Look, I'm not a professional film critic. I don't have any obligation to watch every bad movie, so I generally avoid films with poor reception. But once a year it seems my family drags me to a critically panned movie. Of course, I dislike these films-and Sea of Monsters is no exception.
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is based on a good book series, but it seems to cut out everything interesting about its source material. The only parts that survive are the parts essential to the plot, which makes them seem considerably more contrived, and also leaves the film seeming generic and bland. The cast does a poor job of carrying the film as well, with most of their personalities removed in exchange for dull teen movie cliches.
The premise also amounts to almost nothing. Whereas the book had various elements from mythology, the film only keeps the few pieces of mythology that would be interchangeable with, say, magical creatures or any other piece of fantasy. The humour, where it exists, is hit-or-miss, with some jokes being fun and others being obnoxious. There's little to see here, and it really comes to drag when it goes for a couple hours without much character development or personality. There are various attempts at emotional scenes near the end, but they're unearned, as you don't care about the characters.
Thankfully, the movie is absolutely beautiful, with most of its special effects being excellent. The shots are also gorgeous, which is really disappointing when the movie does so little to earn it. There's even an amazing soundtrack, which deserved a better movie.
It's not the worst film I've ever seen, though-it's inoffensive, and though I wouldn't call it "fun", I wasn't ever angry at the movie. Unfortunately, it's still not enjoyable, and is better avoided.
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