Story posted Monday, February 22, 2010
Percy Jackson
Valentine's Day
The Last Station
From Paris With Love
The Lovely Bones
Edge of Darkness
The Journey Begins
Movie Scene | By MIKE POULOS
Percy Jackson
"Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" (119 min. Rated PG for action violence and peril, scary images and suggestive material, and mild language). Score: 7
"Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" has a lot in common with the "Narnia" books, the "Harry Potter" books, "Bridge to Terabithia" and countless other adventure-fantasy tales involving a child – or children – facing mythological creatures in mythological settings in which they possess rare, inexplicable powers they need to vanquish their enemies. Many of the comic book superheroes fit this role, too...most notably Spider-Man...a bored, ordinary teenager who is transformed into a super-powered hero and preserver of peace.
Though that is a bit of a stretch...Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) is every bit like Peter Potter - or even Harry Potter for that matter - a seemingly mild-mannered young teenage boy being raised by a single parent mother – or in Harry Potter's case, by his malcontent uncle – who is bestowed fantastical abilities to do magical things all for the good of the human race. Percy is a cookie-cutter character in this respect...a youngster who is misunderstood at high school because he's "different"...acts like he knows more than everyone else (which he does)...and is basically a wimp...certainly not a hero. Then he finds out who he "really" is and the fun starts, usually with a perilous journey to right some evil goings-on...and to prove himself in battle...fight for justice or unravel a mystery that only he can solve.
In the series of books written by Rick Riordan (I believe there are five), veteran director Chris Columbus ("Home Alone" and the first two "Harry Potter" movies) and screenwriter Craig Titley have fashioned a wonderful fantasy adventure story that parallels ancient Greek mythology. That's a great setting to expand from, as there are many exciting adventures that can be gleaned off of from those amazing stories especially the gods who occupy them. And that's exactly what Percy is...a demigod; he is the son of Poseidon – God of the Sea (Kevin McKidd) – who mated with a human woman (Catherine Keener). Therefore, Percy is half human, half god. At some point in time, however, the boy becomes a man and his powers come to bear, separating him from his human existence.
The story behind Percy's daunting mission is this – and only after he is convinced he is a demigod: Zeus's (Sean Bean) lightning bolt of power has gone missing. As he is the "big cheese" in the sky, he needs it to rule Mount Olympus and the other lesser gods. For some reason, he blames Poseidon's son Percy as having taken it. If it is not returned in two weeks, Zeus will declare war on Poseidon...as well as Hades, who by the way are all brothers (sorry...I don't see the resemblance). Word has to get to Percy to begin using his powers, which he is finally convinced of by one of his high school teachers, Pierce Brosnan, who is actually a centaur (half man, half horse) and Grover (Brandon T. Jackson), who is really a satyr (half man, half donkey), and Percy's protector. With Hades (Steve Coogan) breathing fire down on Percy's back – who would like to have the lightning bolt for himself – Percy is enrolled in a training camp hidden in the woods for children of the gods...a place of learning for demigods like a place of learning for wizards at Hogwarts. The camp is called, quite humorously, Camp Half-Blood, which made me chuckle. It is there that Percy perfects his fighting skills and meets the beautiful demigod goddess Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), who is the daughter of Athena...and looks too old for Percy...but it's only a movie, folks.
Percy gets instructions from Chiron (Brosnan) to embark on a most perilous journey to retrieve the lost lightning bolt...and take Annabeth and Grover with him...kind of a Harry, Ron and Hermione trio. Along the way they are besieged by all manner of mythological meanies like a flying Harpies, a Minotaur, Medussa (Uma Thurman) and a 7-headed fire-breathing dragon called the Hydra...not to mention a close encounter with Hades himself. It all leads our intrepid threesome to confront Hades – in human form – and then ascend to Mount Olympus to return Zeus's lightning bolt and restore peace and order in the heavens...just in the nick of time, too.
I'm sure this is the first of many such wonderful adventures for the young Percy who has command of water like his father...and who like the children in the "Narnia" books, revisit their magical land to take part in further adventures. The production values and artistry of "Percy Jackson" are polished and impressive, but nothing you wouldn't expect from any film of this genre. With its PG-rating, the film is aimed at 10 to 16 year-olds much like the first five "Harry Potter" books did. An important theme of family bonding is flushed out between father and son...and between mother and son as well. A child's true happiness always resides within the comfort of a two-parent family...or some variation of it.
Though I was impressed with the arc of the hero fulfilling his destiny - and the strong family values that play a central role in Percy's life - the one aspect of the film that puzzled me was Percy's mother played by Catherine Keener. As she did in "Where the Wild Things Are", she plays a sappy, lonely mom who is struggling to cope with her precocious son who has a secret talent for going off into his own imagination or fantasy world...imagined or realized. It is a thankless role she has played twice now. The other stumble in the film is casting Joe Pantialano (a very good actor) as Keener's deadbeat boyfriend. He's wasted in a dead-end role. And one other thing...of all the women Poseidon could have chosen as an earthly mate...he picks Catherine Keener???
With a respectable cast (including Rosario Dawson)...a good story...a good director...and noble messages about family unity – and recognizing the differences between good and evil – "Percy Jackson" is a good role model for youngsters...but not the ones who have graduated into the young adult world of Harry Potter. It's a good start...let's see how they do with the sequel.
Speak Out!
Comments are edited first by Journal staff before running in print and appearing online.