"Percy Jackson & the Olympians - the Lightning Thief" Movie Review

"Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief"
My 0-10 rating: 8
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Director: Chris Columbus
Screenwriter: Craig Titley, based on the Rick Riordan novels
Starring: Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Melina Kanakaredes, Jack Abel, Catherine Keener, Kevin McKidd, Joe Pantoliano, Uma Thurman
Time: 1 hr., 59 min.
Rating: PG (for action violence and peril, some scary images, suggestive material, mild vulgarity)

Hey, big surprise. "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" is almost totally fun for everybody, with enormously imaginative and spellbinding digital effects, has a pretty decent script and is terrifically educational while being never less than top entertainment.

Critically, it's being compared unfavorably to Harry Potter. Unfair. This is not Harry Potter and isn't supposed to be. It has its own singular delights and its concepts of what Greek gods do are often very humorous. Granted, by virtue of its attractive and appealing leads, it's pitched hard to teenagers, but its attractions are numerous and never cheap.

In fact, if one wants to push the Harry Potter qualities, it must be said that "Percy Jackson" is more intellectually accessible and won't bother you with attracting pseudo-sophisticated analysis. It's just easy, visually jolting fun with solid family values and worthwhile ancient mythology elements. It's another of those many movies which you pick apart afterwards but you know darned well you were spellbound through most of it.

In ancient Greek mythology -- which here in the film turns out to be not mythology at all -- the gods walked among ordinary people and even bore them children, called demigods. Three of the gods, the big honchos, were the brothers Zeus, Poseidon and Hades.

Well now, here's New York teenager Percy (Logan Lerman) who is living with single mom Sally (Catherine Keener) and her no-good boyfriend Gabe Ugliano (Joe Pentoliano). What Percy has never known is that his real father is Poseidon (Kevin McKidd), the Greek god of the oceans. So Percy is a demi-god, son of a god and a human.

Although he has been aware of some strange personal talents, like being easily able to exist underwater for over seven minutes, he'll presently find out about his demi-god status during a museum field trip on Greek antiquities. Turns out that up in the celestial world, the gods of Mount Olympus, headed by chief god Zeus (Sean Bean), are quite upset. Seems that Zeus' famed and feared master lightning bolt has disappeared and he seriously suspects that Percy, son of his brother Poseidon, has ripped it off. This bolt, of course, as per the classical mythology, is the ultimate weapon of the universe, perfectly able to rain total destruction.

Percy's teacher is Mr. Brunner (Pierce Brosnan), his friend is Grover (Brandon T. Jackson). They, it will become clear, are hybrid human-animal creatures whose mission it is to protect him in the imminent Olympian showdown.

Complicating matters is that his mom has mysteriously disappeared. It will be learned that she had been kidnapped by Hades (Steve Coogan), the god of the underworld. Percy's mission then involves a double goal: find and rescue his mom, and prove his own innocence to his dad, Poseidon. And maybe find the sword? At a remote, magical camp for demi-gods and centaurs is Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), who is the daughter of Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom (Melina Kanakaredes) and is a martial arts and swordsperson extraordinaire. Percy also finds that Mr. Brunner, a.k.a. Chiron the centaur, and handsome-but-suspicious young Luke (Jack Abel), messenger to the gods, are in charge. Bodyguard sidekick Grover, now also revealed as a centaur, stands by.

As always in such epic tales, they will meet many a monster, like the snake-headed Medusa (Uma Thurman). Strangely, she is peculiarly vulnerable to being hit and demolished by a Ford pick-up. Meantime, Percy's power with water. he being the son of the god of the seas, will come in handy.

There was so much immense, earth-destructive power on display in the effects that I never got tired of them.

Marty Meltz, http://www.martymoviereviews.com, was the 30-year films critic for the New England Award-winning Maine Sunday Telegram until his column was terminated for budget cuts on Dec. 31, 2007.