As it is, it’s a fairly formulaic Quest flick, featuring some great-to-ordinary CGI animation and some WTF cameo appearances (seriously, where the hell did Uma Thurman come from?) from some of Hollywood’s elite. Columbus, as a director, lacks the fortitude to ratchet what could have been an epic emotional narrative about a boy and his dead-beat dad (played by Grey’s Anatomy star Kevin McKidd) trying to reunite in the midst of potential war between the Gods. If I was a discerning film lover, and I’ve been called that to my face once or twice, I’d be annoyed at just how stupid and contrived this film is. Me, my goaty mate and this hot chick are gonna save the world. Dare I say it, but the scene has been set for an epic showdown between Percy and… well, whoever is actually the bad guy here, because it doesn’t seem to be Hades. As with any great Quest, our trio of heroes must face demons and monsters, encounter myths made real, and journey to the very depths of The Underworld itself (where a suave and very Steve Coogan-esque Hades resides with his über-hot bride Persephone) in order to save Percy’s mother – who herself has been kidnapped by Hades as ransom for obtaining the bolt. Because he’s such a lazy bastard that he can’t do it himself. Percy, his “protector” Grover (Brandon T Jackson), a Saytr from Greek mythology, and the daughter of Athena, Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), undertake the quest to locate and return Zeus’s missing thunderbolt. Yeah, Zeus is one crackpot God – throws a tantrum at everyone else except himself for losing the damn thing. So when somebody goes and steals Zeus’s lightning bolt, Zeus informs Poseidon that unless the bolt is returned within 14 days time (why, exactly 14 days?) then War between the Gods will ensue, and all of humanity could be annihilated. Yup, it’s a bastard, that family heritage.
Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) lives with his mother (Catherine Keener in desperate straights for a paycheck) and stepfather (Joe Pantoliano, also desperate for some cash) in New York, unaware that he’s actually the son of mythical Greek God Poseidon, God of the Sea. Guys, I’ve lost my favourite toy, and I want it back…
#Percy jackson and the lightning thief movie summary series#
See, Hollywood looks at Harry Potter and figures, hey, if they can make billions from a series about an emotionally crippled boy wizard and his ginger-haired numskull, surely a few million can be drawn out of a story about a Demigod living amongst us with no clue as to his own identity – until his family issues come calling and he’s forced into action. Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief (aka Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief in the US) is both a big budget blockbusting adventure, and another in a long line of fine-to-adequate story-to-screen translations brought on by the success of the aforementioned Harry Potter. True to form, the Jackson saga contains plenty of material with which to employ a few dozen highly trained CGI experts and get them to realize your “vision” better than you could yourself, and Columbus delivers what can only be described as the ultimate CGI adventure yarn right onto your screen. Obviously itching to get back into big-budget effects films, he’s gone to another fictional literary series to mine more potential gold: the Percy Jackson & The Olympians saga from author Rick Riordan. Columbus, not the explorer, has made a career out of producing the Harry Potter films, although he recognized his own shortcomings to give up the director’s chair on that series after film 2. Yeah, I’m sure he’s heard that joke once or twice, I bet.
Nicely made, easily forgotten.Ĭhris Columbus, aside from discovering America, also directed the first two Harry Potter films, amongst others (*cough* Nine Months *cough*), and comes to the Percy Jackson franchise with plenty of ammunition in his arsenal. Chris Columbus is a man all about effects, and boy do they come into play here – pity he’s not so keen on character development and a cohesive plot. What we think : PG13 adventure yarn, told with big-budget effects and low-quality scripting, does exactly what the title might suggest – gives you a Greek God conundrum which can only be solved by the young demigod Percy Jackson. Synopsis: Percy Jackson, son of Greek God Poseidon, goes on a quest to find the lost lighting bolt of Zeus, in order to stop a war between Hades and Olympus which could annhilate the world. Principal Cast : Logan Lerman, Brandon T Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel, Sean Bean, Kevin McKidd, Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson, Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan, Catherine Keener, Joe Pantoliano.
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