Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief DVD Review
July 2, 2010 by showbizadmin
Filed under DVDs
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief now on DVD and Blueray storyline and special effects hold up nicely in the home theater environment. Often when a movie is taken from the large screen, its impact is diminished once viewed at home but this movie lends itself well to the smaller format.
Rating: 
The movie is adapted from the first book in Rick Riordan’s fantasy series about a troubled kid who discovers that he is the son of Poseidon.
Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) lives with his mom, Jessie (Catherine Keener), and step dad in a low income neighborhood. Percy also has a good friend, Grover (Brandon T. Jackson), who is his sidekick. It is during a trip at the museum that Percy discovers that he is a demi-god, half man and half god as his mother had an affair with a god, Poseidon (Kevin McKidd). Percy also finds out that Zeus (Sean Bean) suspects him of having stolen the Lightning Bolt and has set a deadline for Percy to return it.
Flanked with his pal Grover and a demi God, Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), daughter of Athena, whom he meets at a special camp for Demi-Gods, Percy sets out on a quest to free his mother who has been kidnapped by Hades (Steve Coogan) who also wants the lightning bolt and is holding her as a hostage in the Underworld.
This film has some similarities to the Harry Potter series. Both Percy and Harry sense that they are a little different even before their hidden lineages are revealed. Both grow up with abusive relatives though Percy only has to deal with his slob of a stepfather (Joe Pantoliano) while Harry gets the full aggravation of his entire household. Both are whisked away to an enchanted place where they can hone their amazing skills with other specially powered youths like them. Harry is the son of a great wizard while Percy is the offspring of the God of Oceans so both are revered as “chosen ones” amongst their peers.
Bonus Features:
Deleted Scenes: Footage that never made it into the final movie. There are about eight minutes of footage that adds to the story (especially the bit about Zeus’s daughter and Hades).
Discover Your Powers Quiz: There is really not much to this game. The interactive approach engages the kids to play the game but it is not very exciting or complicated.
The Book Comes to Life: Author Rick Riordan (along with most of the younger cast) talk about making the film. This is the most interesting bonus feature as the author explains how the books came about when he tried to write a story for his kids, how his students reviewed the books providing important feedback and the importance of Greek mythology.
Previews: There’s a theatrical trailer, a Blu-ray commercial, a Digital Copy commercial along with a slew of other trailers.
