Friday, May 23, 2025

Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief

When the Harry Potter film series was almost done, another novel adaptation was introduced, which I didn’t know about until a second cousin had told me about it when I visited him. In 2010 came “Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief,” the first adaptation in the children’s book series by Rick Riordan, which sees it protagonist finding out he’s actually half God, half human. With about five books in the series, and the possibility for a long-running franchise, can Percy Jackson live up to the standards that Harry Potter made? I believe it did. Lara Martin said in her review, “From the opening scenes of a 30-foot Greek God emerging from the sea in New York, to the nordic looking battle grounds of Camp Half Blood, to the fiery colour and terror of the Underworld, Percy Jackson sucks you in as the classic Greek myths are retold for the modern world.”

Percy, played by Logan Lerman, is an average kid living in New York City. He doesn’t try too hard at school, deals with dyslexia and ADHD and doesn’t have the best home life since his mother (Catherine Keener) remarried a bum (Joe Pantoliano). However, when he is on a field trip to the museum, his life is changed forever when Mrs. Dobbs, played by Maria Olsen, turns into Alecto and demands Percy to return a stolen lightning bolt. Before he knows it, a confused Percy is being sent to a secret camp for his own protection, where he finds out that his wheelchair-bound tutor Mr. Brunner (Pierce Brosnan) is actually a centaur and his crutches-using best friend Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) is a Satyr who were sent to protect him.

Percy finds out that he is actually the son of Sea God, Poseidon, played by Kevin McKidd, making him a very powerful demigod. Unfortunately, Poseidon’s brother Zeus, played by Sean Bean, thinks that Percy has stolen his lightning rod, which has the possibility to start a war between the Gods. To make the situation worse, the God of the Underworld, Hades, played by Steve Coogan, kidnaps Percy’s mother and demands the lightning bolt. The only problem. Percy doesn’t have the bold and doesn’t know where it is. Still, he decides to go on this risky journey to the Underworld so he can save his mother, before trying to convince Zues that he is telling the truth.

Despite the parts of the surprisingly violent Camp Half Blood, where Percy learns how to control his powers, drag on too long, his journey across the country along with Grover and Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), the warrior daughter of Athena (Melina Kanakaredes), are enjoyable. Their journey takes them from the botanical garden of Medusa, played by Uma Thurman, to the pleasure-seeking casino in Las Vegas, and the glory of the Parthenon in Nashville as they race against the time to rescue Percy’s mother, while learning different Greek history lessons on the way. Martin said, “The brief detour to the Underworld is one of the movie's biggest highlights, with a campy Coogan draped in metallics and leather as Hades, while Rosario Dawson oozes sex appeal as the lustful and trapped Persephone. Big names like Brosnan, Bean and Thurman add plenty of gravitas to proceedings, while relative newcomer Logan Lerman shows he is definitely one to watch as he transforms Percy from bratty schoolkid to brave hero, shining in his battle sequences and displaying a knack for comedy.”

Yes, there are plot holes, and so many loose ends, including how no one even thinks about the destruction of the Empire State Building, Parthenon, and so on, but that aside, the film manages to make Greek mythology both fun and exciting and is sure to attract its key demographic. With Chris Columbus, the director of the first two Harry Potter movies, directing this one, we get exactly what we would expect. Beneath all of the explosions, violence, and awe-inspiring special effects, is a nice story about a boy wanting to save his mother and the importance of friends, which could give Harry Potter a run for his money.

As a person who never read the books, I found myself enjoying this film, being a huge Greek Myths fan. My sister got this from Netflix back when they had DVD rentals and we watched this one night. I believe we both liked this and if you have a Disney+ account, you should see this. Give it a chance, but if you don’t like it, I understand. Just judge it based on your own thoughts.

Next week, we will finish off “Greek Mythology Month” with the sequel to this film. Sorry for the last posting. I fell asleep after coming back from work.

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