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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
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