Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

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Tuesday, 09 February 2010 09:38

Based on the series of novels by Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief is the first in a series of 5 books chronicling the adventures of 12 year old Percy Jackson.

Percy Jackson thought he was an everyday loser, afflicted with dyslexia and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder). Turns out he is no ordinary loser. After a failed attack by his math teacher on a field trip, he is revealed to be the son of Poseidon, God of the seas! He's a loser demigod!

Together with his best friend, Grover, who's actually a junior protector man-goat satyr, they make their way to Camp Half Blood, where he meets hottie Annabeth Chase, who's actually daughter of Athena, Goddess of wisdom and strategy. There are also tons of other half-bloods running around, training under what seems like BMT conditions, with Pierce Brosnan playing the Camp Regimental Sergeant Major.

There, he's told that he's in grave danger, for Zeus's lightning bolt has been stolen, and everybody thinks he did it! and if its not returned within 10 days to Mount Olympus (on the 600th storey atop Empire State Building), the Gods will start a war that will end the world. (those greek gods - they drink, be merry, have sex with each other and mortals, and can still find time to end the world)

So he and his new found friends embark on an adventure to save his mom (who's been held captive by Hades along the way), and the world in general.

While the effects on the monsters are decent, I can't say much about the water scenes, which look a little rough (I know water is probably one of the toughest effects to master, but hey, Chris Columbus should have mastered his CG trickery with Harry Potter right?)

I know this probably stems from the source material, but the film also reeks of camp. Too much camp at times.

I know its supposed to be lighter fare than Harry Potter, seeing that it involves Greek Gods infused with the modern world, but still, the jokes sometimes border on spoof material direct from the Wayan Brothers School of filmmaking.

Overall, its a decent film with acceptable effects and some laughs. But it doesn't leave a very lasting impression.

5/10

I was more interested in how author Rick Riordan started off on these books. He was a middle school teacher for greek mythology, and had been telling greek bedtime stories to his son Haley. Soon, he ran out of actual myths to tell his son, and had to make up new ones.

Haley then had just been diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD. So Rick created the fictional character of Percy with similar traits to Haley, and told of his adventures in travelling around the States to recover Zeus's lightning bolt.

This eventually turned into the novel that was published in 2005, and since gone on to sell more than 1.2 million copies.

How cool is that?