Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is directed by Chris Columbus — the director behind the first two Harry Potter films, so it’s not a surprise that the film feels just like a new addition to the Potter series. Besides Columbus there are many other similarities too. Young Harry doesn’t know he’s a wizard and young Percy doesn’t know he’s a demigod. Both characters are sent to schools for the “gifted” (Hogwarts for Harry, Camp Half-Blood for Percy). Harry has a male and female friend to help him deal with being a wizard and fight evil-doers with him and Percy has a male and female friend to help him deal with being a demigod and fight evil-doers with him. Both films are based on a popular book series too. None of this really matters though because on its own Percy Jackson is a fun, entertaining film that hooked me the same way the first Harry Potter did.
Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) appears to be a normal teenager living in New York City with his mother (Catherine Keener) and horrible stepfather (Joe Pantoliano). All is not well under the surface though. He’s dyslexic, has bad ADHD, and unbeknownst to him he’s also the son of the Greek god Poseidon (Kevin McKidd). When Percy is attacked during a school trip by a monster known as the “Fury” he learns about his demigod status and that he’s been accused of stealing Zeus’s (Sean Bean) lightning. His handicapped best friend Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) reveals to him that he’s actually a satyr (half-goat, half-human) and was sent to be Percy’s protector all along. With Percy in danger Grover has to get him to the special demigod school, Camp Half-Blood.
Once at Camp Half-Blood Percy is surprised to see his human teacher Mr. Brunner (Pierce Bronson) is actually the centaur Chiron (or “a real horse’s ass” as he puts it). He’s filled in on the war between the gods that is brewing over Zeus’s lightning being stolen and is also brought up-to-speed on what being a demigod means, and why his father had to abandon him and his mother. He meets the beautiful (yet tough) daughter of Athena, Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) and is immediately smitten with her. He begins to learn about and embrace his powers. Then the evil Hades (Steve Coogan) makes an appearance and shows him that he has his mother trapped in the underworld. Percy decides to go rescue her and of course Grover and Annabeth must join him on his adventure.
Lerman is great in the lead role and comes across as a mix between Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker in Spider-Man and Daniel Radcliffe’s aforementioned Harry Potter character. He’s got just the right amount of darkness and charm to carry the film while most likely propelling his career into stardom. Daddario was also a nice touch. She’s smart, sexy, and really knows how to kick butt. She stands out the way Angelina Jolie did in Hackers or Sarah Michelle Gellar did in the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In smaller roles Rosario Dawson as Persephone and Uma Thurman as Medusa were both perfect, and Coogan’s biker-clad Hades delivered a few good laughs while not being as over-the-top as he usually is. The one actor I did not connect with was Jackson. He felt miscast as Grover and almost came across as the Jar Jar Binks of Percy Jackson — there to be laughed at, not laughed with.
In the end Percy Jackson entertained me. It had some exciting sequences, smooth effects, and for the most part decent acting, directing, and a well-written script. The best praise I can give it though is that I’m anticipating the next films in the series and can’t wait to see what they do with them.
*** out of 5 stars
Rated PG
Cast: Logan Lerman, Catherine Keener, Alexandra Daddario, Pierce Bronson, Uma Thurman
Directed by: Chris Columbus
Official Site IMDb
brian.mckechnie@citynews.rogers.com
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Top image: Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson. Courtesy 20th Century Fox.