Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

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Jen Rasay
February 16, 2010
Filed under Arts & Entertainment

Most moviegoers should already know by now that watching an onscreen adaptation never beats reading the novel. The same goes for Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lighting Thief which came out on Friday, February 12. Coming in second in the weekend box office behind Valentine’s Day, it’s a good film to go and see. As a big fan of Rick Riordan’s novel of the same name, as well as of director Chris Columbus (director of the first two Harry Potter movies), of course, I was stoked.

Here’s the deal: Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) is just the average troubled teenager living with his mother Sally (Catherine Keener) and his dumb jerk of a stepfather, Gabe Ugliano (Joe Pantoliano). All was normal for Percy, except for his dyslexia, ADHD and unusual talent of holding his breath underwater, until his substitute teacher goes monster-crazy on him during a field trip to the museum. He learns that he is the son of Poseidon (Kevin McKidd) and is taken to a “special” camp by his goatboy protector slash best buddy Grover (Brandon T. Jackson). On the way, his mom is abducted by a minotaur (half-man, half-bull type of monster). In Camp Half-Blood, he trains with other demigods and starts crushing on the beautiful (and beastly) Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario). In order to save his mom, Percy goes on a quest with Grover and Annabeth to the Underworld. Meanwhile, the gods of Olympus (a.k.a. the Empire State building) are preparing for an all-out war. The word is that Zeus’s (Sean Bean) master thunderbolt was stolen and the main suspect is, you guessed it, Percy.

The movie’s cast was a mixed bag. Medusa (Uma Therman) and Chiron (Pierce Brosnan) were played by big names and, of course, exceeded expectations. Kevin McKidd as Poseidon? There is only one thing to say: HOT. The real surprise to me was that the younger faces delivered great things to the table, too, namely the “Big Three.” No, not the three most powerful gods. I’m talking about the three young heroes of the story: Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. Take Percy (Lerman), for example. I had never seen Lerman act before, but his commitment to the main character was amazing and it translated well to the audience. He’s likable enough, and of course, his hotness and beautiful blue eyes only add to his appeal. Forget werewolves (eww) and vampires (even more eww)—hello, demigods. Fans may have also wondered as to why Grover (Jackson, from Tropic Thunder) ended up being a funny and quick-witted African-American teenager in the film instead of the wimpy satyr with the rasta cap in the book. Here are two words to answer that question: comic relief. Although his humor was sort of dry and slow in the beginning, Jackson’s jokes picked up and got better as the movie went on. It wasn’t exactly enough to have me gripping my seat with laughter, but it definitely can make just about anyone chuckle. And to all the fans who had a “problem” with a brunette-not-blonde Annabeth (Daddario)? Um, what problem?

The story’s plot is very different from the book. Despite the big changes, however, its essence still holds true: stay true to who you are, fight for those you truly love, blood is thicker than water, etc. Something that is definitely worth seeing are the computer generated monsters. From the Mrs. Dodds Fury to the fire-breathing five-headed hydra, the great graphics are in abundance throughout the film. Columbus also doesn’t disappoint with the swordfight scenes. Some are quick, some are a bit slower, all are great. It’s filled with Greek mythology fun, but you don’t even have to know a lot of the subject to be able to understand the story. It actually leaves you with an itch to check out some Greek myths after you leave the theater.

The movie seems promising enough to start a whole new franchise for all ages. Whether it will be as widespread as Columbus’ Harry Potter, only time will tell. Its sequel, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters is said to be released in 2012.

Overall, it’s a good film to watch. I’d want to watch it again. But then again, that’s just me. If you’re a big fan like I am, here are some words of wisdom that a friend told me: do not enter the theater with expectations of the movie being faithful to the book. If you do, you will want to kill yourself after.