Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, A Film Review

I’m sick again.  Or maybe I never got better.  With that, the weekend was crammed full, exhausting, productive, and fun.  Keisha and I went and watched Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief over the weekend for a Valentine’s date, and now I submit my review.

Having not read the book, nor possessing any foreknowledge about the film, I had no real expectations for the movie.  Keisha has read the book and enjoyed it.  She wanted to see the movie.  In short, I think I probably enjoyed it more than her.

The film adaptation was directed by Chris Columbus, who also directed the first two Harry Potter films.  The movie stars Logan Lerman as Percy, Brandon Jackson as Grover, and Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth, along with several other celebrities.

The plot of the movie interweaves the modern world with classic Greek gods.  I’ve always been a huge fan of mythology (especially Greek), and I found this mechanism of the film to work well, with a few minor flaws.  Zeus’ lightning bolt of power has been stolen, and he accuses Poseidon of having his son to steal it.  Poseidon gets all indignant and says “No way, dude.  You got it all wrong.”  Zeus tells him that if the bolt isn’t returned by the summer solstice (wince!) then there will be a war between the gods.

Cut to Percy Jackson, a normal, everyday high school loner.  He’s grown up without a dad.  He’s angry and smart-mouthed.  He only finds peace while he’s in the water.  But then one day, on a class field trip, something goes terribly wrong.  A series of events leads Percy to a secluded camp for half-bloods, the offspring of a god and mortal, and his life will never be the same.

I thought the movie was fun and entertaining.  The light-hearted feel made for a pleasurable viewing experience.  The blending of Greek gods in our world made for fun watching.  The story wasn’t grandiose or even amazing, but it was entertaining, so that’s really all that matters.  I can definitely see how children would love the movie.

Flaw wise, I thought some of the acting was poor, and the villain was easy to peg from the get-go.  Some of the special effects were awesome (Hades was pretty cool), and others not so much (Pierce Brosnan’s centaur body was weird).  The gods weren’t how I would picture them, and there didn’t seem to be as many as there should be.  Keisha, on the other hand, said that the book and movie were quite different on several occasions, and this was a big flaw for her.

Overall, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief was a fun movie, but one that would be more fun for children or people who haven’t read the book.

Random Bits & Pieces

• We also rented and watched Surrogates over the weekend, which I thought was pretty cool, both plot-wise and effects-wise.
• Taxes turned out much better than I thought.
• More snow here.  It started yesterday around noon and hasn’t stopped yet. 
• Church was good yesterday.  And by that I mean worship.
• Why am I getting spam, even with CAPTCHA enabled?
• I hope I get feeling better soon.  My stomach is a clenched fist, my nose a runny mess, my eyes a swamp.  Ugh.