ADVENTURE; 1hr 58min
STARRING: Logan Lerman, Sean Bean, Kevin McKidd, Steve Coogan, Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson
Have phone, will go far: Lerman
The ancient gods are thriving in today’s New York City in Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief, a clever-clogs fusion from novelist Rick Riordan. Zeus (Bean), for one, isn’t a happy camper, which you wouldn’t be if someone had made off with your pivotal lightning bolt. The big guy suspects Percy Jackson (Lerman), the demigod teenage son of god of the seas Poseidon. Percy doesn’t know he’s a demigod — he sees himself as a dyslexic geek with ADHD. He’s not stoked by the news, either, nor by his obligation to retrieve the missing bolt and avert an ungodly war: Hades (Coogan) has his flaming eye on the bolt, as well.
So it’s questward ho to the underworld for Percy, his satyr best bud Grover (Jackson) and daring fellow demigod Annabeth (Daddario), dodging raging archaic beasties (and a snaky Thurman as Medusa) en route. Ye gods! Director Chris Columbus has given myths a daisy-fresh makeover and thrown in a go-getting road trip for size. It really is the best of both worlds.
