REVIEW: ‘Percy Jackson & The Olympians-The Lightning Thief’

By Germain Lussier on February 12th, 2010

• Link to StumbleUpon
• 3 Comments

There is not a single thing in “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief” that audiences haven’t seen before. It’s a whole lot of “Harry Potter” meets “Clash of the Titans,” filtered through a world of video games with some “Twilight,” “Chronicles of Narnia” and “Indiana Jones” sprinkled in.

Still, there’s something kind of charming about once again witnessing the story of a young outsider discovering that his life is destined for things greater than himself.

Directed by Chris Columbus, he of the first two “Harry Potter” movies, “Percy Jackson” stars Logan Lerman, a Zac Efron/Daniel Radcliffe mash up as the title character. And just like those “Harry Potter” movies we are introduced to a world where something that humans believe is myth, is actually reality. In those films, it was wizards and in “Percy Jackson” it’s Greek Gods. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades: they’re all still around today and most of them have had off spring in the real world. After a mysterious being steals the lightning of Zeus, Percy’s true identity – as the only son of Poseidon – is revealed.

He then goes to Camp to learn to use his skills (think Hogwarts, except it’s called Camp Half Blood) where he teams up with his male best friend Grover, played by Brandon T. Jackson and the attractive daughter of Athena named Annabeth, played by Alexandra Daddario. The trip will attempt to right all that’s wrong with this lightning thief nonsense. The film then unfolds in a very video game influenced quest where several stages must be mastered before finally getting to the big boss.

Almost all of these challenges involve, in one way or another, truly talented and famous actors and or some huge special effects. Uma Thurman plays Medusa, complete with full head of snakes, Steve Coogan plays Hades, complete with menacing flames, and more. The actors are certainly having fun but sometimes – like in the case of a giant Dragon/Chimera creature that Percy fights in the air – the special effects aren’t as jaw dropping as they want to be.

Columbus’s direction is lacking in many other areas as well, including the performances of some of his leads which range from good to bad nearly take to take. In addition, the script is littered with truly unfunny jokes and dialogue that not even a teenage son of a God would say.

Through all this, the movie still holds an undeniable fun feeling about it. The action scenes are entertaining, the story itself is exceptionally interesting and the blending of real life locations with mythological ones is kind of ingenious.

Parents will find a lot to roll their eyes at if they see “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief” but your kids are sure to be on the edge of their seat. Be aware there is some questionable material that happens in a Las Vegas casino but, besides that, “Percy Jackson” is a worthy fill in for your “Harry Potter” obsessed little ones.