Abstract-Percy Jackson discovers that he is the son of Poseidon, and that he has been wrongly accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt.
Pros:
-The story draws heavily on Greek mythology and uses it in ways that are new, exciting, and humorous. There are too many examples to list in one posting, but the best one is when the Island of the Lotus-Eaters is reinterpreted as a Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. That was the most hilarious part of the movie.
-Grover, the satyr who is Percy's best friend and "Junior Protector", is expertly played by Brandon T. Jackson, who has the best performance in the movie.
-There are excellent action sequences, in particular Percy's battle with the Minotaur and the fight against the Hydra at the Parthenon in Nashville, as well as his final showdown with the real thief.
-Some really great actors appear in smaller roles. The best of these was Uma Thurman as Medusa, who scared the living daylights out of me. Rosario Dawson was also great as Persephone, the abducted wife of Hades who, in a twist on the original tale, has numerous gentlemen "visitors" as payback (nothing happens onscreen). Pierce Brosnan does well in his role as Chiron, who disguises himself as Mr. Brunner, a teacher in a wheelchair, before revealing his true identity as the centaur who trains demigods to become heroes. Luke, played by Jake Abel as the mischievous son of Hermes, is also an interesting character, although I felt he was somewhat underutilized. Catherine Keener, though not spectacular, was decent as Sally Jackson, Percy's mother.
-The movie touches on the troubling subject of children having to grow up with absentee parents. In the film, the gods (both male and female), come to earth to have children with humans, and then must return to Olympus, forbidden to see them again, lest their feelings for their kids interfere with their heavenly responsibilities. I know a lot of people my age and younger who, because their parents sidelined them for careers, can relate to the abandonment issues Percy (played by Logan Lerman), his ally/love interest, Annabeth(played by Alexandra Daddario), and the other teenaged demigods have as a result.
-The movie is really clean. If there were any profanities, I didn't hear them. The violence was standard fantasy/adventure fare. On the raunchy side. it does not get any worse than the daughters of Aphrodite waving to Percy and Grover while wearing bikinis.
Cons:
-One minor character randomly looks into Medusa's eyes for no apparent reason.
-There are some plot holes. For example, there's no explanation for where the heroes get the money for the trek across America that they take during their quest before they enter the underworld and later go up to Mt. Olympus. Also, it's not explained how Chiron was able to change his form in the first place.
-The main characters, Percy and Annabeth, aren't given much of a personality, causing them to be eclipsed by Grover and all the vibrant secondary characters in the film. Basically, Percy is the stereotypical average-kid-turned-hero and Annabeth, the daughter of Athena, is the overdone, invincible warrior princess. I'm not going to be too harsh on the actors who played them because I really felt they weren't given much to work with.
-The special effects are sub-par in certain scenes. For example, it was obvious that Poseidon (played by Kevin McKidd) was walking beside a blue screen in the opening where he's supposed to be rising from the ocean depths. Medusa's hairdo was also poorly done CGI.
Overall rating: Phenomenal! A must see for all fantasy and adventure movie lovers, especially Greek mythology enthusiasts. If you go, stay during the credits to see a hilarious clip revealing the fate of Percy's stepdad.
(The image used in this post is from The Internet Movie Database at www.imdb.com. I claim no ownership whatsoever over this image)
