SYNOPSIS:
Modern and mythical worlds collide in this thunderous fantasy-adventure starring Pierce Brosnan, Kevin McKidd and Uma Thurman as you’ve never seen them before! Percy Jackson is no ordinary teenager...he’s just learned he’s the son of Poseidon and is accused of stealing Zeus’ lightning bolt – the most powerful weapon ever created! With storm clouds brewing, Percy embarks on an incredible cross-country journey to prove his innocence, recover the bolt and prevent a war amongst the gods that could destroy our world!
MOVIE REVIEW:
Get
yourself acquainted with the Greek mythology before you plunge
into the world of "Percy Jackson & the Lightning
Thief" as the rapid pacing of this movie will send you
spinning. Based on a series of best-selling fantasy books
by American author Rick Riordan, this movie adaptation is
a hopeful intention by Fox to 'replace' the Harry Potter series
once the wizard boy end its long-running adventures by 2011.
Thus luring Chris Columbus (who directed the first two Harry
Potters) to helm Percy Jackson is definitely not much of a
coincidence.
Our protagonist, Percy Jackson (a likeable
Logan Lerman) is a normal 17 year old student who found out
that he is a demigod, son of Poseidon after being attacked
by his substitute English teacher while on a field trip to
the museum. He is later believed to have stolen the lightning
bolt belonging to Zeus. If he does not return it within 14
days, war will break out. In addition to clearing his name,
Percy needs to trade in the bolt to Hades in exchange for
her mother whose soul has been captured by the latter.
It’s
either Columbus have learnt his lesson while helming Harry
Potter or he has mastered the art of understanding young restless
teens. "Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief"
flows like a session of computer game without letting much
of his three protagonists (Percy, Annabeth Chase, daughter
of Athena and Grover Underwood, a satyr assigned to protect
Percy) catch a breather. Character developments amount to
nothing and the magnitude of the great Greek gods are reduced
to plain fluffiness even if the promotional materials tried
to market it as a major teenage epic adventure.
But not all is lost given the cast list reads
like godsend. The ever reliable Sean Bean is Zeus, Kevin McKidd
is Poseidon, Steve Coogan is Hades, Rosario Dawson is Persephone,
Pierce Bronson is a centaur (part human, part horse) and Uma
Thurman turns up as Medusa. Remember I did say get yourself
familiar with the Greek mythology.
Most viewers I guessed will be hugely entertained
by the copious amount of action sequences to make up for the
simplistic plotting. The special effects are fantastic, certainly
not cheesy and added a huge sense of realism especially with
the constant closeup shots of Medusa’s snakedo and in
a pyrotechnics-heavy sequence where a Lernaean Hydra attacked
the trio. The movie refuses to let up as our three heroes
went from destination to another. It’s indeed a visual
spectacle to say the least.
Greek
mythology has seen a minor revival with Percy and the remake
of "Clash of the Titans". While "Percy Jackson
& the Lightning Thief" is considered too juvenile
for the adults and has its fair share of weaker points, it’s
unquestionably better than Titans in terms of character flow
and story exposition. On the other hand comparing with the
wizard boy, Percy still need a little more polish before it
matches rival’s popularity and magic.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
The
extra features start with five Deleted Scenes and
in the same tradition with the earlier Harry Potter DVDs come
with two simple interactive games for the younger fans, the
Secrets of the Gods and Discover
Your Power Quiz.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Details
and textures are crisp and excellent while the Dolby Digital
5.1 is incredibly immersive and impresses with sound effects
that will jolt you during the action sequences.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
Posted
on 16 June 2010
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