Sunday, 14 February 2010

FILM: Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief (dir: Chris Columbus, 2010)


"You're half-donkey?"

Harry Potter meets TV's Supernatural. The Percy Jackson movie is undemanding but entertaining, with lightweight dialogue and surprisingly full-on action sequences. Of course, it is NOTHING like Harry Potter (title character with unhappy life goes to a 'school' for 'special' children, with an older professor/mentor, different 'houses' for the students, goofy male and plucky female sidekicks, a blond-haired adversary....) We are in assured hands with fantasy/Harry Potter-experienced director Chris Columbus marshalling the generally pleasing special effects (Hades - the place and the character - being particularly impressive). A solid adult cast includes Uma Thurman reprising her Poison Ivy villainy as Medusa, Pierce Brosnan as a centaur (!) and Sean Bean, Kevin McKidd and Steve Coogan chewing the CGI-scenery with relish as lead gods in their brief screen time. The film rattles along and covers a number of locations to good effect, but occasionally script logic is sacrificed for pace (in particular, Percy's lack of grief at the 'loss' of his mother seems very strange). Christophe Beck provides an appropriately rousing score for this good-natured romp which tries its best to please throughout its two-hour run-time. As Percy Jackson, Logan Lerman proves reasonably competent in the lead role, but if Sony insist on inflicting Spiderman - The Acne Years upon us, on this evidence rumoured front-runner Lerman may prove to be an insipid Peter Parker.

No comments: