PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF

Director: Chris Columbus
Stars: Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandria Daddario, Jake Abel, Pierce Brosnan, Catherine Keener, Sean Bean, Kevin McKidd, Steve Coogan, Joe Pantoliano
Year: 2010
Rating: PG

Young actor Logan Lerman first made a real impression on this reviewer with 2007's Bill, in which he turned in an effective, funny and touching performance going scene-for-scene with the considerable acting chops of Aaron Eckhart. It was a great little film I hope more people see - and similarly, with Tropic Thunder in 2008, I became an instant fan of Brandon T. Jackson, who was hilarious as Alpa Chino.

So for these two reasons alone (plus a middle-of-the-road interest in Greek mythology), I was more than interested in catching Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. With no knowledge of the book(s) the film is based on, I sat down to watch the film with an open mind and eager eyes.

The film opens majestically enough, with none other but the great god Poseidon himself (Kevin McKidd) emerging from the waters off Manhattan, where he ends up meeting with Zeus (Sean Bean) to discuss the theft of Zeus' lightning bolt. Zeus is convinced the crime was committed by the half-human son of Poseidon, who of course denies his son had anything to do with the crime ... even as Zeus portends the boy has just ten days to return the bolt before total war opens up between the three brothers themselves - Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades (Steve Coogan) for control of Mount Olympus.

Cut to teenager Percy Jackson (Lerman), a semi-nerdy New York City student who suffers from both ADHD and dyslexia, just trying to get through life and school with his mom (Catherine Keener), and the smelly, beer-swilling pig (Joe Pantoliano) she's married - who treats Percy like total crap. The first ten minutes or so of the film are okay, building up a fairly normal story ... before a seemingly normal scene set in a museum blows both the plot and special effects budget wide, and the film really takes off with an immediate threat to Percy - which leads to the astonishing knowledge, for the young man, that HE is the son of Poseidon, and is now in mortal danger; as the presumed thief of Zeus' lightning bolt, everyone is out to either kill him, or get the bolt back before it can be returned to Zeus.

So with barely enough time to digest all that's going on, Percy is whisked to a training camp for young warriors - all the half-children of mortals and the various gods or goddesses of Olympus - that is protected by magic from outside enemies, as you have to be a half-blood to enter. On the way, however, Percy's mother is captured by a minion of none other than Hades, who desperately wants the bolt, and will do anything to get Percy to give it to him.

At the camp, Percy and his best friend Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) meet up with a young, beautiful female warrior - half-daughter of Athena - named Annabeth (Alexandria Daddario), who gives Percy a hard-earned lesson in fighting before the boy steps up to the plate to show some considerable skills inherited from his father. Also on board is Luke (Jake Abel), half-son of Hermes, who takes Percy under his wing as instructor and friend ... and who even helps Percy by providing him with his magic shield, when early on Percy decides to sneak out of camp and make his way to the Underworld, where he hopes to rescue his mother from Hades, simply explaining to the god that he doesn't, and never had, Zeus' lightning bolt. Grover and Annabeth accompany Percy on his quest, which includes crossing the country in the search of the three pearls they need to enter Hades - and battling the various gods, minions, and magic determined to stop their mission ... or obtain the lightning from Percy (Uma Thurman, in particular, has a great scene as Medusa that's worth catching alone).

A lot - sorry, a LOT - of criticism has come to this film because of the severe changes director Chris Columbus made to the storyline and characters. In particular, Percy is much younger in the books (twelve, I believe), and supposedly much of the books story has been edited down, with entire scenes, characters, and a lot of the background mythology missing. Not having read the books, I can still definitely see what a disappointment all of this would be to fans of the novels ...

But for me, Percy Jackson disappoints simply on the level of viewer commitment. Logan Lerman, much as I like his work, seems out of place in the lead, as if his acting skills aren't quite developed enough to handle the role. He's simply not all the believable, and at times even overacts (a problem with several of the actors in the film), sort of "hamming it up a bit with the drama. Brandon T. Jackson turns in a much more natural performance, while Alexandria Daddario is okay as Annabeth, if not a bit stiff - but even so, all are backed up by some really heavy (too heavy, at times) drama via other, more seasoned actors in the cast, as well. The ending is more than a little easy to figure out; sadly, story-wise, the film could have used much more plot and character development to make the road there more interesting.

But even with that, the film's special effects and action sequences are very cool, with some truly eye-popping visuals that still make me glad I saw the film. It's just really, REALLY cool to look at, at times, and younger kids especially should like the special effects and look of the film (even though some of the villains, and even story, might not be good for very young children). Adults watching the film with them shouldn't be bored - but you also just won't be terribly moved to care too, too much about the characters; the film is all action and all visuals, while the substance tries in vain to catch up throughout.

Worth seeing? Well, yeah - as a rental or on cable especially. Worth buying? Not really. Even with its cool, sort of kick-butt final action sequence, set on (actually, above) the rooftops of Manhattan - which isn't long enough, but pretty groovy while it's happening. **1/2 - Reel Mediocre-Reel Cool