Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief movie review from modmove

LAPDANCE LARRY

SEVENTIES SIMON

PHOTOGRAPHY

COMIC ART

INTERVIEWS

Sub-menu 1.2.1.1

FESTIVALS

EXHIBITIONS

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
Chris Columbus has a reputation for lighthearted fluff bordering on the mundane and Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief does not depart from his tried 'n' true formula. From Home Alone to Mrs. Doubtfire to the first two entries in the cinematic Harry Potter franchise, he's not exactly a high achiever in the 'auteur' sense rather a mediocre moviemaker for the masses.

This contemporary reimagining of the mythological exploits of Perseus gets the jumpstart on the forthcoming remake of the similarly themed Clash Of The Titans but both teen-ifies, Americanises and modernises the Greek story for a youth audience. Naturally this necessitates huge doses of artistic license and some of the 'revisions' are admittedly amusing. For example, the gorgon Medusa now resides in a landscape garden centre (which would explain all the stone statues, of course). Other ideas, however, are prosaic such as the location of Hades revealed towards the films finale and the switching of a shiny iPod cover for Athena's polished shield to facilitate Perseus' slaying of the gorgon. It's all meant to be cheesy fun, though, and the film mostly succeeds on that score.

Columbus directs to the kind of clunky script to which he's become accustomed, serving the lowest common denominator in audiences by spelling out every detail to ensure we don't miss any of the pertinent points. Upon exiting the lair of the Lotus Eaters one of our heroes is compelled to exclaim, "That was the lair of the Lotus Eaters", adding, "They've been luring people in since ancient times!” just in case you missed the none too subtle reference to the mythological adventures of Odysseus. The Satyr growing his horns only after an implied steamy soiree with the sultry Persephone is none too subtle either.

Columbus employs a bunch of well respected actors to cameo the roles of the Greek gods but after the same ploy was used in 1981's Clash Of The Titans, somehow Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan and Kevin McKidd just don't measure up to Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith and Ursula Andress; a cast which trumps even the upcoming Clash remake of Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson and Danny Huston.

This is a Chris Columbus picture through and through; the originality quotient is not high, events duly happen for sheer plot convenience and everything runs obediently by the numbers. Fortunately, however, Percy Jackson manages to stay mostly on the fun side of the mediocre spectrum though its superficiality does begin to tire by its mid-point.
Stuart Jamieson
www.percyjacksonthemovie.com


also featured
NEW COMPETITIONS! The Grey Competition Thanks to Icon Film Distribution, we have ten double in-season tickets to give away to The Grey! Read more >> Shame How do you connect with the disconnected? Read more >> Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a characteristically British film. Read more >> The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo The best thing about this American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is that this is Fincher's version of Dragon Tattoo. Read more >> Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol After cutting his teeth on Pixar's The Incredibles, Brad Bird applies his ample talent and requisite enthusiasm for spy thrillers to live action in this, the latest installment in the foundering Mission: Impossible franchise. Read more >> Boxing Day Bash The annual Boxing Day movie feast presents Hollywood approaching the season’s end like it was a big fairy tale wedding with something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. Read more >> Puss in Boots When a franchise runs out of steam there is always the spin-off. Read more >> Attack the Block The alien invasion genre has been hit particularly hard of late with the likes of Cloverfield, District 13, Battle: Los Angeles and Aliens vs Cowboys, each one more mediocre than the last and culminating in the downright awful Skyline. So kudos to director, Joe Cornish, for at least trying something a little different. Read more >> Immortals As eye candy, Immortals ticks all the right boxes. Read more >> In Time In Time is a competent action/thriller in the Hollywood mould but coming from director, Andrew Niccol, who also wrote and directed Gattaca and wrote The Truman Show, it is disappointingly light. Read more >> Moneyball First the conundrum, I love baseball movies but don’t especially like the game itself and would never even entertain the thought of actually watching an entire game. Read more >>


Stay up to date with modmove news
about modmove
What to know how we got started? Read more >>
read the modmove blog
Check out all the random stuff that didn't make it to the website! Read more >>
contact Us
If you have any queries or if you would like more information about modmove, we would love to hear from you! Read more >>
join our mailing list
subscribe to the mailing list and receive the modmove newsletter. Full Name Email Address Enter Word Verification in box below
search
search modmove for previous news and reviews.