Story
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is the sequel to Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief, featuring the adventures of half-human demigod Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman).
Set seven years after The Lightning Thief, Sea of Monsters begins with Percy at Camp Half-Blood, a training camp for demigods. Here Percy is hard at work, along with his Cyclops half-brother, Tyson (Douglas Smith), close friend Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) and a satyr named Grover (Brandon T. Jackson). The camp has a protective barrier created by a magical tree that sprouted from the body of a dying demigod named Thalia. Without warning, a fire-breathing mechanical bull breaks through the barrier and attacks Percy and his friends. Although they manage to destroy the mechanical bull, the magical tree has been poisoned and is dying, leaving the camp open to attack.
The Thalia tree can be bought back to good health with the magical healing properties of the legendary Golden Fleece. Unfortunately the Fleece is guarded by a giant Cyclops on a remote island in the Sea of Monsters, so Percy and his friends must go on a quest to get it. Along the way, Percy meets his old nemesis, demigod Luke Castellan (Jake Abel), who wants the Fleece to revive a dead Titan named Kronos.
Themes
Greek mythology; the supernatural
Violence
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters has fantasy action violence throughout, including stylised fighting. There isn’t much blood and gore, but the movie does show the deaths of a couple of lead characters (who later reappear). For example:
Sexual references
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters has some sexual references. For example, there is a brief low-level discussion about the different types of descendants that come from gods who have children with humans and other mythical creatures.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters shows some use of substances. For example:
- In a couple of scenes a man pours wine into a glass. The wine immediately turns into water. The man doesn’t drink any alcohol.
- In a coffee shop a teenage boy orders a glass of magic nectar. There’s a suggestion that the nectar might have an intoxicating effect. No teenager seems to get intoxicated from drinking the nectar.
Nudity and sexual activity
There is some low-level sexual activity in Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. For example, a teenage boy and girl flirt.
Product placement
None of concern
Coarse language
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters has some low-level coarse language throughout.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is a fantasy adventure targeting younger teenagers. Although younger teenagers will probably find the movie entertaining, older teenagers and adults might feel that it doesn’t have much of a storyline. Also there are no standout performances.
The movie has medium-level fantasy action violence throughout, although it doesn’t show much blood and gore. There are scary visual images and characters likely to disturb children under 10 years as well as some older children. For these reasons, the movie isn’t recommended for children under 10 years, and we also recommend parental guidance for children aged 10-13 years.
These are main messages from this movie:
- People who have power are concerned only about their own needs.
- Family and friends are important.
- Be yourself – never doubt yourself or think you are less than you are.
- We make our own destiny.
This movie could also give you the chance to talk about the real-life consequences of risk-taking. You could compare real life to what happens in the movie, where leading characters come back to life after being killed.