Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief (2010)

Directed by: Chris Columbus | 122 minutes | adventure, family, fantasy | Actors: Logan Lerman, Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan, Rosario Dawson, Sean Bean, Kevin McKidd, Catherine Keener, Steve Coogan, Alexandra Daddario, Joe Pantoliano, Melina Kanakaredes, Serinda Swan, Jake Abel, Chelan Simmons, Erica Cerra, Brandon T. Jackson, Stefanie von Pfetten, Dylan Neal, Luke Camilleri, Dimitri Lekkos, Christie Laing, Luisa D’Oliveira, Marie Avgeropoulos, Maria Olsen, Richard Harmon, Marielle Jaffe, Andrea Brooks, Dejan Loyola, Maya Washington, Crystal Tisiga, Patrick Sabongui, Zane Holtz, Tim Aas, Ray Winstone

When watching ‘Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief’, a comparison with Harry Potter is almost inevitable. Chris Columbus also filmed the first two Harry Potter books (“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”). Like ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’, ‘Percy Jackson’ begins in the clouds and slowly descends to Earth. First we get a picture of the city, then we zoom in on a human level. A commonly used and safe start, even a bit boring. The fact that in this story a boy is told that he is more special than other people and that he has unknown powers and the combination of two boys and a girl who go on an adventure is strongly reminiscent of the stories of the sorcerer’s apprentice. Fortunately, the comparison ends there.

‘Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief’ is a must. The addition of comedy makes it a surprise in the fantasy genre. The spontaneous humor is well timed by the (young) actors. As Percy ironically points out, when he just arrives at the youth camp for demigods: “They’re taking camp far too seriously” and that’s exactly what the viewer thinks. It’s nice that the tone in the film isn’t too serious. The interaction between the world of the ancient gods and the current era also appears to be a well-functioning formula. Instead of being stuck in Greek mythology, it is brought to the present so that, for example, the back of an iPod can be used to take down Medusa. You know: the goddess with her head full of snakes who turns anyone into stone who looks into her eyes. And in the youth camp everyone plays stratego in the clothing of the Greek fighters, but computer games are also played.

It is striking that the world of the (demi) gods is not portrayed extremely imaginatively, but rather realistically. Except that the gods are immense and can shrink to our size – which looks unintentionally humorous – and the monsters that appear sporadically, it’s not that bad. The existence of the world of the gods is sometimes clear, as in the camp or in the underworld with Hades and Persephone, but the majority of the film takes place in the ‘ordinary world’, as mentioned. So it doesn’t make ‘Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief’ a die-hard fantasy film. The difference between the two worlds does offer a lot of room for tension because when will the next mythological figure appear?

The momentum is right from the start and it doesn’t take long before ‘the other world’ is discovered and the action can begin. The story flows well and there is enough variation between action, adventure and humor. However, the film seems to start again when the three youngsters set out and it becomes a kind of road movie. This part of the film seems to be separate from what the viewer has seen before, which seems messy. Does Percy want to prove he’s not the lightning thief and avoid a war, or does he just want to save his mother from Hades’ clutches? The gods don’t seem to care that much. After it is known who the lightning thief is, the film gets bogged down. The conversation Percy then has with his father Poseidon might as well have been left out. The film sinks in a bit at the end, perhaps it is an opening to the next film in the series. A fun adventure and a little lesson in Greek mythology for the teenage audience.