Someone has stolen the master thunderbolt of Zeus (Sean Bean). The rumor is that a young boy named Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) is the “lightning thief” and all manners of gods, demigods and other creatures pursue Percy in the hopes of claiming the formidable weapon for his/herself.

The problem is Percy doesn’t have the thunderbolt. He’s been living the life of a typical student. That ordinary life gets turned upside-down when Percy learns that he is not only accused of stealing from Zeus but that he is also the demigod son of Poseidon (Kevin McKidd), lord of everything that is water. Accompanied by his “junior” protector, Grover (Brandon T. Jackson), and Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), Athena’s demigod daughter, Percy embarks on a quest to find the true “lightning thief” as he comes to grips with his fantastic heritage.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief definitely caught my attention with the Greek mythology angle (along with the sweet looking special effects). I’m a major fan of almost anything having to do with the great gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus. And it seems any film, tv show or book with a mythological flavor seems to work really, really well; Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, Wonder Woman, Clash of the Titans, Webmage, Cybermancy, etcetera, etcetera. This film has most of the who’s who of Greek myth: Zeus, Poseidon, Medusa (Uma Thurman), Athena (Melina Kanakaredes), centaurs, a hydra, a satyr, and The Minotaur. Now imagine these creatures brought to life with the current standards of CGI. Oh yes, this film has some deliciously vivid eye candy and thrilling action sequences so don’t worry about falling asleep on this one.

The story is pretty good. I liked it and I guess that should be expected since the book series the film is based on (penned by Rick Riordan) is so popular amongst readers young and old. Since I never read the novel I don’t know what was altered or omitted from the film. I’d wager that events don’t take place as quickly in the film as they do in the novel. For instance, the three adventurers manage to obtain a truck and drive from New Jersey to Tennessee to Las Vegas to Hollywood in what seems like a blink of an eye rather than actual days. Zeus has issued a deadline for the return of his thunderbolt or else the Olympians will go to war and the mortals will be caught in the crossfire. The deadline is actually pretty generous since it allows the youngsters plenty of time to sightsee and fight monsters but I could let that pass. I was having way too much fun watching Percy and his partners fight menacing minions to care about the little things. I can always read the book for the fuller story.

What really puzzled me was towards the end when the trio discovered the identity of the true thief. I hope this doesn’t spoil too much but I didn’t understand how the gods, especially Zeus, didn’t clue in on the culprit the same time Percy did. Isn’t Zeus, like, omniscient or something along those lines? Then again, if the gods used there powers to discover the truth in the first place then the story would’ve been very, very short and there would’ve been no need to “awaken” Percy. I guess I’ll just chalk it up to the gods having semi-omniscience coupled with an extreme case of laziness.

The Percy Jackson Series seems to be the strongest candidate to takeover for Harry Potter when that book-to-film franchise ends in 2011. It was hard not to pick up on the similarities. Both Percy and Harry sense that they are a little different even before their hidden lineages are revealed. Both grow up with abusive relatives though Percy only has to deal with his slob of a stepfather (Joe Pantoliano) while Harry gets the full aggravation of his entire household. Both are whisked away to an enchanted place where they can hone their amazing skills with other specially powered youths like them. Harry is the son of a great wizard while Percy is the offspring of the God of Oceans so both are revered as “chosen ones” amongst their peers. And both have two major buds with one being a comic relief and the other being a more sensible confidant. I’m not saying the similarities are a bad thing or a plagiarism case but I would be very surprised if “Percy Jackson 2” wasn’t already on the fast track to production as I’m typing this. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief has a lot of the ingredients that made the Harry Potter films so addictive and lucrative. Since Hollywood is looking for the next big book-to-film franchise why deviate from what worked so well before, right?

The heroic trio keep things lively as they travel through the U.S.A. slaying monsters and hunting a thunderbolt thief. Logan Lerman plays it straight as the reluctant hero that doesn’t stay very reluctant for long. We learn that demigods like Percy are hardwired to be one step above normal humans. Once he or she finds her footing they are a force to be reckoned with. In Percy’s case, once he connects with water he has very little doubts about going into the world and fighting the good battles. Annabeth and Hermione would probably be very good friends since the daughter of Athena is just as swift with her intellect as she is with a sword. Kudos to Alexandra Daddario for portraying the “girl” of the team as an adept and formidable part of Percy’s team.

Finally, it was nice to see Brandon T. Jackson again after his hilarious turn in Tropic Thunder though it was hard to buy him as a high school student and harder to stomach a lot of his “street schtick”. I’m sorry but I grow so weary with the prominently featured black guy having to always spout street slang and chase after “honies”. I don’t know if he’s portrayed this way in the book but despite Grover’s redeeming qualities his overuse of “yo” and “dope” could’ve been scaled back a little. Everyone else seems comfortable with using the English language but I guess the black guy was too busy playing basketball and jamming to rap tunes to focus on his vocabulary lessons?

Or maybe I’m being too critical about that? I mean, it could be said that Grover liked what he observed of the hip hop culture and added it to his personality. I just get so annoyed when the lone black friend is constantly given that one persona to wear in movies like these; the loud class clown that can only communicate via hip-hop lingo. But that’s a debate for another day. Let me get back to the main topic at hand.

Honestly, there isn’t that much more I need to share about Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. If you liked the kinda stuff you saw in the Harry Potter or Chronicles of Narnia flicks then this is more of that so you’ll probably enjoy this, too. The Greek mythology themes and characters have endured for all these many, many years because they’re just great characters and they make for a good excuse for extravagant special effects for the cinema. It was fun, thrilling and even clever at times. Just wait until you find out where the Underworld entrance is located. Hoo, boy!

Oh, and make sure to stay in your seat after the film for a mid-credit bonus scene that’s sure to stun you, tee hee hee.

Rhymes With: Clash of the Titans (1981), Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone (2001), The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008), The Golden Compass (2007), The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008), Bridge To Terabithia (2007)