Chris Columbus is a good, craftsman-like director who helmed
the first two Harry Potter films (and who remains as a producer on that series)
among many other movies.
Despite the fact that he’s managed to create a modern day classic with the first
Harry Potter movie, Columbus is really more of a journeyman filmmaker, one who
lacks the visionary style of a Steven Spielberg, or a Tim Burton. But that
doesn’t mean he’s a hack; far from it. If you’re looking for good, fun popcorn
entertainment, then Columbus is your guy. Take
his latest film with a lengthy title, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The
Lightning Thief, which is based on the first book in a popular series written by
Rick Riordan. Percy is a teenager living in New York City who turns out to be a
demigod.
A demigod is the result of the union between a mortal--Percy’s mother (played by Katherine Keener)--and a god straight out of the ancient Greek mythology of Mount Olympus. In this case that would be none other than Poseidon, the king of the seven seas (who’s played with a great screen presence by Kevin McKidd). This explains why Percy is able to stay underwater for up to seven minutes at a time, which is a useful talent for whenever somebody accidentally drops something valuable in a pool. Someone has stolen the lightning bolt that Zeus uses to make lightning--resulting in thunder storms with no lighting on earth--and Zeus blames Percy for stealing it.
Why is Percy automatically the prime suspect? No real reason, other than to get the ball rolling. Of course, while we know that Percy is beyond reproach, he still has to set out to prove his innocence and find the missing lighting bolt before the gods get all surly. Unlike the first Potter film, which was set in its own richly lavish universe (for which we really have author J. K. Rowling to thank for creating it), Percy Jackson tries to blend the classic Greek god myths with the modern day world--and it’s an uneven blend, at best. The scene with Percy and his friends battling a hydra in a temple is very well done and visually striking. But another sequence that takes place in Las Vegas falls flat and is really nothing more than an ad for that city’s gambling casinos.
Also, the scene where Percy goes to a special school located in the deep
woods--sort of like a Hogwarts for demigods--is very derivative of the Potter
films. But thankfully, we don’t spend too much time there. The film moves at
such a quick pace that it doesn’t linger on the awkward moments, and a fine cast
managed to keep my interest level high. But if you’re expecting another major
fantasy with gravitas on the order of the Lord Of The Rings, you may be
disappointed here. Percy Jackson is decidedly a light weight entertainment that
tries so hard to please you can’t help but want to like it. The heroes speak in
the current vernacular, use Mac laptops and make cute little pop culture
quips--all of which will be outdated by next year. In spite of some really
strong scenes where it begins to soar, Percy Jackson is a decidedly run of the
mill fantasy that makes for some good eye candy.
--SF
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