Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)

I don’t know about you, but I have a sweet spot for the Greek Gods. This movie is mostly targeted at young viewers but it still managed to be a fun and interesting watch for someone my age and I am sure an older audience would like it as well. This movie managed to attract some pretty famous actors and actresses so something had to have attracted them to it and that gives me hope.

The plot opens up with a scene between Zeus and Poseidon in which Zeus accuses Poseidon’s son of stealing his lightning bolt. Poseidon denies the accusation and Zeus threatens war if the bolt is not returned before such and such day. This is where we are introduced to Percy Jackson, dyslexic and ADHD human kid who quickly finds out by no fault of his own that he is a demigod and that he is being framed for the theft of the bolt. He is sent to a training camp for demigods where he meets Annabeth, daughter of Athena, whom he has an uneasy friendship with her that quickly develops into a close relationship during the movies story. Percy’s mother is kidnapped by Hades and Percy decides to go rescue his mother with the help of Annabeth and his protector, Grover. So on top of rescuing his mother, he also has to find the lightning bolt before time is up to avoid an earth shattering war between the gods.

The acting in this is pretty good for a kids movie. The CGI wasn’t ridiculous or distracting. It had its fair share of comedy and plenty of action. It was rather enjoyable like I said before.

I mentioned famous actors and actresses…well here they are.

Sean Bean- You may know him from the Lord of the Ring movies or Ronin, but quite frankly, what hasn’t this dude been in? He is a very talented actor. Well in this movie he plays the formidable Zeus, God of Thunder and brother to Poseidon and Hades.

Steve Coogan- This guy is in quite a few movies as well, mostly in small parts but he is still easily recognizable. In this movie he plays the ruler of the underworld, Hades.

Melina Kanakaredes- You may recognize her as one of the leads in CSI:NY. She has also made various appearances in other tv shows and a few movies. In this movie she plays Athena, goddess of wisdom.

Pierce Brosnan- I am personally not a fan of this guy but you gotta give him his due. He is one of the Bonds (one of the worst in my opinion) and was in Dante’s Peak. He plays the Chiron, the centaur who trains the demigods.

Joe Pantoliano- Like Sean Bean and Steve Coogan, this guy is in a ton of movies. mostly as a supporting character, but always a very talented actor. He plays the good for nothing stepfather of Percy. Small role, but still he is present in this movie.

Logan Lerman- Surprising enough this young actor has been in quite a few movies already. He has been in The Patriot, 3:10 to Yuma, Gamer, and Perks of Being a Wallflower. And this kid is full of talent. In this movie he is the main character and demigod, Percy Jackson.

Uma Thurman- I nearly forgot about her, but fear not. She has been in Batman and Robin (campy goodness), Kill Bill…why am I listing her movies…she is also someone who has been in pretty much everything. In this movie she plays Medusa, which quite frankly I think rings back to her days as Poison Ivy.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie and I think pretty much everyone else would. So definitely check it out at least once, its worth your time!

Oh and just to mention it there is a sequel coming out rather soon, so you might want to watch this movie and then check out its sequel, both would no doubt be worth your time!

Have fun!

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