Following the almost $226.5 million box office of the first Percy Jackson movie, the hero (Logan Lerman) has returned to save Camp Half-Blood, the training ground for Greek demigods and employer of the teacher-centaur Chiron (Anthony Head of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, at his Watcher-ly best, replacing Pierce Brosnan). When the magical tree that protects the camp is poisoned, Percy must retrieve the Golden Fleece to heal it.

Tagging along with Percy’s buds Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) and the satyr Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) is Percy’s half-brother Tyson (an appealing Douglas Smith), a shaggy Cyclops mocked by his peers. (Given the proclivities of their father, Poseidon, Percy and Tyson must have countless half-siblings.)

Also chasing the fleece are Clarisse (Leven Rambin, lending welcome astringency), the daughter of Ares, and Luke (Jack Abel), the embittered son of Hermes, back from the first instalment, who intends to use the fleece to revive the dreaded Kronos, long-dormant leader of the Titans. The demis must traverse the Sea of Monsters (the Bermuda Triangle, that is) to reach an abandoned amusement park, the giant Cyclops Polyphemus and a Kronos resembling the walking volcano from Wrath of the Titans.

Regrettably absent here is Catherine Keener (as Percy’s mother), though Nathan Fillion (another Buffy alum), as Hermes, has amusing moments. Sea of Monsters is diverting enough — the director, Thor Freudenthal (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), is savvy with effects and keeps his young cast on point — but it doesn’t begin to approach the biting adolescent tension of the Harry Potter movies. Are there hints of another sequel? You bet your gorgon.

Percy Jackson: sea of monsters (U/A)

Director: Thor Freudenthal
Cast: Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Jake Abel, Douglas Smith,
Stanley Tucci, Nathan Fillion
Running time: 107 minutes