Official movie posterWe all know that awkward phase between childhood and adulthood where you’re not quite sure where you’re supposed to fit, and in movieland, that’s exactly where Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is stuck. It’s not flashy or sexy enough for adults and too flashy and sexy for kids. That leaves the tweens and teen, but even then Percy Jackson is like the nerd who tries so hard to be cool, he comes off looking anything but.
Sure, audiences loved The Graduate, but that doesn’t mean they need to be reminded of Dustin Hoffman’s iconic underwater scene every time there’s a pool onscreen. And whether it’s vampires, aliens or superheroes, we’d like a little variance in our supernatural high school student plot line, please.
The concept is an interesting one, to be sure. Greek mythology has fascinated us mere mortals for centuries, and the idea that gods would mingle with humans to create the half-god, half-human demigod is even more scintillating. But the film requires a little more suspension of disbelief than most viewers are comfortable relinquishing. It’s hard to accept that with the select number of gods on Olympus and the proliferation of humans on earth that Poseidon would only have one son, and that that son would be the center of a war of the gods that could shatter both worlds.
As the audience is thrust into the world of half-breeds, they are just as confused as Percy (Logan Lerman) is to learn who his biological father is. It seems that everyone is aware of his origins, his powers and his role but him. Both Percy and the audience are left out of the inside information for far too long. Suspense is what makes a movie exciting, but too much for too long only leads to frustration.
At one point, Percy questions in disbelief, “Did that really just happen?” and the audience can’t help but feel similarly. The Greeks and their gods are a strange and wonderful breed, but spontaneously transforming woman-creatures and severed heads used to turn people and hydras to stone is quite disturbing.
In this “high school without the musical,” everything is so the drama (but bad drama). It’s as if nearly everything could have fallen in to place to make a semi-decent film if it were meant as a comedy with overdramatic acting and camera shots. When Percy is first introduced to his new home among the other demigods (all of whom are between the age of 13 to 18, strangely), he lays eyes on the most beautiful girl (Alexandra Daddario) he has ever seen, and it’s love at first sight. How wonderfully cliche. This would not have been so bad, however, if the camera didn’t cut to her several times in the same scene. Yes, the audience is abundantly clear on the fact that Percy is attracted to Annabeth, daughter of Athena.
Additionally, in case you didn’t notice the color of Percy’s best friend Grover’s skin right off the bat, you sure will when he kicks into ghetto gear. Clearly, there are people who talk like that, which is fine, but it isn’t necessary to exaggerate his “blaccent” every time he is in a stressful situation.
For anyone who enjoyed Greek mythology in high school, the film does provide an interesting spin on the subject, like a live-action Hercules, but too many cliches and not enough believability makes for a regrettable two hours, kind of like being that awkward kid stuck in detention while the cool kids make fun of you.
rachel grice 