Friday, February 12, 2010

Movie Review: Percy Jackson and the Olympians-The Lightning Thief


I've never been a big fan of Greek mythology, so based upon that criteria I've never been a big fan of movies about the subject. Though I have grown to be pretty fond of the book series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I was astounded at how well Greek mythology was interwoven into the modern day culture as author Rick Riordan told a rip-roaring adventure tale, filled with humor, mystery, and tons of action. Like all things successful, Hollywood likes to get in the game, so it's no surprise that a film has been made of the first of the Percy Jackson books, The Lightning Thief. The film, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - The Lightning Thief, seems to have lost something in the translation, winding up as a film that really only shares the name of the book and nothing else.

The story of the film follows teen Percy Jackson, who has absent father syndrome. He has never known his biological father and harnesses deep bitterness toward the man who forced him and his mom to live with his demeaning stepfather, Gabe. Then, one day Percy's substitute teacher, Ms. Dodds, transforms into a gigantic winged beast and attacks him whilst on a field trip, to be saved by his best friend and silent guardian, Grover (who turns out to be half human-half goat), and his teacher, Mr. Brunner (who is really hero trainer and centaur, Chiron from Greek mythology). Percy learns that he is a demigod (half human-half God), and that his father is Poseidon, God of the Sea. But trouble is afoot for Percy, because Zeus's lightning bolt has been stolen and Percy is the prime suspect in the midst of a feud between brothers existing long before he was born. Now Percy must prove his innocence if he wishes to keep the world from being engulfed in an all out war between the Gods.

This film just seemed to lack any of the charm that can be found within the book. Screenwriter Craig Titley, did not have a very good handle on these characters. Percy was the smartest of his ring of friends, and not his super smart friend, Annabeth (who happens to be daughter of Athena, God of Wisdom, is there anything wrong with her being portrayed as witless and stupid?). Now, I never consider myself a book purist, I understand things must be amended in order for the book to work as a film, but this adaptation was just all over the place. They changed and cut things that should have been left in, I mean, they cut out the main villain of the entire series in this film, Kronos. Without Kronos in this first film, how can they possibly hope to make any sequels and have them make even a lick of sense?

Director Chris Columbus was the man who brought the first two Harry Potter films to the screen, he knows how to create pure movie magic, but something just wasn't clicking with this film. The film flew at a breakneck pace, never taking any time to breath and let you drink in this fantastic world. Like when Percy believes that his mother has died, he's told his mother's dead, then two seconds later he's up on his feet with a smile on his face. Not to mention, the film dispersed major plot points as if they were just reading statistics off of a teleprompter, making me wonder if someone who hasn't read the book will even be able to follow this movie, or if they will even care when it's all said and done.

As it is, I will not lie and say I didn't enjoy it when Percy and his friends battled the Hydra, or when they got trapped in this hotel & casino in Las Vegas that drugs you with sweet Lotus flowers to where you never want to leave, but these few moments were not enough to redeem this film. Percy Jackson and the Olympians - The Lightning Thief, is a mind-numbingly raw experience from start to finish.

I give Percy Jackson and the Olympians - The Lightning Thief an F!

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