Percy Jackson is a much more compelling character in the pages of the book, “The Lightning Thief,” than in the movie version, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”, released on Feb. 15. 

While there is plenty of action and some interesting incorporations of Greek mythology, the mediocre story and acting keep this from being recommended viewing.

Percy (Logan Lerman) finds out that he’s the son of Poseidon and is a demigod, meaning that he’s half-god and half-mortal.

Zeus believes that Percy has stolen his all-powerful lightning bolt, apparently guided by his usurping brother, Poseidon, in an attempt to overtake him. 

Zeus isn’t the only one who believes this, though. Hades thinks Percy has the bolt, as well. Because Hades want to seize Zeus’ thrown, he kidnaps Percy’s mother in order to get the lightning bolt from him.

Now the only way for Percy to save his mother is to travel to the underworld and prove his innocence to Hades but some of Greek’s most famous mythological figures stand in his way.

The plot of “The Lightning Thief” isn’t terrible, but it’s very watered down compared to its novel counterpart.  Fans of the book should expect a lot of changes and those new to the series should expect a very fast-paced, yet shallow, plot.  The movie rushes through details, hurrying to the next action segment while trying to fit in as many Greek characters as possible, leaving little room for an interesting story to form.

Don’t think the massive amount of mythology is a bad thing though. It’s actually the best thing about this movie. It’s just too bad the story had to suffer for it.  All of the Greek characters are interestingly adapted to Percy’s modern world but are altered slightly to fit into today’s society. 

The mythological beasts are creative, fun and make for some entertaining fight sequences but they aren’t enough to carry a film on their own.  The references to Greek fiction could only go so far and everything else in the story managed to fall short.

The acting doesn’t do this movie any favors either. Lerman does the best job of all the teenage heroes, while the other teenage stars are far too corny to be anything but annoying.  Most of the jokes fall flat due to a combination of bad delivery, bad placement and bad writing. 

Percy’s faithful sidekick Grover, played by Brandon T. Jackson, is the worst offender. His character has no depth and is reduced to just delivering bad jokes. 

The adult co-stars, namely Pierce Brosnan and Uma Therman, do a little better in their parts but none of them get more than a few minutes of screen time.

For a movie that’s piloted by young, unknown stars and is based on a book that’s meant for readers of the same age, it’s hard to expect much more out of the production.  They did enough to craft a film out of the book, yet you can’t help but feel that they were more concerned about making money off a popular novel than making a quality movie. 

I read “The Lightning Thief,” and while it wasn’t the greatest book ever written, it deserved better than this.

“Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” had plenty of action and mythological fanfare, but it didn’t have much else.  A second-rate storyline, altered far too heavily from the book, and second-rate acting will keep even the fans of the novel from finding something to love here.   

GRADE: C-

By Nick Baker