Rooted in Greek mythological sympathies and excellent writing, Rick Riordan’s incredibly well-selling, action packed and thrilling series, “Percy Jackson and The Olympians,” just screamed for its fame to be set in film. The first and most well-known book “The Lightning Thief” hit the theaters early 2010. It was long anticipated and an instant success, bringing in all the fans of Riordan’s writing.

Unfortunately, the movie turned out to be a loose interpretation, screwing with major plot lines, characters, and settings. It was so bad a film that you had to see it in theaters twice just to grasp the degradation of such a good book. Fans raged and thankfully the awful rendition slowly faded into movie obscurity and into the backs of the minds of the Percy Jackson fandom.

Reports of a second Percy Jackson film first rose to media light in March 2011. The people of series resurfaced, questioning, wincing, yet curious, because the last movie had ended on such a plot point that a second didn’t seem possible. Yet on Aug. 16, “Percy Jackson: The Sea Of Monsters” was released onto the big screen. It opened with magnificent scenes of protagonist Percy Jackson and his friends fighting off mythical beasts and the story went underway. Following slightly closer to the second book than the first had, this sequel was definitely considered an improvement.

Although the cinematography and audio were spectacularly crafted, they seemed to be made for a movie much better than the one being played. Riddled with plot holes and character fallacies, some moments were so shameful that you could see people all over the theater shaking their heads, or throwing up their hands in frustration. Coming to a close after 107 minutes of grimaces, you were left with a sense of dissatisfaction and sadness that only a really bad cover of a song or film of a book can inspire in someone.

Many viewers who had never read the series, though, seemed very pleased with the show, as far as amusement value goes. There are enough simple jokes and gag scenes to entertain a group of people looking for an excuse to get out of the house. “Percy Jackson: The Sea Of Monsters” initially looked to be yet another big budget box office disappointment, but earned over five million in the first few days. The movie was met with mixed reactions all around.

Overall: 3/10