Written by Jason Blackburn

Going into the movie theater with my kids I was very curious on how this movie was going to play out. I have a solid interest in Greek and Roman mythology for starters and then I also was aware that the filmed was helmed by Director Chris Columbus who was responsible for the first two Harry Potter films and also based on popular books.

In a nutshell, I left the theater pleased, but not overwhelmed. Let’s start with a brief summary. The movie starts out with our hero, Percy Jackson, a teen full of angst, saddled with dyslexia and attention deficit disorder just trying to make it through high school. Other than the two medical issues listed above Percy is a pretty average kid, living with his mom and her piggish boyfriend (played excellently by Joe Panteliano). The best part about this is that Percy does not fall into any specific stereotype – he’s absolutely average, so right off the bat 99% of the rest of the average world can relate to him. Without going into spoilers, Percy’s world is soon turned upside down and he is quickly thrust into a world he thought only existed in myth. Turns out that Percy is actually the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea, which makes Percy a demi-god and potentially a threat to gods. The sudden reason for Percy’s heritage coming out to the open is that Zeus’ lightning bolt (the most powerful weapon in the world) has been stolen and Percy Jackson has been blamed and charged with returning the bolt in fifteen days or the gods will start a war. This whips Percy and his newfound companions into a fast paced adventure that spans across the entire United States where we are treated to numerous run-ins with mythical creatures as our hero is in a race against time to prove his innocence.

Okay, onto the good stuff. The effects and some of the creature design in this movie is flat out great. In particular the minotaur (don’t give me guff about spoilers here – the movie’s theme is Greek tragedy so you had to expect to see some of the more obvious creatures) is great. The only downside is that the minotaur does not get enough screen time. The form of Hades is also a high point, the design and effects going into this one showing exactly why Hades is the bad boy of the underworld. The movie turns in a fair amount of star power in many supporting roles, most of which are done better than average for a movie aimed at kids. Sean Bean (Zeus), Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, and Steve Coogan all turn in decent performances, while I was somewhat disappointed with Rosario Dawson (whom I usually like). There is also a decent amount of focus on the abandonment issues of the children of gods never getting to see their other-worldly parenst which helps with the emotional factor of the film. The pace of this movie also moves at a very aggressive clip – despite its 2 hour run time, it covers a tremendous amount of ground and did not make it feel like I was sitting for two hours, so thumbs up for keeping the entertainment factor up!

The pacing is also my biggest beef with the film. Because it moves so fast you feel like there is a lot of information that is being omitted, but I suppose that is the trade off. You can’t have a 2 hour and 40 minute epic aimed at young audiences. All in all a decent watch. Take your kids and enjoy the ride for what it is.