Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief: Movie Review

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief: Movie Review

Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief
Rating: See below
Cast: Logan Lerman, Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Catherine Keener, Brandon T Jackson, Steve Coogan, Kevin McKidd, Rosario Dawson, Uma Thurman
Director: Chris Columbus
From the book series by Rick Riordan comes the latest attempt to launch a new franchise as we prepare to farewell Harry Potter.
Helmed by the director who did the first three Potter films, you'd expect the film was in safe hands.
Lerman is teenager Percy Jackson, a dyslexic ADHD kid who sees himself as a loser and is constantly surprised by his mum's (Catherine Keener) decision to stay with a deadbeat loser (the ever great Joe Pantoliano).
One day when on a school trip, Jackson's attacked by a creature determined to get The Lightning Bolt from him. You see, it turns out that Jackson is the demi god son of Poseidon (Kevin McKidd), the Greek god of the sea and nephew of Zeus (Sean Bean.)
But someone's stolen Zeus' lightning bolt - and unless it's returned in 14 days, Zeus will bring down all manner of furious vengeance upon the world.
So with the help of a wise cracking protector Grover (Jackson) and a potential love interest daughter of Athena, Percy sets about to prove his innocence and rescue the world from an angry god, hell bent on exacting vengeance.
If you're a Greek mythology fan and know a bit about ancient myths (I'm looking at myself here) you may get a bit more out of Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief than the average punter - references to ancient stories are scattered throughout the film in a fairly clever and subtle way (aside from the jarring revelation that Hell is in Hollywood).
There are some pretty impressive effects - and some slightly shonky ones too - as the film goes through its two hour run.
However, that's possibly where the enjoyment may end unless you're of a younger disposition.
With his Zac Efron-esque looks, Lerman (best known for cancelled drama Jack and Bobby) is perhaps not the strongest lead for the film - his friendship with Grover grates after a while - mainly thanks to the continuing wise cracks from his so-called protector. Also Percy's self revelation of what he is (a demi-god) comes with a lack of depth or context - and while he spends a lot of time feeling like a loser rather than a hero, it's hard to feel for him because there's no context and you don't see him struggle on a day to day basis.
As ever, with the launch of a potential franchise, I thought it was best to take along some younger viewers to stave off the cynicism.
16-year-old Connor (who recently finished reading the first book) thought it was pretty good in places - and loved the depiction of hell and Hades (Steve Coogan) on the screen. He thought the effects were good but felt the plot was a little rushed. He's also decided that it suffers from what he's termed "Harry Potter syndrome" where chunks of exposition were jettisoned to propel the plot along. His feeling was that it led to scenes being thrown together and felt as if some of them jarred a little and didn't exploit some of the subtleties of the book's storyline. Overall, it was a 6/10 for him.
10-year-old Jackson decided it was "quite good" - and could really remember the beginning which sees Poseidon rise from the sea and walk onto the land. He was impressed with those effects - and then went off on a tangent about what powers he'd have if he could control the elements; ultimately he decided on electricity. Overall it's 8/10 for him.
Percy Jackson is perhaps a muddled start to the franchise (there are four other books) and may disappoint some of the legions of its fans. As a piece of cinematic entertainment, it's a fairly harmless film that is unfortunately none too memorable.

Average rating from the tvnz.co.nz kid reviewers - 7/10