Review: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Review: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Rating: **

Nonna's Rating: $$

Rotten Tomatoes: 51%

J.K. Rowling has unwittingly unleashed a new publishing trend: several book series in which a young hero, initially unaware of his "powers" (a variety of special gifts), must take on adult-like responsibilities in a magical world of one sort or another -- and, oh yes, there's usually a Hogwarts-modeled school involved. The Percy Jackson books are one such series: Percy is a demigod, the son of Poseidon, tasked with preventing a war among the gods. My grandson, Max, who has read all the Percy Jackson novels, accompanied me to the movie. He was bothered by the "28 differences from the books." (He really didn't count them; it was just his hyperbolic way of dissing the movie.) I had a little talk with him about the differences between movies and books as art forms and how it's best to refrain from judging a movie based on how much it departs from a book.

Then, I realized I was misguided and he was correct in giving the movie a "thumbs down." You see, Max has also read all the Harry Potter books, but he's never complained about the differences between the books and those movies. He has been completely taken up in the magic and the intricate story of those films. And that's what The Lightning Thief lacks. The story is superficial, concocted for an audience of 8-12y-year-olds hungry for Harry-Potter-quality fantasy. And this film is far off that mark. I have to confess, though, that it was interesting enough that I didn't sit there thinking about how good it would be to see the credits march up the screen. So, if your kids want to see it, go. It won't be as awful as sitting through Shortz.

One note: I was bothered by a couple of things in the film. First, the kids of color are all paired off with kids of similar color. It was like watching American Bandstand in the 1960s. And, Percy's best friend and sidekick, Grover, happens to be a PG-rated satyr. As the only major character who was black, I found this casting problematically stereotypical. Oh, the heartbreak of satyriasis.

Nonna's Ratings:

$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price
$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it