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Hollywood’s not having much luck trying to find a cash cow successor to the Harry Potter series. So far The Golden Compass, Alex Ryder, The Spiderwick Chronicles and The Dark Is Rising have all fallen at the first fence. Now comes this adaptation of the first of Rick Riordan’s bestselling series of children’s novels, Percy Jackson & The Olympians.
Having worked his magic on the first two Potter movies, everyone’s obviously hoping director Chris Columbus can do the same here. He certainly has a lot of familiar territory to work with. A world that co-exists with reality as we know it. Youngsters (slightly older than in the books) possessed of special powers that separate them from normal mortals. A hero unaware of his heritage. A quest to find a missing source of power. Even a secret location where they train to hone their abilities.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite come together.
Other than the fact he can stay underwater for seven minutes, is dyslexic and suffers from ADHD, living with his mom (Catherine Keener) and repugnant step-father, Percy (Logan Lerman) has no idea that he’s different to the other kids in his New York high school.
That is until he and the class visit a Greek mythology exhibition, he’s called aside by one of his teachers for a private word and she turns into a winged, razor clawed, sharp toothed Fury.
Suddenly (and taking it remarkably in his stride), Percy learns that his crippled best friend Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) is actually a half-goat satyr with cloven hooves, his wheelchair bound classics teacher (Pierce Brosnan) is actually Chiron, a centaur. And his absent father is actually Poseidon (Kevin McKidd), the Greek god of the sea.
Apparently, Zeus (Sean Bean), Poseidon’s brother and the head honcho on Olympus, decreed that the gods weren’t allowed to have any contact with any of the demi-god kids they had as a result of, er, dalliances with mortals.
Now, for no apparent reason, Zeus reckons Percy has stolen his favourite lightning bolt and unless it’s returned in 14 days then he’s going to have a real hissy fit that will result in a war between the gods that could destroy Earth.
Taken to demi-god training camp for his protection, Percy’s horrified when mom is apparently killed by a minotaur. However, subsequently learning that she’s being held prisoner by Zeus’ other brother, Hades, the god of the underworld, who also wants the bolt so he can take over Olympus, he vows to find it and rescue her.
So, using a map provided by Luke, the son of Hermes, Percy, Grover and feisty demi-god girl warrior Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), the daughter of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, and sets off on a quest to find the entrance to Hell
What follows is series of further mythological encounters with the likes of the Medusa (Uma Thurman camping it up madly) with her snakes hairdo and a look that can turn you to stone, the multi-headed Hydra, the Las Vegas land of the Lotus Eaters, and Charon the Ferryman before they finally make it to Hades, find the bolt and discover the identity of the real thief in time for the climactic watery battle.
There’s a fair bit here that’s going to be too dark and scary for the under 8s, but there’s plenty of action and special (and not so special) effects to keep pre-teen thrill seekers entertained, even if the three main characters fall well short of the Potter trio in terms of on screen personality.
However, there’s also some truly cheesy dialogue, clumsy direction and bits that simply don’t make any sense. At times I felt it needed an extra kick to get it into fourth gear and, given that Riordan created Percy as a role model for his dyslexic, ADHD son, a little more might have been made of this rather than being brushed aside as being a bit fidgety and seeing English letters as Greek and vice versa.
It does provide a basic primer to Greek mythology, even if the likes of Artemis, Aphrodite, Apollo and Hera are never more than screen credits and Olympus experts will complain that identifying Percy with Perseus (who killed Medusa) is a boo boo since he was actually the son of Zeus. But if it gets kids reading about the actual myths, that has to be a good thing.
There’s also some nice amusing touches; Hermes’ winged sandals are trainers and adults will enjoy the in joke of the former James Bond giving Percy a pen that turns into a sword like some Olympian answer to Q. There’s also a great gag about where Hell is located. Indeed, the scenes in the Underworld are among the best, with its skulls and candles décor, Rosario Dawson as a scheming Persephone and a marvellous Steve Coogan in beard and Mick Jagger gear as Hades.
And, don’t leave before the end credits or you’ll miss a very funny punch line.
With a further four Percy novels offering more adventures, will The Lightning Thief succeed in launching a franchise where the others have failed. I guess that is in the box office lap of the gods.
BBFC Guidance: Contains moderate fantasy violence and threat
Lets Go With The Children rating: recommended for 9+
By Mike Davies
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