Anyway, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was a big disappointment to me as a movie, coming to it as I did from the perspective of a fan of the books. I was, however, optimistic of the possibilities of Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, as the trailers suggested a more faithful adaptation, bringing in many of the overarching elements that I felt were missed from the first film. I was therefore keen to see it and more-or-less persuaded Hannah and Andrew (and thus Arya) to come along.
I therefore feel bad that I didn't like it more than I did.
Now, don't get me wrong, as a movie I enjoyed it more than the first, and although I can't say for certain whether that is because I had lower expectations, I think it was, in itself, a better movie.
There were fewer things that really frustrated me in this one; mostly it was little niggles. The absence of Clarisse from the first movie made her sudden appearance as Percy's long-time rival slightly jarring, and the use of a nameless and not-at-all-as-tall-as-the-sky hekatonkheires in a minor cameo sadly suggests the removal of Briares from the plot moving forward. I was also saddened to see the cursed blade misidentified, the relationship between Luke and Annabeth basically excised and the non-appearance of Backbiter.
Overall, my biggest disappointment was that Silena Beauregard and Ethan Nakamura were chucked into a one-scene appearance. This means that Ethan's plot-critical role looks to have been struck, along with Silena's key relationships, especially with Clarisse, which seems to be a recurring theme with any narratively significant relationship that doesn't involve Percy.
On the other hand, Clarisse was good, and I loved her zombie crew and styling nautical coat. Moreover, Percy himself is nicely controlled, where it would be easy to play him far too arrogant and cocky. Overall, in fact, the cast is solid, and the effects are very pretty, especially the Hippocampus.
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