"PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF" (2010) Review
"PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF" (2010) Review
Nine years ago, I had stumbled across a second literary children/young adult's sci-fi/fantasy franchise other than ”HARRY POTTER” that became a best seller. I became aware of the PERCY JACKSON franchise when I saw the trailer for the 2010 movie, ”PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF”.
The ”PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS” series was the creation of a best-selling mystery writer named Rick Riordan. The novels centered around a New York City adolescent named Percy Jackson who discovered he was a demigod - the offspring of a mortal woman named Sally Jackson and the Greek god Poseidon. He also discovered that his best friend, a physically disabled fellow student named Grover Underwood was really a satyr assigned to be his protector; and one of his high school teachers is a centaur.
"PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF" is an adaptation of the series’ first novel. Following the discovery of Percy Jackson's true identity, a fury disguised as a substitute teacher attacked him during a field trip. The fury accused him of stealing the powerful lightning bolt that belonged to his uncle - Zeus, the ruler of Mount Olympus and god of the sky and thunder. Percy also discovered that one of his other teachers, Mr. Brunner, was the centaur Chiron at a place for demigods called Camp Half-Blood. Following the fury's attack, Percy brings his mother Sally Jackson to Camp Half-Blood. However, the Minotaur allegedly killed Sally before they could enter the camp. Following the attack, Percy learned that he was Poseidon's son and that most of the camp's other inhabitants are demigods like himself.
Another uncle - Hades, the God of the Underworld - informed Percy that he has Mrs. Jackson in captivity and is willing to release her in exchange for Zeus' stolen lightning bolt. Percy also learned that he has two weeks to return the lightning bolt or a war will commence between Zeus and his father Poseidon - a war that might have negative repercussions on the mortal world. In the hopes that Hades can convince Zeus of his innocence of the theft, Percy and Grover set out to find to find an entrance to the Underworld, along with three pearls that can help him make a quick exit from that domain. Both are accompanied by their new friend, Annabeth Chase, who happened to be the demigod daughter of Athena.
I did not harbor any high expectations before I saw ”PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF”. As I had stated earlier, I have never read any of Riordan’s novels. And considering it had been released during the late winter season, I did not expect to enjoy it very much. However, much to my surprise, I did. I found the story to be an engaging and entertaining story filled with family drama, humor, action and dazzling special effects. More importantly - at least for me - the movie’s running time seemed perfect for this adaptation. Not too short and not too long. I also enjoyed the three main characters’ encounters with a variety of characters from Greek mythology during their journey that included a Mintaur, Medusa, and the Lotus Eaters. Most importantly, Percy’s quest to find entry to the Underworld and the three pearls resulted in a road trip that took the heroes from Manhattan to Los Angeles, via New Jersey, Nashville and Las Vegas. And I just love road trips in movies.
”PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS” did not have the same level of special effects that enhanced the "HARRY POTTER" films. Why did I mention HARRY POTTER? Well, the director of this movie, Chris Columbus, had also directed the first two HARRY POTTER films. And yet, PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS had a slightly more mature style. I suppose that was due to its main characters being four or five years older than the three main HARRY POTTER characters in that franchise's first two films. I understand that the Percy Jackson character was younger in the literary version of "THE LIGHTNING THIEF". Since I have never read the novel . . . nor intend to, I do not care about the change in Percy's age.
The cast of "PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF" struck me as pretty solid. Columbus did a good job in steering the actors through the movie. And Logan Lerman, who portrayed Percy, turned out to be better than I had expected. I have to admit that at first glance, he seemed like a rather bland performer. However, the blandness of Lerman's physical look did not match the actor's skills as a performer and charisma. When I first saw this film, I was astounded by how charismatic and energetic Lerman proved to be as a screen actor.
But aside from Lerman and four other performances, I found nothing exceptional about the cast. Who were these other four exceptional performers? One of them turned out to be Uma Thurman, who gave a deliciously wicked performance as Medusa, the gorgon who used her eyes to turn humans and other beings into stone for her garden collection. I also enjoyed Steve Coogan’s rather wild and charismatic take on the god, Hades. And I must say that I found his performance surprisingly sexy. And Rosario Dawson also gave a sexy performance as Persephone, the parthenogenic woman who became Hades’ bored and put upon consort in the Underworld. In fact, one of her sexiest moments occurred when she flirted with a very interested Grover. Speaking of Grover, Brandon T. Jackson gave a hilarious performance as the young satyr who happened to be Percy’s best friend. I found him brave, resourceful, witty and an absolute hoot.
"PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF" was not the best fantasy film I have ever seen. In some ways, it came off as a poor man’s "HARRY POTTER" flick. This is especially apparent in the film’s depiction of Camp Half-Blood, the training camp located off Long Island for children with a Greek god/goddess as a parent. There were moments when the film looked so half-assed that I nearly shook my head in disbelief. And its production values were certainly not of the same quality as any of the POTTER films or many others I can recall. But I found the movie enjoyable to watch and would have no qualms about seeing it again.