Percy Jackson & The Olympians – The Lightning Thief (2010/Fox Blu-ray w/DVD)

 

Picture: B/C+     Sound: B+/B-     Extras: C-     Film: C-

 

 

The played out Fantasy genre films continue with disastrous Director Chris Columbus (who gutted the musical Rent a few years ago) trying to launch a new series of hit films like Harry Potter, but Percy Jackson & The Olympians – The Lightning Thief (2010) is nowhere near as interesting, magical or original.  Logan Lerman is not bad casting for the title role, but the film is all over the place, based on the books by Rick Riordan.

 

One problem is the tired cascade of bad digital effects from beginning to end.  That is not escapism or fantasy, that is video game and played out visuals that never date well.  Craig Titley’s Screenplay is also flat and dull, from the writer who botched Scooby Doo, then revived Cheaper By the Dozen for two excruciating films.  He is really out of his depth here, going from cartoons and reviving an old comedy to what is trying to be more complex.

 

Of course, Jackson does not know his powers, but he soon will and all kinds of characters (and visual effects) will pop out all over the place.  Sean Bean, Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan, Rosario Dawson, Catherine Keener, Joe Pantoliano and the voice of Steve Coogan turn up, but none of them can save us from the been there, done that feel this two hours holds.  Columbus is a tired filmmaker and I never believed a second of this, though some of the talent tried to make it work.

 

The 1080p 2.35 X 1 AVC @ 31 MBPS digital High Definition image can look good considering the endless digital effects, but they eventually ruin the image and they can thank Director of Photography Stephen Goldblatt (Julie & Julia, Charlie Wilson’s War, Outland) for that.  He makes this look better than it should and the anamorphically enhanced DVD cannot handle some of the bets shots as a result.  The DVD also suffers bad Video Black and has definition and detail issues.  The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 mix is the highlight of the Blu-ray with a fine soundfield throughout with exceptional sound effects and directionalizing that made this less painful to sit through.  Too bad it will go down as a bad film with good sound.  Extras include Digital Copy for PC and PC portable devices, 10 Deleted Scenes and several featurettes.

 

Read the book before you see the film, just in case.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo