Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief/Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief (2010)

10/11/2023

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief/Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief (2010) - Columbus' uinteresting YA fantasy

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A teenage boy seems to be making the ocean go crazy on this special effects-focused poster for Chris Columbus' Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Percy is a dyslexic teenager with ADHD who learns that he is also a Greek demi-god.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is written by Craig Titley (Scooby-Doo (2002, story)), adapting the same-titled 2005 novel by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Last Olympian (2009)), and directed by great Pennsylvanian filmmaker, co-producer/director Chris Columbus (Adventures in Babysitting (1987)).

From Columbus, a master of family fare in the early 1990s (Home Alone (1990); Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) and Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)) comes this disappointing bid for a new fantasy-based family adventure. As fodder for the Young Adult segment it is harmless and thank God has some humor (albeit mostly without being outright funny.) But it is a terrible bore and without attraction for audiences older than the slim target (teenage) demographic.

26 year-old actor Brandon T. Jackson (Get a Job (2016)) plays a high school student (!), and although Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)) is charismatic enough in the title lead beneath his helmet of soft, cherubic hair, there is no chemistry to elevate matters. Pierce Brosnan (The Misfits (2021)) and others in the impressive adult star line-up are obviously here for a paycheck.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is a really silly light-weight fantasy with sketchy visual effects and widespread green-screen solutions chosen.

Chris Columbus: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) - Potter and Co. return for handsome if overlong first sequel

1993 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Top 10: Best family movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

Top 10: Best dramedies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) - Columbus and Robin Williams score with a truly great family jewel

1992 in films - according to Film Excess

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) - The coolest kid in the world incites kiddie bellylaughs once again

Top 10: Best Twentieth Century Fox titles

Home Alone (1990) - Columbus, Hughes, Culkin and co. take Christmas and home defense to the next level

The Goonies (1985) - Sweet child performances drive Donner's beloved, uneven adventure (writer)
Gremlins (1984) - Dante's 1980s puppetry classic (writer)

Watch a trailer for the movie here

Cost: 95 mil. $

Box office: 226.4 mil. $

= Minor flop (returned 2.38 times its cost)

[Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief was released 10 February (France and 4 other markets) and runs 119 minutes. Shooting took place from April - July 2009 in British Columbia, including in Vancouver, in Las Vegas, Nevada and in Tennessee. The film opened #3, behind fellow new releases Valentine's Day and The Wolfman, to a 31.2 mil. $ first weekend, where it spent 2 more weekends in the top 5 (#4-#5), grossing 88.7 mil. $ (39.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Japan with 14.7 mil. $ (6.5 %) and South Korea with 11.5 mil. $ (5.1 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. The film additionally made in excess of 37 mil. $ on home video sales in North America alone. The young stars returned with a new director for sequel Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013). Riordan was unhappy with both films and has become screenwriter for the new Percy Jackson adaptation series for Disney+, arriving in 2023. Columbus returned with Applebaum (2012, TV movie) and theatrically with Pixels (2015). Lerman returned in The Three Musketeers (2011). Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is rotten at 48 % with a 5.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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10/11/2023

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief/Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief (2010) - Columbus' uinteresting YA fantasy

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