Review of Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) by Kaitlyn M — 18 Oct 2015

If you're into Greek mythology, this sounds like a cool popcorn film to kick back and enjoy with visual effects and Greek lore. Well, it's kind of that. My expectations were a little too high and I had lowered them.

I knew this was likened to more Disney channel fare and not top of the line storytelling but at the very least I thought it would make sense. Well, it doesn't really make sense and part of it, admittedly, is the challenge of making the gods likable which is tough because they actually are so despicable and selfish they should nearly always be villains in stories.

There are a lot of things to believe, a lot of points where you wonder if that makes any sense, realize it doesn't, then continue on anyway because you remember the title was hard to get past, so whatever.

It comes down to a father son story and how one generation is trying to be better than the previous, which is most likely a subtle commentary on the millennial generation and their parents. The movie still has fun parts, yet the climax is less than climatic, the villain is forgettable, the lines are cheesy, and most are acting like nothing serious is happening at all.

Grover has a couple funny lines and Pierce Brosnan simply doesn't fit in as the wise sage among these high school musical throwaways. But it's fun in other ways, the mythology gets cool at times and sometimes the tension actually builds and grips you which is pleasant.

It's not bottom of the barrel but how did it get a sequel?