Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief – Blu-Ray Review

Blu-ray Reviews, Film, Reviews



Since J.K. Rowling wowed the world with her Harry Potter series, many authors have come forward with their own fantasy series. Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo, Artemis Fowl, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians have all made their way to the tops of the bestseller lists. It just so happened that Percy Jackson made his cinematic debut the same way Harry Potter did: under the expert direction of Chris Columbus.

Also similar to Harry Potter, Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman, 3:10 to Yuma) is an ordinary boy who is about to find that he is something extraordinary. He’s not a wizard but a demigod; the son of Poseidon, one of the “Big Three” (Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon, for those of you who haven’t read a lick of Greek mythology since high school). Percy finds out that his best friend Grover (Brandon T. Jackson, Tropic Thunder), who uses crutches, is really a satyr and Percy’s official Protector. And Percy needs protecting.

It turns out that Zeus’s lightning bolt has been stolen and Percy has been framed for it. Percy is attacked by a teacher who is also a Fury, and also by a rogue Minotaur who destroys Percy’s mother (Catherine Keener, Where the Wild Things Are). After the minotaur attack, Grover takes Percy to Camp Half-Blood so Percy can hone the skills he inherited from his father, and where he meets many other demigods including Annabeth, daughter of Athena.

From Camp Half-Blood, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover head out on an adventure across the country to rescue Percy’s mother from Hades, find the stolen lightning bolt, and return it to Mt. Olympus before war breaks out among the gods. Along the way, they meet Medusa (Uma Thurman, who makes the best Medusa in history), encounter a hydra, and get stuck in a Vegas casino whose employees feed them hypnotic Lotus flowers that make them forget their important quest.

Having not read the books (yet), I can’t really make any comparison. So let’s just assume that it is like every book to movie adaptation: the book is better. With that out of the way, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief is a very entertaining film. It is completely full to the brim with action (save a few slow scenes, especially the time at Camp Half-Blood and the Lotus casino), and yet still is educational. It never talks down to its young audience and gives plenty of explanation for all of the crazy creatures that pop up. Chris Columbus gives life to these mythological characters and creates a believable world within our world.

The Harry Potter films have gained more credibility with adult fans by casting some of the best actors in the business, and the same is true for Percy Jackson. Pierce Brosnan plays a teacher who is also a centaur, Steve Coogan plays Hades, Rosario Dawson is an incredibly sexy Persephone, Uma Thurman owns everything she is in, Catherine Keener in a pretty pitiful supporting role, Joe Pantoliano plays Percy’s evil but necessary stepfather, and Sean Bean plays Zeus. It’s always fun to see a bunch of your favorite actors in one film, especially when the cast is having as much fun as they are in this film.

The Percy Jackson book series is currently five books long, and even though reviews for The Lightning Thief have been mixed, the audience reaction seems to be favorable. Especially with kids and teens, the target audience. So hopefully that means that moviegoers can expect more Percy Jackson in the near future. Chris Columbus did an excellent job shaping the Harry Potter world with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and he does the same again in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief, creating a film entertaining for both kids and adults.

This is the most stunning Blu-ray I’ve seen to date. The sound is incredible and solid throughout the film, and the picture quality is stunning. I’ve seen plenty of Blu-rays, and I was surprised at how great this one looked and sounded.

Deleted Scenes – There are 10 of them total, all are either boring or are inappropriate for the PG rating. (14:03)

Secrets of the Gods – A very cool interactive lesson in Greek mythology, complete with diagrams and scenes from the film. Very cool!

Discover Your Powers Quiz – A quiz that asks you silly questions and then assigns you a godly parental unit. Apparently I am from the House of Athena. Fun for kids, but mostly just a harmless waste of time.

The Book Comes To Life – The author of the books, Rick Riordan, talks on set about how exciting it is to see his books made into a movie. He is so enthusiastic! (4:24)

Inside Camp Half-Blood – Well this explains why the scenes at Camp Half-Blood dragged out a little, they were so proud of the set they created. I have to admit, it is really cool what they did. It almost makes me like Camp Half-Blood more, but the movie does drag in these places. (5:09)

On Set With Brandon T. Jackson – The actor is followed around as he skips (literally) and hangs out with castmembers. He is so high energy and so silly. I hope they make more Percy Jackson movies just so we can see more of him in this character. He brings a lot to the movie. (5:56)

Meet the Demigods – Instead of describing their powers, or being anything cool, this featurette just summarizes the movie. Kind of pointless. (3:49)

Composing for the Gods: A Conversation with Christophe Beck – Personally, I love when there are extras devoted to the music in a film. This one is short and doesn’t really tell us much. But it’s still thrilling to watch Beck conduct his orchestra and talk about the various themes throughout the film. (3:29)

Theatrical Trailer

Trailers: Gulliver’s Travels, The A-Team, Diary of a Wimpy Kid

BD Live Extras include an exclusive featurette – Demigods at Work and Play: Inside The Lotus Land Casino – about making the casino scene (2:38), some exclusive deleted scenes from Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel, an exclusive Fantastic Mr. Fox extra with Jason Schwartzman, an Ice Age 3 exclusive, and much more.

I enjoyed seeing this movie in theaters and my family (with two kids ages 10 and 8 ) has already watched this Blu-ray three different times. The blu-ray quality is superb, I highly recommend splurging. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is the perfect flick to pop in for family movie night.


Fox 2000 Pictures presents Percy Jackson and theh Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Directed by: Chris Columbus. Starring: Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Catherine Keener, Uma Thurman. Written by: Craig Titley; based on a novel by Rick Riordan. Running time: 118 minutes. Rating: PG. Released on Blu-ray Disc: June 29, 2010.




Jenny is proud to be the First Lady of Inside Pulse Movies. She gives female and mommy perspective, and has two kids who help with rating family movies. (If they don't like 'em, what's the point?) She prefers horror movies to chick flicks, and she can easily hang with the guys as long as there are several frou-frou girlie drinks to be had.