Ancient Greek gods are very alive, the hero is young and beautiful, and the assistant is his beautiful and divine friend. The movie is beautifully shot, however, the first film about Percy Jackson isn’t convincing.

Plot
A massive war is brewing up between the Greek gods Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. They are brothers, and all are equally quarrelsome. Zeus, the boss himself, has been stripped of his lightning bolt. Lightning is the most powerful weapon ever made, and Zeus is furious.

Meanwhile, Percy Jackson lives a normal life. He goes to school, lives with his mother and his stepfather, and is struggling with both ADHD and dyslexia. But one day, his life takes an unexpected turn. Percy learns that he is a demigod and that his father is Poseidon himself. This explains his diagnoses – his brain has been set on ancient Greek all this time, and his body is constantly ready to battle.

Zeus has cast his gaze on Percy, and suspects him of being the culprit behind the theft of the lightning bolt. Percy is completely innocent, and must hide from the wrath of Zeus in a special training camp for demigods. Here, he meets Annabeth, daughter of Athena. It turns out that several people in Percy’s life are a part of this secret world of gods. His best friend Grover is actually a satyr, who is appointed to protect Percy. Together, the three travel off to find the lightning bolt and to give it back to Zeus, and save Percy’s mother.

This proves to be a long and laborious journey, and Percy faces ever new aspects of his new-found divinity. He masters things he never knew were possible, and he meets creatures he could not have dreamed of in his worst nightmares. At the same time, he understands the importance of having good friends and supporters, and how someone can appear to be helpful and friendly, but really be devious and evil.

Quality and Theme
“Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief” is based on a series of books written by Rick Riordan. The stories about Percy Jackson have achieved immense popularity. The book this film is based on has sold 1.2 million copies during the last four years, and has earned a spot on the New York Times' bestseller list for children's books. The eagerly anticipated film version has received a lot of attention, due both to the story and actor Logan Lerman, who plays the lead as the 12 year old Percy Jackson.

There are many elements in this film that will appeal to young fans. Some of the actors are perfect for their parts, especially Pierce Brosnan and Steve Coogan. The colours and graphics are at times impressive, and Logan Lerman is guaranteed to get a lot of fans.

However, this does not mean that “Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief” is a good movie. The dialogue is at times horrible. Grover the satyr is not at all credible as a funny, hysterical character who loves the ladies. His funny remarks aren’t funny at all. This also applies to Percy, despite the fact that his character is better developed. In addition, the story fails miserably. Too many things doesn’t make sense, and there is an abundance of logical errors. Percy discovers that he is the son of a God, followed by him fighting for his life and losing his mother in the battle. These incidents turn Percy’s life completely around and trigger an internal fight, but this fight is completely ignored. When, a moment later, Percy is taught how to battle in the training camp, he does so with a smile on his face, without any signs of being troubled. This illustrates the film’s major problem – the adaption of the book into a film has resulted in important elements being omitted or radically compressed.

Suitability
This is clearly a fantasy film, however, several of the scenes are unsuitable for younger children. Percy and his companions bring Uma Thurman’s Medusa head on their journey, after having separated it from the rest of her body. Due to this, and several other graphical depictions of violence, we don’t recommend that children under the age of 11 are allowed to see this film, despite its PG rating.

Conclusion
This film is directed by Chris Columbus, who directed the two first Harry Potter films. “Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief” is very similar to these films, but as the Harry Potter series has become more elegant, this film derails completely. The film is packed with action sequences, which seems to be the only thing the filmmakers believe will interest the audience.

Facts

Director: Chris Columbus Genre: Action, Adventure Actors: Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson and more Language: English Nationality: USA Length: 1h 59 mins Production Company: Twentieth Century Fox Production Year: 2010 Age Limit: PG Suitability: Young people BBFC’s Consumer Advice: Contains moderate fantasy violence and threat.

Our Assessment: Not recommended

Official website:
http://www.percyjacksonmovie.co.uk/

Other reviews:

Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/feb/11/percy-jackson-lightning-film-review

Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/percy-jackson-and-the-lightning-thief-pg-1896916.html