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Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

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Percy Jackson & the Olympians:
The Lightning Thief
Teaser poster
Directed byChris Columbus
Written byCraig Titley
Joe Stillman[1]
Rick Riordan (Novel)
Produced byChris Columbus
Michael Barnathan
Karen Rosenfelt
StarringLogan Lerman
Brandon T. Jackson
Alexandra Daddario
Jake Abel
Pierce Brosnan
Catherine Keener
Uma Thurman
Sean Bean
CinematographyStephen Goldblatt
Edited byPeter Honess
Music byChristophe Beck
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
February 11, 2010 (2010-02-11)
February 12, 2010
(United States)
Running time
120 minutes
CountriesUnited States
Canada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$95 million[2]
Box office$38,750,000 (Estimate)[3]

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (known as Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief in the UK and Australia) is a fantasy-adventure film directed by Chris Columbus. The film is a loose adaptation of The Lightning Thief, the first novel in the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series by Rick Riordan. It stars Logan Lerman as the titular Percy Jackson alongside an ensemble cast which includes Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel, Rosario Dawson, Steve Coogan, Uma Thurman, Catherine Keener, Sean Bean and Pierce Brosnan. It was released to theaters on February 12, 2010.[4]

Plot

At the top of the Empire State Building, Poseidon (Kevin McKidd) meets with Zeus (Sean Bean), who comments that the storm clouds have no lightning and and that his master bolt has been stolen. He blames Poseidon's son for the theft. Despite Poseidon's claims of his son's innocence, Zeus and gives Poseidon 14 days to return it, lest war break out.

During a field trip to a Greek museum, teenager Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman), is lured away from the crowd by a Fury disguised as his substitute English teacher, who then attacks him, questioning him about the lightning bolt. The incredulous Percy, who has no knowledge of this, is rescued by his Latin teacher, Mr. Brunner (Pierce Brosnan). After dispatching the Fury, Brunner gives Percy a magical pen. On Brunner's instruction, Percy's best friend, Grover (Brandon T. Jackson), takes Percy to a training camp for demigods, Camp Half-Blood, along with Percy's mother, Sally Jackson (Catherine Keener). During their trip to the camp, Percy attempts to learn about his biological father from Sally, but they are attacked by a Minotaur. Although Percy and Grover, who is revealed to be a satyr, make it to the camp, its defenses prohibit entrance to Sally, who is captured by the Minotaur, and disappears before Percy. Percy engages the Minotaur with the magical pen, which turns into a sword named Riptide, eventually killing the creature with one of its horns.

In touring the Camp Half-Blood, Percy learns that Brunner is the mythological centaur Chiron, and the camp's trainer, and that his father is the god Poseidon. He also meets Luke Castellan (Jake Abel), the son of Hermes, and Annabeth Chase (Alexandra Daddario), the demigod daughter of Athena. While at the camp, Percy learns that water has the power to heal his injuries, and allows him to manifest his magical abilities.

Hades later appears and reveals that Sally Jackson is his prisoner, and proposes she be traded for the master bolt. Chiron, instructs Percy not to bargain with the demon, but to go to Olympus to convince Zeus of his innocence. Percy sneaks away from the camp to travel to the Underworld, along with Grover and Annabeth, who secure for him from Luke a portable shield, flying shoes from Luke, and a map to Persephone's pearl's, one of which will reveal the exit from the Underworld when retrieved.

At Aunty Em's Garden Emporium, the trio are attacked by Medusa's (Uma Thurman), but manage to decapitate her, and take the pearl from her bracelet. They also take her head, which they later successfully use against a hydra when that creature attacks them during their acquisition of another pearl from the crown of a giant statue of Athena at the Parthenon replica in Nashville, Tennessee. They acquire the third and final pearl from a roulette wheel at a hotel casino in Las Vegas, in part with help from Poseidon, who aids them against Lotus Eaters. The map reveals an entrance to the Underworld in Hollywood, California.

The trio enter the Underworld, where, after traveling across the River Styx, they encounter Persephone, who takes them to Hades. Percy attempts to explain to Hades that he is not the lightning thief. During an ensuing melee, Percy drops his shield, whose handle conceals the missing master bolt, which Hades takes. However, the trio manage to reacquire it before escaping the Underworld with the rescued Sally. They are transported to top the top of the Empire State Building, which they learn is the location to the entrance to Olympus. They are confronted by Luke, who reveals himself to have been the real lightning thief. Explaining his desire for a new generation of rulers to take over Olympus, he indicates that he had hoped that the trio would not have escaped the Underworld alive, and after stealing the bolt from Percy, the two engage in battle. After using his water powers to dispatch Luke, Percy arrives in Olympus, where he presents the retrieved bolt, and reveals the truth about Luke. Poseidon explains to Percy the reason why they could not know each other during Percy's childhood, but expresses his love for his son. Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood, where he resumes his training.

After the credits, Gabe is seen breaking into Percy's fridge, completely disobeying Percy's note on the fridge, telling him to stay away. When he opens it, he is turned to stone by Medusa's head that Percy had left there.

Differences from the book

In the book Yancy Academy is a boarding school, where as in the film it is a regular public school. Percy doesn't find out which god is his father until arriving at camp and is temporarily located into the Hermes cabin. In the film, however, he is directly escorted to the Poseidon cabin, where he discovers his father's identity. Percy seems to have a less close relationship to Luke than in the book. Annabeth does not have a crush on Luke in the film. Grover's personality is changed from shy and cautious to wild and courageous in the film. During the capture the flag scene, Annabeth is on the opposite team, while in the book, they are on the same team. Originally, Luke's flying sneakers were dangerous items to drag the wearer to the Underworld, while the film portrays them simply as shoes that enable the user to fly. The novel had Grover wear the shoes, while Percy uses them in the film. In the novel, Hades seeks wants the missing bolt returned to avoid a war, however in the film he has a more antagonistic role and wants the bolt for power. In the film, there is no Helm of Darkness the trio must get for Hades. Persephone is given a bigger role and helps Percy, Sally, and Annabeth escape the Underworld. In the film, Luke stole and hid the bolt in a shield he gave to Percy. In the book Luke stole it, but Ares hid the bolt in Percy's backpack. Percy duels Ares in a sword battle whereas in the film, he fights Luke in a struggle across Manhattan. The book has Percy promising to come back for his mother, while the movie has her come with him and Annabeth to the Empire State Building. The end of the book reveals that Luke is working for Kronos, the main villain of the series, who is not mentioned in the film. Percy gets the three pearls from the woman in the river (in St. Louis, where they replace in the movie for Nashville, Tennessee) in the book, while it is Percy, Annabeth, and Grover's primary mission throughout the movie. Several characters were cut from the film, including Clarisse, Ares, Mr. D, Kronos, and Silenus.

Cast

See also: List of Percy Jackson and the Olympians cast members

Main characters

Gods

Mythical creatures

Mortals

Production

In June 2004, 20th Century Fox acquired feature film rights to the book.[10] In April 2007, director Chris Columbus was hired to helm the project.[11] Filming began in April 2009 in Vancouver.[7] Portions of the film were shot at the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee, a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens.[12] Filming wrapped up on the morning of July 25, 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Digital intermediate work began in San Francisco in November 2009.[13] Christophe Beck composed the score.[14]

Columbus has stated that the cast were chosen specifically with sequels in mind. " I think with Percy Jackson it was a matter of finding the right cast to fit into these roles, sort of the perfect cast for these roles, because hopefully, God willing, we will go on to do other Percy Jackson films and you want the cast to grow with their characters."[15]

Reception

Box office

The film opened on February 12, 2010 in 3,356 theaters; its opening weekend box-office results totaled more than $31,100,000[16] in the U.S., finishing in second place behind Valentine's Day which opened with more than $52,410,000.[17]

Critical response

Reviews for the film have been mixed, as indicated by a weighted average score of 48 out of 100 from Metacritic.[18] The film currently holds a 49% 'Rotten' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 84 reviews; the site's general consensus being that although the film "may seem like just another Harry Potter knockoff, the film benefits from a strong supporting cast, a speedy plot, and plenty of fun with Greek mythology".[19] Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times described the film as "standard Hollywood product... unadventurous and uninteresting."[20] The Washington Post reviewer thought "the movie suffers by taking itself a little too seriously. It's not just that it's a lot less funny than the book. It's also a lot less fun."[21]

References

  1. ^ Fleming, Michael (March 12, 2009). "Joe Stillman joins 'Alien Zoo'". Variety. Archived from the original on December 24, 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  2. ^ "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief". Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  3. ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=percyjackson.htm
  4. ^ "Contact Information and FAQ:Rick Riordan". Retrieved 2010-01-22.
  5. ^ a b Siegel, Tatiana (March 2, 2009). "'Percy Jackson' finds lead actors". Variety. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ Fernandez, Jay A. (March 18, 2009). "'Lightning Thief' finds female lead". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  7. ^ a b c d e Siegel, Tatiana (March 25, 2009). "Fox 2000 bulks up 'Percy Jackson'". Variety. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  8. ^ a b Hewitt, Chris (May 7, 2009). "Dawson And Coogan Join Percy Jackson". Empire. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  9. ^ Kit, Borys (April 15, 2009). "Catherine Keener joins 'Percy Jackson' film". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  10. ^ Brodesser, Claude (June 23, 2004). "'Lightning Thief' strikes Maverick". Variety. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  11. ^ Gilstrap, Peter (April 17, 2007). "Columbus struck by 'Lightning'". Variety. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  12. ^ "Portions Of Movie To Be Shot At Parthenon". WSMV-TV. June 2, 2009. Archived from the original on June 25, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  13. ^ Caranicas, Peter (October 20, 2009). "Goldblatt, Deakins follow similar path". Variety. Archived from the original on December 24, 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  14. ^ Knowles, Harry (November 20, 2009). "New trailer for Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief hits..." Ain't It Cool News. Archived from the original on December 24, 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  15. ^ Roberts, Sheila (February 8, 2009). "Exclusive Chris Columbus Interview". Roll Credits. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
  16. ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=percyjackson.htm
  17. ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=daily&id=valentinesday.htm
  18. ^ "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  19. ^ "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  20. ^ "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Review". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-02-12. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  21. ^ "Critic Review for Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-02-12. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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