Percy Jackson And The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
A teenager discovers he’s the descendant of a Greek god and sets out on an adventure to settle an on-going battle between the gods. (IMDB).
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The “Everyone’s A Critic” Review
Chris Columbus is no stranger to family movies; he directed the first two movies in the Harry Potter series.
Unfortunately, the magic Columbus endowed on Harry Potter is sadly lacking in Percy Jackson’s first cinematic outing.
On the plus sight, the film looks fantastic – some classy special effects and location work ensure the movie fits the blockbuster mold. It is the story and script that didn’t sit well with this reviewer.
Percy’s introduction to his Greek God heritage is laid upon us so quickly we have not time to revel in it – Potter gave us a magical world that gradually unfolded, here it is depicted as if it is just an everyday occurrence, thereby diluting the sense of wonder for the audience.
In the novel on which this is based, Percy is 12 years old. Here he is a more worldly 17. Again, this makes for more typical “buddy” banter (thank you Brandon T. Jackson for one of the most annoying sidekicks I can remember!), and this feels incredibly out of place in this world of Gods and monsters.
The story tries to be clever in its contemporary take on Greek mythology, but in most cases it feels lazy – Medusa in sun glasses just isn’t scary (though Uma Thurman is fun in the short role) and Steve Coogan – the God of the Underworld – is horrendously miscast.
The stakes are raised in typical family fare fashion – Percy’s human mother is held captive – and the trio of demi Gods go an adventure to secure her rescue. But the film has to play to its demographic, so there is never any real suspense in the plot.
This is the first film in a very long while that made me literally groan in disgust throughout its two hour running time and can only hope that the inevitable next instalment takes a few more risks.