’s stomach they find their rival questers and a Civil War warship. They escape using its gun. Then finally a climax in a sort of amusement park.

A View: I have not looked forward to trying to describe this outing, convoluted at best, opaque at worst. And there’s Chiron again, this time played by Anthony Head. He looked pretty good, even attached to the body of a horse. Like the first film, it made money although disliked, particularly by fans of the books. It is compared to Harry Potter, but that franchise has as its base an English public school, with magic pasted on. Not much can beat that, and Percy Jackson doesn’t. There is rumour of a sequel, but as yet it has not appeared. Not really a watch even for nothing.

Additional Info: The character of Percy Jackson was nominated and “Favourite Movie Hero” at the 2014 Kid’s Choice Awards.