Percy Jackson: Diebe im Olymp

If you don't think too much about how it's not true to the books, the movie is actually quite entertaining. Logan Lerman is a great actor and a great Percy, but he was definitely too old for the character.

Which is one of the first major icks. In the books the characters are kids, Percy is 12, but played by a full on adult. There's a lot of other things the movies have changed but regardless of those, I still enjoyed the movies and it's too bad they were cut short.

Here's the deal. I read the first book, I'm currently reading the second... I loved the books, the imagination, the way it ties the mythology with the 21st century, all great. Now, the movie... the only thing I really have to say is PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE give me back the 2 hours you just unmercifully wasted in my life. I saw this flick with my fiancé on Valentine's Day, my pick. It was so bad even I nearly fell asleep. They changed major plot lines in the book, took out some of the characters that I really wanted to see, added a few that didn't exist in the book, and it was overall just kind of boring. Big effects don't do enough to keep me awake when I was really looking forward to knowing what would happen next in the movie and how it would be made. Instead I just sit there mindless, wondering if it wasn't too late to sneak into Avatar instead. If there is a movie made from the other books in the series... I'll probably download it online, but I won't spend money to see it. Huge, huge disappointment.

I guess you know the drill already. With the Lord of the Rings making Hollywood studios go into a frenzy in adapting the many fantasy books out there, not everything Tinseltown touched turned to box office gold, and more often than not, save for that famous boy wizard, what could have been pilots of franchises, became no more than false starts. I suppose it goes to show that a solid story is still fundamental, other than making yet another special effects extravaganza to try and wow a growingly jaded audience.

So the verdict for Percy Jackson & the Olympians? I dare say I was impressed by how engaging it was, so much so that 2 hours just flew by, but that doesn't mean that it didn't have its fair share of plot loopholes for you to ridicule, or clichés that make you chuckle that these are still utilized in this day and age. Simply put, if the Greek gods and goddesses were all powerful, especially that of Zeus, well the first few minutes as played by Sean Bean, made him out to be a clueless weakling who had his all powerful lightning bolt being stolen from under his nose, like taking candy from a kid, and now the kid's throwing a bad tantrum, threatening the fate of the world and that of Olympus (erm, the Empire State Building in New York, anyone?) unless his accused, the titular thief and demigod son of Poseidon (Kevin McKidd) coughs out his favourite toy.

But that is only if Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) is guilty in the first place, given that he actually doesn't know his half-god lineage no thanks to Poseidon being horny enough (as do the other gods in their frequent visits to the human earth) to impregnate Sally Jackson (Catherine Keener), and then Sally deciding to keep Percy safe from jealous harm from other godly beings, because being the son of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades (Steve Coogan) is a big thing actually, the three being big daddies and sworn brothers in this mythology.

But of course in one fell swoop, all hell breaks loose, Percy discovers that a Pen can indeed be a powerful weapon, and allies himself with a Satyr Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) his good friend and protector, the cute demigod Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) - note the necessary trio of heroes in the vein of Harry Potter here given that they're demigods, but still need to go to a Hogwarts equivalent to hone their special abilities, amongst other Greek god offsprings numbering in the hundreds (told you they were horny), in the middle of a nowhere forest, demarcated by a sign board and a force field to keep out muggles, I mean, humans.

Being an introductory film to the world of the Olympians, we learn facts like why Percy's such a big deal (no he didn't repel the biggest foe in the franchise), and the little do's and don'ts they have to learn from the likes of the centaur Chiron (Pierce Brosnan). But kids being kids, and wanting to save his mom from the clutches of Hell, Percy and his friends embark on an American cross country road trip, and in the meantime try to decipher just who could that Thief be, having 14 days as the deadline to meet, which forms the basis of incidents and episodes that the trio come face to face with in exhibiting their powers (well, actually only Percy's).

Part of the fun is to see how other notable names in the casting list get to play up their gods and demon status. Uma Thurman stars as Medusa, spruced up by special effects snakes adorned on her head, which at certain points looked quite CG-ed for its own good. Or having Rosario Dawson star as Persephone in quite fed-up manner, and the lists goes on. Suffice to say that many of the appearances here are quite self contained in the scene they appear in, that they rarely re-appear again until the sequel (already announced for next year). Joe Pantoliano hams it up as Percy's muggle, I mean human step dad, and I was somewhat impressed by the extremely mean looking CG design of Hades, which can really strike fear with his appearance. The one that came out in the bonfire, that is.

With Clash of the Titans coming just round the corner, one wonders whether it may suffer from an audience jaded with this version's interpretation of Greek mythology, plus the uncanny use of the same villainous types that would prove detrimental by the time Titans come around. I guess that remains to be seen. Meanwhile, stay tuned when the end credits start rolling, as there's a scene that'll come on as soon as the cast list rolls off. And I certainly have no clue why "The Olympians" were dropped from the title of its release here.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief My nine year old daughter and I watched this movie together and enjoyed it for different reasons. Rated PG, Percy and the blah blah blah… (I can't ever remember the whole name) is not really as scary as it is intense – the emotional conflict of good v evil rather then the purely physical. This means not much in the way of gore and some really great monsters. In fact, I loved it more for its modern portrayal of teenage fury in an Old World Olympian setting, than my daughter did for the special effects. It is reminiscent of Harry Potter and the…blah blah blah with its special effects and Lord of the Rings blah blah of its battle of good v evil and the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (that one I remember) for its centaurs and satyrs. So it's not original; it's a well done and effective story of generational angst. On top of this are the awe inspiring special effects, especially the waterworks of Poseidon and his offspring. However, those never interest me as much as the human drama, and should serve as background, not the whole movie. (Some of us really do believe that) In this case there is a good blend.

Logan Lerman, as Percy, is an angry, lovable misfit who thinks he's a loser and becomes an Olympian. This has nothing to do with the sweat and grind of the Olympics we just watched on TV, but the realization that his absent father wasn't just a lout, he was also a god. This sets up the perennial teenage conflict surrounding the question "Who am I?" Percy's quest is just a bit more bizarre than usual. He is a god, or half of one, and has to discover what that means. Lerman is a great choice for Percy, not a perfect beauty, just a good looking kid, who we identify with and want to succeed. His emotional range is better than that of most actors in kid movies; Percy is conflicted, afraid, puzzled, and determined and it all shows.

Brandon T. Jackson is Grover, Percy's sidekick and protector. Jackson is a solid presence, supporting the lead and lending his soulful eyes to the role. Along with Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth, the awesome fighter and love interest, the three become a team to right the wrongs of the gods. I like to see young women with more to do in a movie than stir a male's passion, and Annabeth (couldn't decide on a name?) does. She fights, she wins, she loses, she gets the boy, and her stunning eyes are clearly descended from the gods. Jake Abel as Luke has the complex role of a neglected god child seeking revenge any way he can - lying, stealing and cheating on his friends. Abel needed to show more passion, more love, more bitterness, to make his downfall all that more spectacular.

There is such a huge cast it's hard to comment on everyone. Of the older generation Pierce Brosnan as Mr. Brunner / Chiron gives a "yes I remember what it's like to be young and full of myself just like you" performance of the wise and patient mentor, Uma Thurman is a delightfully evil Medusa, Sean Bean, well, in my book Sean Bean is always a god so he played Zeus very well. Steve Coogan as Hades and Rosario Dawson as Persephone are fun. If it's possible to play a kidnapped woman as funny, these two manage it. Joe Pantoliano as Percy's step dad Gabe Ugliano (like the name) is a good creep but the character seems dated. Ordering a wife to fetch beer is very Archie Bunker – do jerky step dad's still do that? Maria Olsen's fury and Julian Richings Ferryman are small parts with a big impact and they are each perfectly evil. Max Van Ville has his three seconds on film as a 70's kid and uses them to perfection. These three are (therefore) perfect examples of bit parts making a difference - it is the accumulation of believable detail that carries us along on the fantasy. Catherine Keener is the washed out Sally Jackson, Percy's Mom. Since she is more heroic than the heroes, it would have been nice to see a little spark in her somewhere in her martyrdom – why would a god fall for her except that she can wear a pair of skinny jeans? (Maybe that's enough) Since a lot of Mom's are going to see this PG movie it's nice to have a son risk everything for her, as lame and uninspiring as she appears to be. In fact, the premise that these teenagers were all abandoned by, not loser parents, but by superior perfect god parents becomes a comment on parenting itself - maybe Hollywood parents in particular –rich and successful parents dumping their kids to be raised by mere mortals, the nannies and day cares of the world? However godlike Percy may be he is clearly ticked off at being abandoned and the scene with his Dad at the end encapsulates the drama.

At 118 minutes (let's see, 118 divide by 60, 2 minutes shy of 2 hours) it felt a little long. My daughter was squirming by the end. Part of her restlessness was likely the result of all the previews and being pummeled by the non stop wave of sound. Does it really have to be that loud? We were plastered to our seats with our fingers in our ears for the swelling crescendos of the battle scenes. Hey movie theaters, any body listening? (Take your fingers out of your ears) It's too loud! And those earnest, dedicated multi-millionaire movie stars exhorting us to reach into our pockets for Haiti? How 'bout each of you giving a million or two and be done with it.

The premise of this movie - that Greek gods were real and have offspring in the modern world - is interesting. But the execution of this idea felt very rushed in this movie. I haven't read the book, so can't judge where the blame lies for this.

The movie is an enjoyable way to kill a couple of hours, but isn't as engrossing as other movies of this genre.

Several big stars feature in cameo roles and for anyone who knows a fair bit about who celebrities are, this tends to distract from the movie. Uma Thurman, Brosnan, etc., aren't really given the screen time to build a strong character for themselves. Perhaps the best of these is Steve Coogan playing Hades, but even here you send most of his screen time thinking "oh look, it's Steve Coogan" rather than being drawn into the movie. It could have benefited from having the minor roles played by less known actors - as it is, their appearances tend to detract from the main characters who actually do a good job with the material they have been given.

But these are minor concerns - the biggest problem with this movie is that Percy finds out he's a demigod and suddenly seems to develop gifts with no effort or training, just by virtue of knowing his past. At the start of the movie, he already demonstrated an exceptional ability to remain underwater for long periods of time. But after finding out he's a demigod, he develops strong sword fighting skills with no training or effort (the start of the fight between the red helmets and the blue helmets, before the water "thing"), and later is capable of manipulating water in a couple of scenes without being taught this skill or having any difficulty or doubts about his ability to do it. This is just preposterous. The mythical/other worldly framework is generally used to provide a context to display human failings, struggles, and virtues. Instead, in Percy Jackson, this framework is used to simply give the lead character a loose justification for overcoming other mythical creatures. He doesn't have to question how to use his powers, nor does he have to put any effort into developing these powers.

Like I say, the movie isn't so bad as to make it unwatchable, but they really missed a chance to make this movie have a strong impact by failing to give it any depth. It is all just the bells and whistles of CGI and having mythological creatures just to have some interesting looking battles and a trip to the underworld. It could have been so much more. Whether this is a failing of the movie, the books, or both, is up to those who have read the books to decide. But the movie reeks of jumping on the Harry Potter bandwagon in an attempt to get box- office success, while ignoring the fact that those movies were built on books that had some depth to them. That is what gave them their cultural poignancy. This movie lacks it completely.