Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) User Reviews

Entertaining, but doesn't stick to the source material

[logeesp · 5/10 · 1 June 2020]

The Percy Jackson books were some of my favorite books growing up, and when a movie came out, I couldn't wait to see it. However, the film stays as far away from the source material as possible, which makes me wonder why the heck this movie was made.



There were certain things the movie just couldn't get right that I didn't think need changing. For example, in the book, Annabeth is blonde, Percy is 12, and when the car crash happens in the beginning, Grover was supposed to be unconscious. While it was true that Luke is evil, Percy doesn't fight him at the end. He fights Ares, the god of war.



The acting is decent, and Logan Lerman is a decent Percy Jackson. The special effects are cool, and the fights are really entertaining. The comedic elements are there, and the chemistry between the three actors are likeable.

In the end, it's just a popcorn flick for the family. It may not be the best movie ever made, but it's decent enough to enjoy. I just wish the movie stuck closer to the source material.

Good movie but not true to the books

[Laura_Ratings · 6/10 · 19 April 2022]

If you don't think too much about how it's not true to the books, the movie is actually quite entertaining. Logan Lerman is a great actor and a great Percy, but he was definitely too old for the character.

Which is one of the first major icks. In the books the characters are kids, Percy is 12, but played by a full on adult. There's a lot of other things the movies have changed but regardless of those, I still enjoyed the movies and it's too bad they were cut short.

I Suposse It's Chris Columbus Fault!!!

[Angelafterglow · 5/10 · 12 February 2010]

OK, so where to start? I had like the biggest expectations for Percy Jackson's first movie,I for one loved the book, and thought that it would be a great movie based on the trailers but WOW was I gonna get a surprise.

First of all let me all say to you guys who have read the books that I actually didn't mind the fact that the actors were way older than the characters in the book, because I think this way it was a little bit more real due to the journey they had to go in their cross country trip from NY to LA, but here are my biggest disappointments in the movie:

1.- Who the hell decided to take Ares & Kronos Out Of The Movie!!!!!!!!!! They should get fired, not to mention getting Annabeth in The role of Clarisse when introducing here in the movie.

2.- A quest for the pearls wasn't such a bad idea in order to justify their cross country trip but, changing events and avoiding facts like the bus explosion and the attack of the Furys, and changing stuff like the arch of Sant Louis for the Parthenon in Nashville... for real??? Nashville???? And The Chihuahua Turned Chimera changed for the Hydra (In Book 2)??????

3.- Hades dressed like Ares was supposed to, and becoming a bad guy when he actually wasn't bad at all????

4.- Dropping The storyline of Hades invisibility Helmet and just making him want the lighting bolt???

5.- OK And lets just make Luke an almighty bad guy who can fool the gods all by himself.

6.- Not To mention that Grover is now a senior keeper he is not a searcher so he ain't supposed to be anywhere else but in half blood camp in the second movie (which I doubt will get made)

7.- Really his mom just kicked her husband out??? what about Medusa's head????

I've had no problems in the past in movies like harry potter where they keep the main storyline and drop some other less important story lines but changing the hall background of the movie and the depth of their problems in general I think It's I huge mistake.

If you have not read any books, U'll probably like it, but otherwise... AVOID THE MOVIE.

A bit of a disappointment

[nearmiss · 6/10 · 12 February 2010]

My family went to see the movie "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" today. All of us have read the books and are big fans. I do think it's interesting the comments made about how this movie is a ripoff from Harry Potter. If you actually read the book, the movie was nothing like it. I'd say it wasn't a bad way to spend a few hours. My family liked it, at no time was I wondering how long we'd been in the theatre. But where the book was great, the movie lacked...a lot.

CGI was awesome. Medusa & her snakes were amazing.

If you can avoid paying full price (where we live you can see movies on the weekends for $5 per person before noon), you won't feel like you were short-changed with this one.

Oh my Gods and Goddesses

[JasonArgo · 6/10 · 10 February 2010]

I went to see this movie without any expectations. I haven't read the books and I only read one review in the paper.

Yes, there are parts borrowed from other movies, but what makes this movie different is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, like Harry P. It was as if most of the actors were instructed to 'Ham it up'.

I didn't look at my watch during the movie (two hours), which is a good sign that I am enjoying going along for the ride.

What I didn't like was that most of the mythology was missing. Like it was assumed knowledge. All it did was not allow me to connect to the main characters because I didn't know enough about them (from the film).

The music wasn't overbearing, but went nicely with the film. Nothing memorable except "Highway to Hell".

S/Fx were done to an acceptable level, especially Hades (the place not the God). But the Gods were too human for my liking.

Maybe the producers are hoping this film will fill in the void being left by Harry P. The hero in this movie looks about the same age as Harry in his last film.

I don't think it is a repeat watch (DVD).

Chris Columbus should be ashamed!!!!

[buckeysooz · 1/10 · 12 February 2010]

When this movie first arrived in trailers, I like so many adults, who have become fans through our children was excited. We could overlook Pierce Brosnan playing Chiron which gets both the age and nature of the character wrong. We could overlook the character of Percy obviously being older than the books stated age of twelve, however almost everything else was so far removed from the books that have become so popular including storyline, that this movie should not even be allowed to carry the "based on the books" tag. The characters were completely miscast, the storyline was a weak abominational blend of books one and two..... kind of..!

He (Chris Columbus) invented places for the movie to go that have nothing to do with the story in its origination, he omitted too many details that are so pertinent to the actual storyline that it may be impossible for any new director (and I believe if future films are to take place a new Director IS NECESSARY) to repair the damage that has been done.

For a story that has millions of fans who will be buying tickets to movies for a very long time, this does heavy damage to Chris Columbus's reputation as evidenced by post movie chatter in which most if not all was incredibly negative. Negative both to the movie as a whole and to Chris Columbus personally. Many there seem to believe he did the same to the Potter movies he has been involved with and feel at this point anyway that they will think twice before seeing another movie with his name attached to it. Lets' face it, as one young fan said, "not sticking completely to a Potter book...understandable, they are 1,000 pages each...Not coming close on a book 350 pages long...not forgivable."

So, if you are going to see this movie because of the wonderful scenes in St. Louis, Denver, The Santa Monica pier, or to see his step father get his, etc etc etc etc save your money, they are not in there. Neither is Clarissa, Lukes scar, Mr. D, Aries, Kronos, and so on. If you would like to see a movie that completely rewrites the creation of Rick Riordan, then by all means, spend your money on a mildly entertaining theft of a wonderful idea.

A Nutshell Review: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

[DICK STEEL · 7/10 · 8 February 2010]

I guess you know the drill already. With the Lord of the Rings making Hollywood studios go into a frenzy in adapting the many fantasy books out there, not everything Tinseltown touched turned to box office gold, and more often than not, save for that famous boy wizard, what could have been pilots of franchises, became no more than false starts. I suppose it goes to show that a solid story is still fundamental, other than making yet another special effects extravaganza to try and wow a growingly jaded audience.

So the verdict for Percy Jackson & the Olympians? I dare say I was impressed by how engaging it was, so much so that 2 hours just flew by, but that doesn't mean that it didn't have its fair share of plot loopholes for you to ridicule, or clichés that make you chuckle that these are still utilized in this day and age. Simply put, if the Greek gods and goddesses were all powerful, especially that of Zeus, well the first few minutes as played by Sean Bean, made him out to be a clueless weakling who had his all powerful lightning bolt being stolen from under his nose, like taking candy from a kid, and now the kid's throwing a bad tantrum, threatening the fate of the world and that of Olympus (erm, the Empire State Building in New York, anyone?) unless his accused, the titular thief and demigod son of Poseidon (Kevin McKidd) coughs out his favourite toy.

But that is only if Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) is guilty in the first place, given that he actually doesn't know his half-god lineage no thanks to Poseidon being horny enough (as do the other gods in their frequent visits to the human earth) to impregnate Sally Jackson (Catherine Keener), and then Sally deciding to keep Percy safe from jealous harm from other godly beings, because being the son of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades (Steve Coogan) is a big thing actually, the three being big daddies and sworn brothers in this mythology.

But of course in one fell swoop, all hell breaks loose, Percy discovers that a Pen can indeed be a powerful weapon, and allies himself with a Satyr Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) his good friend and protector, the cute demigod Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) - note the necessary trio of heroes in the vein of Harry Potter here given that they're demigods, but still need to go to a Hogwarts equivalent to hone their special abilities, amongst other Greek god offsprings numbering in the hundreds (told you they were horny), in the middle of a nowhere forest, demarcated by a sign board and a force field to keep out muggles, I mean, humans.

Being an introductory film to the world of the Olympians, we learn facts like why Percy's such a big deal (no he didn't repel the biggest foe in the franchise), and the little do's and don'ts they have to learn from the likes of the centaur Chiron (Pierce Brosnan). But kids being kids, and wanting to save his mom from the clutches of Hell, Percy and his friends embark on an American cross country road trip, and in the meantime try to decipher just who could that Thief be, having 14 days as the deadline to meet, which forms the basis of incidents and episodes that the trio come face to face with in exhibiting their powers (well, actually only Percy's).

Part of the fun is to see how other notable names in the casting list get to play up their gods and demon status. Uma Thurman stars as Medusa, spruced up by special effects snakes adorned on her head, which at certain points looked quite CG-ed for its own good. Or having Rosario Dawson star as Persephone in quite fed-up manner, and the lists goes on. Suffice to say that many of the appearances here are quite self contained in the scene they appear in, that they rarely re-appear again until the sequel (already announced for next year). Joe Pantoliano hams it up as Percy's muggle, I mean human step dad, and I was somewhat impressed by the extremely mean looking CG design of Hades, which can really strike fear with his appearance. The one that came out in the bonfire, that is.

With Clash of the Titans coming just round the corner, one wonders whether it may suffer from an audience jaded with this version's interpretation of Greek mythology, plus the uncanny use of the same villainous types that would prove detrimental by the time Titans come around. I guess that remains to be seen. Meanwhile, stay tuned when the end credits start rolling, as there's a scene that'll come on as soon as the cast list rolls off. And I certainly have no clue why "The Olympians" were dropped from the title of its release here.

Did they even read the book? Worst Movie of the YEAR! If not Ever!

[emiele4 · 1/10 · 14 February 2010]

The first question I must ask myself is if Chris Columbus can even read... Because obviously he never read the books. Well maybe he read the back cover summary, its the only reference to the book in the movie.

As for the book, Rick Riordan should be ashamed for letting anyone slaughter, I take that back, Massacre, his artwork in such a way. Not only were critical details left out of this story but the entire story was altered in such a way that a remake and an refund should be in place for all readers.

The story line itself may have needed a little touching up for the big- screen but leaving out Kronos, Mr. D, Clarisse, The Oracle, blaming Hades, and everything else (I can go on for 375 pages) is unforgivable. If the plan was to make one lone movie and never touch Percy Jackson again, they were successful. I will never again be able to attend a Chris Columbus movie. Not even a free one.

In their defense, if you had never read the books the cast did a good job on a kids movie. The amount of money spent to screw up a story this awesome is mind boggling. Please do not support the future career of the screen writer and director by spending your money. They should both be banished to Tartarus for such a crime!

Long story short It is difficult to even write a review as it makes my blood pressure skyrocket to unhealthy levels.

Signed,

Devoted, Story loving readers of Rick Riordan

I throughly enjoyed it,

[Weaseldigs · 7/10 · 12 February 2010]

Most people say 'don't judge a book by its movie.' I think both the book and movie in this situation are great. I was a little upset with the things that were changed, and the characters that were left out. Like Clarrise, and Thalia's tree. I was also disappointed that there was no prophecy, or Mr. D, or oh the list could go on. I thought the plot was changed to make for a better movie, because books don't always go over well to movies. I thought the acting was good, but some people were cast for the wrong parts, like I don't think Sean Bean fit the part of Zeus. There weren't as many jokes and funny moments as there were in the books, but the few they had sufficed. The one thing I reallllllllllllly dislike though, is how people compare it to Harry Potter. I'ma big fan of Harry Potter myself, but they are in complete different ball parks. Like I saw in an interview a guy said "Oh, I like Harry Potter more." UGH. How would YOU feel if someone said that about YOUR book or movie?! Overall, I really liked the movie, and I love the books. I think the movie works better just as a stand-alone movie, like its good if you haven't read the book as well.

Oh Zeus, Poisidon, Hades, Hermes... Help us all...

[teddies_are_cute · 4/10 · 19 February 2010]

Christ...

The film scriptor, editor, director, and near to, if not all, other staff and actors and actresses need a good firing...

To be honest, I did not think that the film was going to be the best... Especially because I had read the books and Absolutely loved them, but this! This is tragedy in film form... As I was walking into the cinema, I had someone comment that the main character seemed very pretentious and that it was unlikely he was chosen for his acting talent, which turned out to be exceptionally true. Logan Lerman just did not cut the Percy Jackson role and left out a huge proportion of awe and "OH MY GOD! I'M THE SON OF POISIDON!" and instead cut straight to the bad puns and obvious brand advertising! Great... A new generation of idiots thinking that the iPhone will defeat Medusa/Urma Thurman.

The film effects were mediocre, action-style we've-seen-it-all-before. The acting from almost everyone with, maybe, the exception of Urma Thurman who was the only actress with any kind of strength to her acting, either exceptionally weak or the actor/actress were wrongly cast, such as Pierce Brosnan. Lots of plot and characters were either completely changed, or just simply missing... I miss Dionysus T^T. What happened to Percy not finding out his powers as soon as he arrives? Nearly the whole of the Camp Half-Blood scenes were useless or wrong. Where were the days and months spent there? I understand that they wanted to make the film shorter, but they are just cutting plot and it's WRONG! What about Luke? He had some REAL background and was a much more interesting character, although, Jake Abel plays his part reasonably well considering he doesn't really have ANY reason to hate the gods... Okay, he doesn't really like them and wants to overthrow them... WHY? It's explained in the book and just left alone in the film and how is he playing COD on PS3? It doesn't happen! Surely they could have just given him a 360 controller? Nope... Guess what... It's MORE brand advertising! Yay...

I apologise for just slagging this film off, but not only did they manage to create a film tragedy that is nearly on par with the pile of *$%!£ that is named Eragon, but they managed to ruin ANOTHER great book...

Still...

Good points! Let's be positive... Humm... This may take a minute... Well, it was good as a stand-alone film, if it had nothing to with the book and was called something completely different. I'm sure there are a few more positive things about that film, but I don't remember because I was too busy trying to ignore the awful parts.

I'm sorry if I have upset and depressed you all with this review, maybe you should put down all Percy Jackson merch. and film and go see something less... Bad...

Am I the only person that actually liked this film?

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 22 July 2010]

I have to admit it, I haven't read the book, but regardless of whether it was faithful or not, this rarely ruins a movie or TV adaptation for me. That said, I can understand the disappointment of those who loved the book. However, I really enjoyed this film, it is hardly the best movie I have ever seen, but I personally consider it one of the better movies of 2010 that I've seen so far, and that is saying a lot considering how disappointing some of the movies have been.

Where the film is lacking is in the storytelling. There are those who say that it gets bogged down by too many mythological references, and I have to say I kind of agree. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief had a brilliant concept to work from and a fairly original one at that, and while the references were very interesting and cleverly incorporated, the writers could have simplified a little how much they included. Back to the storytelling, it does have a lot of exciting moments, such as the scene at the museum with the fury, in Medusa's lair, the fight with the hydra, in the underworld and the climax, but some parts in the middle half drag and feel clunky, and I personally could have done with less of the scene in the casino.

Complaints aside, the film looks incredible, the special effects are excellent and the cinematography and scenery are clever and skillful. The music only adds to the excitement and the dialogue has some very nice moments with some humour from Grover and with Gabe when he is seen on television talking about Percy's disappearance and both Medusa and Persephone are deliciously seductive in looks and in dialogue. The film also moves briskly in general, and the direction is decent. Personally I liked the acting, Logan Lerman is surprisingly appealing as Percy, and Brandon T.Jackson is lots of fun as Grover. People have said Alexandra Daddario was too old as Annabeth, I wouldn't know, but she looks lovely and is very spirited in the role. Pierce Brosnan was surprisingly good as Mr Brunner/Chiron, though it was a bit of a shock seeing him with a horse's lower body, Rosario Dawson is fabulously sexy as Persephone and Sean Bean is okay as Zeus though he doesn't have much to do. The real joys however are with Uma Thurman, who gives a delicious turn as Medusa, and Steve Coogan who was a big surprise as Hades.

Overall, I actually liked this film, it was fun to watch, while nothing absolutely outstanding or mind-blowing. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox

Meh....

[nic-b-2108 · 7/10 · 12 February 2010]

I recently read the book series (out of boredom), so I saw this film today with my friend. Firstly, it is quite different from the book. A major part of the storyline was completely left out (or even discarded), some parts were removed, and random parts added that did nothing for the storyline whatsoever. The beginning of the movie felt rather rushed, and hearing the 'whhaat?' from my friend confirmed the fact that they don't really explain things much in the first place. Anyone who might've recently studied Greek mythology or like to read about it as a general interest..it might make more sense to. Otherwise, it would seem a little random.

I'm never impressed when movies make changes from the books that don't greatly benefit the storyline. Unfortunately this was the case, with several things being completely different. But, if you've not read the books, you won't know any better. Still, I think keeping with the original storyline would've been fine, and definitely wouldn't have made the movie longer if done properly.

I honestly thought the acting was excellent from all of them, and there are quite a few laughs along the way.

I'm giving this a 6. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. It should've been better. I doubt they'll continue to make the other books into movies, much like they've completely botched the movie versions of my favourite books (His Dark Materials), but considering a major part of the plot was removed, it doesn't really matter much.

Nothing like the book!!

[laurieclooney · 2/10 · 13 February 2010]

Last night I took my 2 daughters and a friends to see the movie. All of the girls had read all the books in the series (including me) and had been anticipating the release of the movie for over a year. The book is fabulous!! I taught 4th grade for 4 years and read it to all my Language Arts classes every year. I never had a student not like the book. It contains humor, action, friendship themes, and characters that contain quite a bit of depth and growth throughout the 5 books in the series.

The movie was nothing like the book. The characters in the book are 12 years old. How are the next books to be made into movies if the culminating event of the series happens when Percy turns 16? The plot was totally changed. In the book the quest that Percy, Annabeth, and Grover embark on IS NOT to find 3 pearls so they can escape from the underworld after rescuing Percy's mom. In the book, he doesn't even know that she is alive. It is understandable that not all the adventures on the way to the underworld could be put in a 2 or even 3 hour movie, but don't make up new adventures that aren't even in the book.

The true villain in the book is not even mentioned in the movie and several main characters vital to the plot and character development of Percy and Annabeth are missing. My 13 year old daughter-who waited in line for hours to get Rick Riordan to sign her book- wanted to leave in the middle of the movie because she though it was the worst movie she had ever seen. If the director had stuck to the book, it could have been an amazing movie and people would not be comparing it to Harry Potter want-to-be.

A fast, wild ride through Greek mythology where I got to be a demi-god for 2 hours

[napierslogs · 7/10 · 14 August 2010]

The trailers attracted me to "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" because like Percy Jackson, I too am drawn to water and feel it's the only place where I can think. Although the difference is, he's a demi-god, I am not. But this is the type of movie that allows you to dream.

It's very similar to Harry Potter: teenager has a horrible step-father, can't concentrate in school, and calls himself a loser. And then another world crashes into his, one where he is accepted, one where his true identity makes sense, and one where he is the son of a Greek God (Poseidon). It's Harry Potter merged with Greek mythology. It takes you on a wild ride full of mythological monsters, people who can't be trusted, and chances for our hero to realize his full potential.

If you like those types of stories, you should enjoy "Percy Jackson & the Olympians". I recommend skimming the IMDb FAQ section, as it allowed me to accept changes that they made to Greek mythology, and based on reading all the negative reviews, you probably shouldn't read the book first either. The inclusion of acting kings and queens like Pierce Brosnan and Catherine Keener seemed out-of-place and some of the cgi seemed clunky, but this was still a high production level movie that can transport the audience into another world as a demi-god.

For me, I enjoyed and studied Greek mythology and appreciated their attempts to modernize it, and I found myself completely immersed in their adventure, and the ending came too soon. I'm hoping for, let's say, 6, sequels. Harry Potter anyone?

For Fans of Naive Fantasy Genre

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 8 May 2010]

When his lightning bolt is stolen, Zeus (Sean Bean) accuses Poseidon's son Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) and gives ten days to Poseidon (Kevin McKidd) to return his lightning bolt; otherwise he would initiate a war against his brother. Meanwhile the dyslexic and with ADHD teenager Percy is visiting The Museum of Metropolitan of Art and is attacked by a Fury disguised in his teacher. His crippled best friend Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) reveals that Percy is a demigod and he is his protector and his teacher Mr. Brunner (Pierce Brosnan) gives a pen to him telling that it is a powerful weapon. They go to Percy's house and together with his mother Sally (Catherine Keener), they drive to the Camp Half-Blood. However Sally is attacked by a Minotaur and vanishes before Percy can help her. In the camp, Percy befriends the gorgeous Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario); when they are attacked by Hades (Steve Coogan) that wants the lighting bolt for him, Percy discovers that his mother is in hell with Hades. Percy decides to travel in a dangerous quest to retrieve the lightning bolt and save his mother. However, Grover and Annabeth join him and Luke (Jake Abel) gives a powerful shield of his own to protect Percy.

"Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" is a delightful adventure for fans like me of naive fantasy and family entertainment genres. The film has a great cast and excellent special effects, with monsters from the Greek mythology. There are many funny moments and a big joke with the access to the Mount Olympus through the Empire State Building. The gorgeous twenty-four year old Alexandra Daddario is too old and mature to make a romantic pair with Logan Lerman, but she has good performance in their journey. Uma Thurman is excellent in the role of Medusa. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Percy Jackson e o Ladrão de Raios" ("Percy Jackson and the Thief of Lightning Bolts")

Most ridiculous script ever...

[ssallazzar · 1/10 · 15 February 2010]

It rarely happens that i go at the cinema and see a movie that i hoped to be good and entertaining and leave not only with disappointment but actually furious that i was tricked by this movie's trailer to waste my money on the ticket and 2 hours of my time.

Its full of cliché , predictable , boring and dumbing , after 30 min in the film the kid finds out why his mother had to put with his step-father " The only thing that kept the wrath of the gods from finding you was his great stench that kept you hidden " , this is the moment i should have walked out of the theater , i was foolish and stayed until the end, and i am writing this review now in the hopes that people don't go and waste they're time on this movie the way i did . Pierce Brosnan expression when he has to tell his ridiculous lines is evidence enough how completely stupid this movie is .

The actors are not bad , the action scenes are OK made and the special effects are nicely done , but i would like to present the script writers of this movie with a new edition of the Spanish Inquisition for what they've done here. Tell your children to read the book , this movie is insulting to human intelligence the way it was written.

Teenagers Right the Wrongs of Gods

[PlutoandVenus · 1 March 2010]

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief My nine year old daughter and I watched this movie together and enjoyed it for different reasons. Rated PG, Percy and the blah blah blah… (I can't ever remember the whole name) is not really as scary as it is intense – the emotional conflict of good v evil rather then the purely physical. This means not much in the way of gore and some really great monsters. In fact, I loved it more for its modern portrayal of teenage fury in an Old World Olympian setting, than my daughter did for the special effects. It is reminiscent of Harry Potter and the…blah blah blah with its special effects and Lord of the Rings blah blah of its battle of good v evil and the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (that one I remember) for its centaurs and satyrs. So it's not original; it's a well done and effective story of generational angst. On top of this are the awe inspiring special effects, especially the waterworks of Poseidon and his offspring. However, those never interest me as much as the human drama, and should serve as background, not the whole movie. (Some of us really do believe that) In this case there is a good blend.

Logan Lerman, as Percy, is an angry, lovable misfit who thinks he's a loser and becomes an Olympian. This has nothing to do with the sweat and grind of the Olympics we just watched on TV, but the realization that his absent father wasn't just a lout, he was also a god. This sets up the perennial teenage conflict surrounding the question "Who am I?" Percy's quest is just a bit more bizarre than usual. He is a god, or half of one, and has to discover what that means. Lerman is a great choice for Percy, not a perfect beauty, just a good looking kid, who we identify with and want to succeed. His emotional range is better than that of most actors in kid movies; Percy is conflicted, afraid, puzzled, and determined and it all shows.

Brandon T. Jackson is Grover, Percy's sidekick and protector. Jackson is a solid presence, supporting the lead and lending his soulful eyes to the role. Along with Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth, the awesome fighter and love interest, the three become a team to right the wrongs of the gods. I like to see young women with more to do in a movie than stir a male's passion, and Annabeth (couldn't decide on a name?) does. She fights, she wins, she loses, she gets the boy, and her stunning eyes are clearly descended from the gods. Jake Abel as Luke has the complex role of a neglected god child seeking revenge any way he can - lying, stealing and cheating on his friends. Abel needed to show more passion, more love, more bitterness, to make his downfall all that more spectacular.

There is such a huge cast it's hard to comment on everyone. Of the older generation Pierce Brosnan as Mr. Brunner / Chiron gives a "yes I remember what it's like to be young and full of myself just like you" performance of the wise and patient mentor, Uma Thurman is a delightfully evil Medusa, Sean Bean, well, in my book Sean Bean is always a god so he played Zeus very well. Steve Coogan as Hades and Rosario Dawson as Persephone are fun. If it's possible to play a kidnapped woman as funny, these two manage it. Joe Pantoliano as Percy's step dad Gabe Ugliano (like the name) is a good creep but the character seems dated. Ordering a wife to fetch beer is very Archie Bunker – do jerky step dad's still do that? Maria Olsen's fury and Julian Richings Ferryman are small parts with a big impact and they are each perfectly evil. Max Van Ville has his three seconds on film as a 70's kid and uses them to perfection. These three are (therefore) perfect examples of bit parts making a difference - it is the accumulation of believable detail that carries us along on the fantasy. Catherine Keener is the washed out Sally Jackson, Percy's Mom. Since she is more heroic than the heroes, it would have been nice to see a little spark in her somewhere in her martyrdom – why would a god fall for her except that she can wear a pair of skinny jeans? (Maybe that's enough) Since a lot of Mom's are going to see this PG movie it's nice to have a son risk everything for her, as lame and uninspiring as she appears to be. In fact, the premise that these teenagers were all abandoned by, not loser parents, but by superior perfect god parents becomes a comment on parenting itself - maybe Hollywood parents in particular –rich and successful parents dumping their kids to be raised by mere mortals, the nannies and day cares of the world? However godlike Percy may be he is clearly ticked off at being abandoned and the scene with his Dad at the end encapsulates the drama.

At 118 minutes (let's see, 118 divide by 60, 2 minutes shy of 2 hours) it felt a little long. My daughter was squirming by the end. Part of her restlessness was likely the result of all the previews and being pummeled by the non stop wave of sound. Does it really have to be that loud? We were plastered to our seats with our fingers in our ears for the swelling crescendos of the battle scenes. Hey movie theaters, any body listening? (Take your fingers out of your ears) It's too loud! And those earnest, dedicated multi-millionaire movie stars exhorting us to reach into our pockets for Haiti? How 'bout each of you giving a million or two and be done with it.

A Fun Ride!

[PeaNUT_boY · 7/10 · 11 February 2010]

I have read the book however, I'll be writing this review as if it was purely a film only.

The film had it all it was an enjoyable fast paced action film that definitely can keep the younger viewers in there seats without them becoming to restless. It even pleased some of the older viewers so its a well balanced film suitable for all ages. It's one of the more light hearted but exciting action films that will keep viewers engaged from beginning to end.

In terms of acting the lead trio to a wonderful job and the supporting cast were strong as well.

One downside I would like to comment on is that for a relatively large budget film technically its not great. There were noticeable lack of continuity from the make-up department. i.e. Percy's hair is neat, next scene its scruffy, next scene its neat again. In addition, the choreography of the sword fighting scenes were disjointed thus not allowing the fighting to feel natural. I don't want to go into too much detail as to not accidentally reveal any spoilers. There are a few more technical issues I had with it but it doesn't really matter.

Overall it is a wonderful film that I would recommend everyone to watch.

Good Idea, Rashly Executed

[ProScrybed · 4/10 · 8 July 2010]

The premise of this movie - that Greek gods were real and have offspring in the modern world - is interesting. But the execution of this idea felt very rushed in this movie. I haven't read the book, so can't judge where the blame lies for this.

The movie is an enjoyable way to kill a couple of hours, but isn't as engrossing as other movies of this genre.

Several big stars feature in cameo roles and for anyone who knows a fair bit about who celebrities are, this tends to distract from the movie. Uma Thurman, Brosnan, etc., aren't really given the screen time to build a strong character for themselves. Perhaps the best of these is Steve Coogan playing Hades, but even here you send most of his screen time thinking "oh look, it's Steve Coogan" rather than being drawn into the movie. It could have benefited from having the minor roles played by less known actors - as it is, their appearances tend to detract from the main characters who actually do a good job with the material they have been given.

But these are minor concerns - the biggest problem with this movie is that Percy finds out he's a demigod and suddenly seems to develop gifts with no effort or training, just by virtue of knowing his past. At the start of the movie, he already demonstrated an exceptional ability to remain underwater for long periods of time. But after finding out he's a demigod, he develops strong sword fighting skills with no training or effort (the start of the fight between the red helmets and the blue helmets, before the water "thing"), and later is capable of manipulating water in a couple of scenes without being taught this skill or having any difficulty or doubts about his ability to do it. This is just preposterous. The mythical/other worldly framework is generally used to provide a context to display human failings, struggles, and virtues. Instead, in Percy Jackson, this framework is used to simply give the lead character a loose justification for overcoming other mythical creatures. He doesn't have to question how to use his powers, nor does he have to put any effort into developing these powers.

Like I say, the movie isn't so bad as to make it unwatchable, but they really missed a chance to make this movie have a strong impact by failing to give it any depth. It is all just the bells and whistles of CGI and having mythological creatures just to have some interesting looking battles and a trip to the underworld. It could have been so much more. Whether this is a failing of the movie, the books, or both, is up to those who have read the books to decide. But the movie reeks of jumping on the Harry Potter bandwagon in an attempt to get box- office success, while ignoring the fact that those movies were built on books that had some depth to them. That is what gave them their cultural poignancy. This movie lacks it completely.

5 points for movies, 2 points for effort

[darkmax · 6/10 · 11 February 2010]

I have not read the book or even know what the story is about. I have been careful not to build any sort of expectations for this one. Well... here's the way I would break down the movie.

1. Story/Screenplay - If this is an adaptation from a book, it has failed miserably. the is flat and two dimensional. Plot wise, the movie is extremely straight forward, but it is nothing you would not expect out of a PG rated movie.

2. Actors - The veterans are well within their comfort zones. Sean Bean, though a good actor in his own right, is in the wrong role. I see him more as Poseidon than Zeus. The youngsters are fairly wooden and 2D in their craft. Believable but sorely lacking in emotions.

3. CGI - Okay, after Jurassic Park so many years ago, CGI has become so fundamental, it no longer holds much ground in 99% of all Hollywood movies. Nothing fantastic at all. That is my humble opinion.

4. Actions/Fight Scenes - So much potential wasted from start to end. To say it meets basic action fight scene requirement for a movie in this genre would be somewhat of an insult to its peers.

5. Overall Experience - The first half an hour felt as though we are going to get to know the characters well, but that ended abruptly. At this point the movie switch to an action mode but not long after it got toned down again. the pace can only be described as taking a joyride up a series of rolling hills.

Bad movie, in every way!!!

[ula_teava · 1/10 · 19 March 2010]

When i first saw the trailer for this movie i automatically knew it would not be a masterpiece but more of a funner, more action packed harry potter, and yet i had a feeling that a nice afternoon spent on going to see this movie would be a relaxing experience.Well I could not have been more wrong.

Lets start with the begging shall we ? The script, story and ideas, well the script has a very poor continuity, with everything happening very fast, with absolutely no profoundness neither in the characters feelings nor the actions themselves. It simply is a giant mixture of "things" happening, a giant mix-up of events with the continuity that only a 2 year old could possibly create. The story itself is a giant cliché of course.

OK so we've cleared out the fact that the script is bad do to 0 continuity, lack of dialog, lack of profoundness or meaning, now come the characters, i have rarely seen such bad acting in my life. First of all let me just say that at 1 point Percy's mother is believed to have been KILLED BY A MINOTAUR an yet he sheds no tear and seems to not feel any emotions about that, he simply carries on and shows not 1 drop of emotion, that and the fact that his best friend, is a satyr(half man half goat), O and of course do to political correctness, the satyr is an African-American (an African-American,hip,cool, "gangsta"-talking satyr?!... please...). His love interest is nothing out of the ordinary with the same acting skills as her "counterpart".

Now back to the story, the plot is simply childish, and on almost every level it seems to much, even for a fantasy film. Let me just ask how in the world does someone steal Zeus' Lightning Bolt, he most probably holds it in his sleep. Now, after escaping a minotaur and having his mother seemingly killed (thing for which he sheds not 1 bit of emotion... lame) he reaches a camp were demi-gods train, all the demi-gods of world, or something like that.There the stupidity of the story/script will astonish you again. First of all Percy is a city kid with no fighting skills whatsoever. There he at 1 point fights the very girl which consists of his love interest, she has been training for years at the camp and still he manages to combat her at first, HEALS with his "water powers" and then he manages to defeat her and other demi-gods ?! come on ....they were ALL demi-gods, the others had fighting skills, he had zilch, yet he beet them. Now thats what i call childishness, and stupidity on the director, writer and practically everyone's part.

OK the script is awful, the story is childish, devoid of emotion and lacks any kind of intelligence, characters that do not evolve in the movie in any way, OK maybe the cool effects help the movie?.No, even the special effects and costumes are simply ... bad. The costumes and effects look like they were taken out of the 90' Xena and Hercules shows. Which frankly for a 2010 movie that anyway is bad in every other way, this simply makes the movie unbearable.

All in all, i simply cannot understand how anyone could like this movie, it simply has nothing to offer, no story, bad script, awful characters, and same with he special effects, and depth of the plot and emotions. I seriously suggest that you DO NOT watch this movie, it will simply be a waste of your time. Other than laughing at the movie because of how bad it is (thing which i have done) you simply have nothing to gain from watching this peace of garbage.

Read books, Like movie even tho different

[brandas2000 · 9/10 · 15 February 2010]

I will not ramble on and on with opinions that include comparisons to other movies, books or characters. I will only say "This is a MOVIE and NOT REAL" before I continue....

As far as the books - I purchased these books for my 11 year old daughter last year and started to read them myself. I love Greek mythology and enjoy the premise of these books. My daughter and all her friends are totally obsessed with them (oops, here comes a comparison), something that hasn't happened since Harry Potter. I think the first book was a little monotonous with the kids continuing to get in the same binds over and over and never catching on. The other books are not so much his way. They are fun, full of action and humor, fast-read books.

As far as the movie of the first book - The screenplay is very loosely based on the book. The characters are older in the movie and can drive (significant since they cannot drive themselves anywhere in the book). Yet, I still enjoyed the adaptation. There is *no way* the movie could have all the content of the book.

Only very slightly unnerving was all the sexual innuendo. This really was not in the book and would not have been since the kids are much younger. So, for my daughter and her friends, this kind of freaked them out, but just a little bit.

Summary - we all enjoyed it and will definitely buy the DVD. They did a good job of keeping the basic idea of the book including the action and clever comedic lines.

pant pant colon The Lightning Thief

[thesubstream · 6/10 · 14 February 2010]

There's a lot of bad things to be said about Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, and not just about its horrendous title. The flick's full of characters that find themselves in close-ups, flatly declaiming in the best Twilight fashion every single plot point with the expository efficiency of an elite military unit. We need to go get the three balls so that we can go to the place to fight the bad guy, who thinks I am the bad guy when in fact it is he that is the bad guy, for the following reasons: x, y, z. Let's get shields and swords from the shield and sword pile and and and... . The story's thin as a French pancake, with twists that are both predictable and out of the blue, with characters that abruptly careen into the action from way out in left field. It's derivative of and a poor, cheap imitation of the Harry Potter films - odd, given that director Chris Columbus is the man that helped launch that franchise as well.

Given all of that, the goofy plot, the awkward script and Hogwarts-made-of-cardboard-and-tape feel of the whole thing, the Percy Jackson movie does just enough stuff right. It manages to poke its lumpy head up high enough above the crowd of post-Potter knockoffs to be reasonably enjoyable.

It's the classic oldies hero jam: unsuspecting normal seeming teen dude is plucked up by fate and sent on his journey, where he attends a camp full of centaurs who teach him the moral and physical lessons he needs to know to destroy the bad dude.

It's all swaddled in the garb of the ancient Greek Gods - Zeus (Sean Bean) is seriously peeved at Poseidon (Kevin McKidd) and the rest of the gods because someone stole his lightning bolt, and its up to the various demi-gods, their half-human sons and daughters who hang out down on earth learning to fight at picturesque "Camp Half-Blood" to get it back to him before he kicks up epic hell. In charge of the plan is Poseidon's son, Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman), whose true god-identity was hidden from him for some half-explained reason. Lerman is better than good as Percy, and he keeps things moving along over some rough spots with plenty of charisma and twinkle.

What makes the film work (even when it shouldn't) is its willingness to actually theoretically scare its tween audience. Percy and his comrades fight Hades, Lord of the Dead, a giant, angry minotaur and hydras galore, all of which are legitimately frightening and very neatly-handled (Percy overcomes Medusa by watching her in the reflection on the back of his iPod). It's thoroughly kid stuff, but thankfully not afraid to scare a kid where a kid needs to be scared and for that reason alone, it's worth seeing, at least, you know, if you're a kid. 6/10

Greek mythology goes Hollywood.

[orankimanki · 1/10 · 22 February 2010]

I'm speechless. Truly speechless. If there is a bottom in modern day movies, it lies within the abominable pile of feces that is Percy Jackson the lightning thief. Enter America through the coughed up hair ball that is Percy Jackson (aka. Zac Efron #2), as his immoral adventures lead us through every known America-promoting scene, cliché and famous American destination (need I remind that we are dealing with Greek mythology). I didn't know Olympus resided on the top of the empire state building, or that the underworld was accessible through under the widely known landmark that is the Hollywood sign... This movie has as many flaws as acting careers it will namely destroy. This is what happens when you throw too much money at a dog with rabies and expect it to direct a movie. The leftover money that was thrown at this movie could surely feed the entire world for a century. I'm not sure if I should blame the book, or the movie, for it's inconsistent and illogical storyline. The acting is bad. The characters are shallow and predictable. The editing is horrible, just an example of a scene where Percy's mother is about to tell the truth to Percy about his father, outside being dusk, and then the scene cutting to night time, where she begins the actual explaining. The editors have clearly not watched the movie a second time to bother with flaws, who can blame them, I wouldn't. If you want to have a good laugh with your friends about the movies anus of a presentation, I recommend it. If you want to watch an interesting fantasy adventure about Greek mythology combined with present day, go read a history book and make movie about it with your cellphone cam and toilet paper as a script, and I guarantee you will gain more satisfaction than you would receive from this diarrhea of a movie.

Yours sincerely, Orankimanki.

Disappointed

[jin4739 · 16 February 2010]

Here's the deal. I read the first book, I'm currently reading the second... I loved the books, the imagination, the way it ties the mythology with the 21st century, all great. Now, the movie... the only thing I really have to say is PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE give me back the 2 hours you just unmercifully wasted in my life. I saw this flick with my fiancé on Valentine's Day, my pick. It was so bad even I nearly fell asleep. They changed major plot lines in the book, took out some of the characters that I really wanted to see, added a few that didn't exist in the book, and it was overall just kind of boring. Big effects don't do enough to keep me awake when I was really looking forward to knowing what would happen next in the movie and how it would be made. Instead I just sit there mindless, wondering if it wasn't too late to sneak into Avatar instead. If there is a movie made from the other books in the series... I'll probably download it online, but I won't spend money to see it. Huge, huge disappointment.