Lightening Thief offers film of Olympic proportions
Posted Feb 26, 2010 By Mark Haskins
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Tweet ThisMOVIE: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief
STARRING: Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean and Kevin McKidd
DIRECTOR: Chris Columbus
RATING: PG
EMC Lifestyle - It's not easy to take a book like The Lightening Thief and turn it into a good film. The film has to stand on its own, but it also has to please the audience who loved the book. Chris Columbus tries to walk that line, but he's only partially successful.
The most powerful weapon in creation, Zeus' (Sean Bean) thunderbolt, has been stolen. Zeus believes Poseidon's (Kevin McKidd) son Percy (Logan Lerman) has stolen it. Poseidon pleads his and his son's innocence, but Zeus won't listen. He demands that his bolt be returned by the summer solstice or there'll be war.
Percy has no idea who or what his father is. All he knows is he's suddenly being attacked by monsters from Greek mythology. His best friend Grover (Brandon T. Jackson), who turns out to be part goat, and his mom Sally (Catherine Keener) try to get him to safety. They get Percy to a place called Camp Half Blood, but Sally doesn't make it.
Before Percy can come to terms with what's happened, and who he is, Hades (Stephen Coogan) comes calling. He demands that Percy give him the bolt, and in return he'll release Percy's mother. It doesn't matter that Percy doesn't have the bolt, he still has to rescue his mom.
Grover and Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), a daughter of Athena, join Percy on his quest. Together the three attempt to save Percy's mother, and discover who the real lightening thief is.
I liked The Lightening Thief. The special effects effectively create a world of mythology. Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, and Alexandra Daddario aren't totally at ease in their roles, but they aren't bad either. It doesn't hurt that they're supported by some great actors like Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Kevin McKidd, Stephen Coogan, Rosario Dawson and Uma Thurman. On its own, it's a decent film. It's a decent film, but it's not a great film.
It's not fair to compare the movie to the book, but it's hard to ignore when major characters and major plot points are left out. Ares is one of the characters left out. By dropping him from the movie we miss out on what could have been the most spectacular scene in the film. Instead we get an anti-climactic fight between Percy and another demigod. It's not bad, but I wanted to see Percy take on the God of War.
On its own The Lightening Thief is good. It just wasn't as good as it could have been.
Mark Haskins' column is a regular feature of the EMC.
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