Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief is a decent light-weight adventure romp for teens and early tweens. Everyone else will find themselves either geeking out at the Greek mythology references, or rolling their eyes at the more clunky aspects of the film. It’s an unfortunately tame, clean delivery of a rather clever concept.
It’s based on bestselling book by Rick Riordan, and is suffering from non-stop Harry Potter comparisons as the heir apparent to the Global Kids With Powers Franchise throne.
Like Harry, Percy (played by Logan Lerman) is a kid with a troubled home life, issues at school and magical powers he initially views has just another handicap in his attempts to get on in the world. He’s also got problems with missing parents. When he finds out his father is Poseidon, god of the sea, it explains everything. Obviously. He’s whisked away to an amazing new school, in this case a camp for demi-gods where they pass the time comparing abandonment complexes. But Percy’s uncle Zeus (Sean Bean) is inexplicably convinced that his nephew has stolen his lightning bolt. What’s a teenager with fabulous hair to do? Percy gathers a male and female sidekick and sets out to clear his name.
The decision to hire director Chris Columbus, the man who successfully neutered two Harry Potter movies, was safe but flawed. He delivers a shiny, sexless world with an incongruous level of blood lust. Everything feels new, unworn and un-lived in, especially the camp for demi-gods. While the sexual tension between Percy and the daughter of Athena is forced, and thankfully briefly used, the two spend a lot of time cutting each other up with swords. There’s also a very overt drug reference and the use of a decapitated head for prop comedy.
The main three young actors, including Brandon T. Jackson as a satyr, give it their all. The A-list cameos are a little more uneven. Uma Thurman relishes the role of Medusa, and Kevin McKidd is suitably stoical as Poseidon. Bean, along with Pierce Brosnan as a centaur and Catherine Keener as Percy’s mortal mum are uneven, bordering on wooden. I imagine it has something to do with spending only a couple of days on set. Brosnan’s probably just pleased he doesn’t have to sing.
There’s an amusing, if very late use of Lady Gaga music. The special effects are often well done, and the humour is filled with an equal share of hits and misses. The transference of another nation’s entire cultural heritage to America is typical Hollywood; fortunately Greece is used to having their relics strip-mined by conquering empires. However, there is something deliciously self-aware about claiming Hades resides directly under LA.
The wealth of Greek mythology on offer is judiciously used. If you already know anything about it, the side-note explaining Aphrodite is the Goddess of Love will probably seem a tad unnecessary. That’s where this movie works best, as a great gateway for the young and uninitiated into a brilliantly rich world of legends filled with thrilling tales of daring-do (with or without Percy Jackson). Otherwise something about the whole project rings slightly hollow, with a hint of calculated familiarity.
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is now showing in cinemas nationally
Director: Chris Columbus
Cast: Logan Lerman, Brandon T Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Catherine Keener, Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, Kevin McKidd, Rosario Dawson, Jake Abel, Steve Coogan
