Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Review By: Ryan Hamelin
RyanHamelin@TheCinemaSource.com

Movie Grade: B

I know I’m probably going to get a lot of flack from friends and critics for this review. Why did I enjoy Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief despite it taking 5 minutes to say the entire title? Because it’s one word that seldom enters the vocabulary of those who analytically contemplate the merits of modern cinema. FUN. It’s entertainment, and it revels in its buttery popcorness. It’s a kids fantasy film that doesn’t start with “Harry” or “Chronicles” and yet manages to remain fast paced and enjoyable throughout. It may not end up being the better of the Greek God films released in the next few months, but it could very well be the start of another major franchise. Christopher Columbus did, after all, direct the first two films about a certain boy wizard, so if anybody can start a children’s fantasy saga off on a strong foundation, he’s certainly the man for the job.

I’d have to say that the biggest early success of the film was in the casting department. The film’s star, Logan Lerman, could very well be the next young actor to break into the big-time. His first film role was in The Butterfly Effect, but if you recognize the face, it’s from his great work as Christian Bale’s son in 3:10 to Yuma. He makes the hero likable but also avoids the pitfalls of the annoying/whiny variety that plague so many of his contemporaries. Kevin McKidd, one time television lead on the late, great Journeyman, plays Percy’s father Poseidon and is probably the most convincing of all the gods. Sean Bean isn’t quite as believable as Zeus (maybe because he’s played so many bad guys during his career) but he’s certainly not the worst choice. I’m of the opinion that the only living actor who could truly play the king of Olympus is Liam Neeson, and that is more than enough to ensure that I go and see Clash of the Titans. Pierce Brosnan also puts in some wonderful work here, and I’d love to see him do more non-tuxedo acting.

It’s a shame that the film will inevitably and extensively be compared to the Warner Bros. epic starring Sam Worthington. That film had a far larger budget, and has the benefit of a PG-13 rating to improve the battle sequences and general epic nature of its canvas. For a film directed at children, Percy Jackson does go out of its way to provide reasons to watch for the older crowd, but it still can’t have bloody fight scenes or realistic language (if a hydra was about to breathe fire at you, I don’t care who you are, you’d probably utter a large variety of obscenities). I guess, because of all that, it sort of cheapens the experience to a certain extent glazing everything with a candy sort of texture. Nobody ever seems to be in real danger, nothing ...