Percy Jackson And The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Story: Young Percy Jackson is a demi-god (son of a god and a human). He is falsely accused of stealing the lightning bolt and must retrieve it before earth is torn asunder by the warring gods. Aiding him in his search for the missing bolt are Annabeth, the daughter of goddess Athena and Satyr, a half-human, half-goat creature.

Movie Review: The film is supposed to be in competition with the Harry Potter series. Let's just say, it offers no competition, even though it's directed by Chris Columbus who directed the initial films in the Potter franchise. And that's primarily because the plot fills you with a sense of deja vu. Based on the first book from Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the five-book young adult series by Rick Riordan, the plot featuring a bunch of demi-god heroes -- kids born out of the coming-together of Greek gods and humans -- fills you with a sense of deja vu. The adventures are similar, the enemies are familiar, the special effects are less effective and the sum total is a film that engages but doesn't shock and awe....So unlike HP!

Percy a dyslexic kid, fathered by Posiedon, the sea God, is forced to attend half-blood camp (deja vu, didn't we say!) when he is falsely accused by Zeus of stealing a lightning bolt. His mother, a bedraggled human, is kidnapped by weird monsters and sent to Hades, the supernatural underworld, where she is held captive until Percy returns the lightning bolt. And if he fails to do so, the gods will be at war which will send the world into apocalyptic mode, unleashing earthquakes, tornadoes and twisters. All he has to help him are his special skills, his dad's voice and his three friends, demi-goddess Annabeth, goat-man Grover and centaur Pierce Brosnan. Of course, not forgetting the flying shoes and the special pen that metamorphoses into a sword.

Amongst all the fantastical characters that inhabit the film, we would specially like to mention Uma Thurman as the serpent-haired Medusa who walks away with most of our applause as the svelte meanie. Absolutely delightful. For the rest, a word of caution. Don't go looking for Pottermania and you could have some fun with Percymania now.

Cast: Logan Lerman, Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman
Genre: Adventure
Direction: Chris Columbus