Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) is an unusual teenager with perhaps not so unusual teenage problems: He’s battling with ADHD and dyslexia. His stepfather is a disgusting creep and his real father left when he was a baby. One day, though, Percy finds out why: his father is actually the Greek god Poseidon (Kevin McKidd). As if that wasn’t enough, it turns out that all the gods and other creatures of Greek mythology are still alive and well – they just don’t meddle in human affairs as much as they used to.
One day, Percy is accused of stealing Zeus‘ (Sean Bean) famous lightning bolt on behalf of his father. He gets two weeks to give it back, or a new war between the gods will break out. Percy is completely innocent, so his best friend Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) – a satyr assigned to protect him without his knowing – takes him to what is basically a summer camp for demigods. Here he meets and trains with other children of human-god unions. However, Hades (Steve Coogan), the last of the ‘Big Three’ brother gods, also believing that Percy has the lightning bolt, kidnaps his mother and keeps her in the realm of the dead, demanding the bolt in return for her life. Along with Grover and Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), a daughter of Athena, Percy now sets out to rescue his mother – and hopefully find the real lightning thief along the way.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is the tongue-breaking full title of this movie (at least in the US), based on a book by Rick Riordan. I haven’t read the book, so I’m unable to comment on the differences and what was left out, but I’m sure plenty of fans of the book will have plenty of strong opinions about that. Suffice to say that this is not a bad movie. The movie, like the book, is clearly YA, made for kids of about the same age as the main characters – apparently Percy is only 12 years old in the book, whereas the movie made him a high school student – which makes it at least a little bit less unrealistic for him to be doing sword fights and the like.
Because of the younger target audience the movie does spend some time introducing the various gods and other mythological creatures and explaining their properties, but it is done in a fairly subtle way and doesn’t interfere too much with the telling of the story – which follows the standard quest formula with no big surprises. That being said, the movie does a good job doing what it sets out to do. If it can create an interest in the subject matter among teenagers – more power to it. Also, the rich imagery of Greek mythology does lend itself well to film, and the CGI monsters are just plain eye candy on a big screen. The on-screen chemistry between the three young leads is a big plus, but some of the ‘grown-ups’ are worth watching as well – especially Coogan and Dawson as the unhappily married First Couple of the Underworld. The big names like Brosnan and Bean are really just phoning it in, though.
If you like the classic myths – and have just an ounce of inner child left – you should be able to enjoy this movie for what it is. For a more ‘adult’ treatment of the source material, wait for the upcoming remake of the classic Clash of the Titans – I’m certainly looking forward to that one. Oh, and stay tuned for an extra little scene inserted during the end credits.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: the Lightning Thief (2010) Starring Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson, Kevin McKidd, Uma Thurman. Written by Craig Titley. Directed by Chris Columbus. Rated PG. 1 h 58 min.
The Riber Report 