Still rather bland fare, but surprisingly, much less so than the first one. The mythology is more internally consistent (perhaps due to lesser direct involvement by the gods), the protagonist feels more active and less like a passive conduit for his father's powers, and while the story on paper is simpler than the first film, it has a cohesiveness that the original lacked. All in all a satisfying fantasy action romp that has a neat cliffhanger ending that now will never be finished (unless, I imagine, one reads the books or the rumoured reboot Disney+ series gets to go until it has covered book 3). There's even some fun moments of charm and humour -- the always-great Stanley Tucci and Nathan Fillion in particular get to brighten the screen with every frame they're in, playing characters rather more pleasantly silly than that of the rest of the cast. ( )