Henry Saw: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

I think I really would have liked this movie when I was 10...a perfectly good children's film


This film hasn't been getting the best reviews. It has a 48% on Rotten Tomatoes and a lot of critics have called it out for being too derivative of Harry Potter. The film, based on a book by Rick Riordan that he first wrote in 1994 but wasn't published until 2005, does share some similarities to the Harry Potter series. It stars a young man who finds out he has a mystical heritage (he is the son of Poseidon), goes to a magical school that is populated with other young demi-gods to hone his abilities, and ends up on a quest to find Zeus' lightning bolt in which he is joined by a funny sidekick/best friend and a highly competent girl. Oh, and this film and the first two Harry Potter movies share the same director: Chris Columbus (who also did Home Alone and Adventures in Babysitting).

Now all this is true...it's hard not to think of JK Rowling's characters and stories while watching Percy Jackson...but this is still a pretty fun movie. Perhaps I'm biased because I've always loved Greek mythology but I found Percy Jackson to be clever and exciting entertainment for any kid over seven years old.



Part of the fun of the movie, at least for me, was seeing how they reinterpreted mythical characters to the modern age. Medusa owns a statue garden, the Lotus Eaters run a casino, etc. Like the Harry Potter films Percy Jackson is filled with famous actors in the supporting roles. Uma Thurman plays a Medusa who isn't all that dissimilar from her Poison Ivy. Steve Coogan plays Hades as a facsimile of Lou Reed. Rosario Dawson looks great and adds some energy as Hades' "wife" Persephone. Also appearing, however briefly, are Kevin McKidd and Sean Bean as Poseidon and Zeus. There's a bit more "Oh that's _____" than in the Harry Potter films but I thought the cast was good overall and clearly having fun.

The three leads, Logan Lerman as Percy, Brandon T. Jackson as the satyr Grover, and Alexandra Daddario as Athena's daughter Annabeth, are at the very least competent. They're asked to deliver some pretty cheesy lines (especially Jackson who is asked to be the wacky black sidekick a little too often) but all seem invested in their roles.

One of the things that surprised me about the movie was how competent the action scenes were. We get training sequences where the students fight with swords and shields, a battle against Medusa that hinges on an iPod, and a solid concluding conflict using Hermes' wings and other powers of the gods. Columbus did not impress me with the action beats in either of the first two Harry Potters but he shows a lot of improvement with Percy Jackson.



There are quite a few flaws with the film. At times it tries to be too cool in its dialogue and attitude. The soundtrack is horrendous (Do we need "Highway to Hell" when the kids are trying to get to Hades? Or "Poker Face" when they walk into a casino? Really?). Columbus also never gets across the sense of awe or wonder that the characters, and the audience, felt in the Harry Potter films. Still, this is a by no means a bad movie, and is a fine way to spend 100 minutes in the theater with your little boy or girl.

Grade: B

Best Scene: The Medusa scene, despite Uma Thurman's slightly hammy performance, is effectively creepy