I have compiled a huge list of reviews for your viewing pleasure. The critics reviews are very mixed. I tried to list the reviews in order of ones that I found helpful. If you want to see the full review just click on the title. This list will be continually updated.
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Reviews
Chicago Sun-Times — Roger Ebert
Director Chris Columbus has fun with this goofy premise, but as always I am distracted by the practical aspects of the story. Does it bother the Greek gods that no one any longer knows or cares that they rule the world? What are the genetic implications of human/god interbreeding?
redblog (Redbox)
As I’ve mentioned before, I love love love Greek mythology, and so I couldn’t help but get a kick out of Percy Jackson‘s shout-outs to the gods, goddesses and various creatures of those excellent stories. I just wish that the pacing hadn’t been so off — there were too many boring spells over the course of two hours, none of which built up very smoothly to the bursts of action sequences. And parents of younger kids, be forewarned, some of the monsters are SCARY — I wouldn’t recommend this one for children prone to nightmares. Overall, however, it’s good, clean, fun family entertainment — and if all of the series’ fans trek to theaters this weekend to see their boy wonder come to life on the big screen, then I don’t think this is the last we’ll be seeing of Percy Jackson.
Dove — Edwin L. Carpenter
The film features some of the best special effects, i.e. CGI work, I have seen in a film. We see great battles and a character using the mythological flying shoes. Some of the sword fighting includes training by those who plan to defend what is right and moral. The lead character, Percy Jackson, is played by a charming young actor named Logan Lerman who brings determination, grit and loyalty to the role. When his mother is captured, he doggedly goes all the way to the underworld to do what he must to free her.
Dove Family-Approved — Recommended for ages 12 and over
San Francisco Chronicle — Amy Biancolli
A whole lot of plot ensues – an entertaining mix of buddy movie, road trip, “Clash of the Titans,” archetypal quest and a coming-of-age tale about misfits making their way despite, or because of, absent parents.
Arizona Republic – Bill Goodykoontz
Percy Jackson isn’t a great movie, but it’s a good one, trotting out kernels of Greek mythology like so many Disney Channel references. For the most part, it works.
The Hollywood Reporter – Ethan Alter
So has “Percy Jackson” successfully cracked the “Potter” code? In terms of overall quality, not even close. Still, the film’s carefully calibrated mixture of CGI-enhanced spectacle, diverting (and blood-free) action sequences and adolescent angst could make it a modest hit with the eight to 12-year-old set.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch – Joe Williams
The CGI effects are a familiar sort and so is the heroic-quest motif. The principal virtue in this modest entertainment is that the young characters act like real teenagers.
Miami Herald – Rene Rodriguez
May not be so deep or richly imagined as J.K. Rowling’s universe of magic and Muggles, but the film is populated by likable characters, great special effects and a neat premise.
Philadelphia Inquirer – Carrie Rickey
A diverting action fantasy that modernizes the stories of demigods and monsters.
Variety — Peter Debruge
Action movies of this scale often start off strong and wind down to forgettable finales, but “Percy Jackson” is the opposite, overcoming a clunky setup to deliver nearly all its thrills in the last half-hour.
Empire – Helen O’Hara
Slavishly follows every rule of the kids’ fantasy franchise genre, but it’s a well-executed and imagined world. Bet the sequel’s darker.
New York Daily News – Elizabeth Weitzman
You don’t even have to be familiar with the first book in Rick Riordan’s popular fantasy series to enjoy Chris Columbus’ energetic adaptation.
Entertainment Weekly – Adam Markovitz
Has all the CGI sorcery of a Harry Potter pic, but none of the magic.
New York Post — Lou Lumenick
Played by Logan Lerman — the Zac Efron look-alike who was young George Hamilton in “My One and Only” — Percy is a Manhattan high-schooler who learns he is a demigod.
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) – Rick Groen
All dull thunder without a spark of illumination.
Washington Post – Michael O’Sullivan
The movie suffers by taking itself a little too seriously. It’s not just that it’s a lot less funny than the book. It’s also a lot less fun.
Salon.com – Mary Elizabeth Williams
The overblown and overlong version of Percy’s adventures largely fails to capture the quirky allure of Riordan’s books.
Chicago Tribune – Michael Phillips
Suggests that this could be the start of something adequate. Something big would’ve been nicer, though the movie’s limitations are less a matter of scale than of imagination.
Orlando Sentinel — Roger Moore
For what it is and for whom it is intended, it’s not a bad movie, just an indifferent one.
Boston Globe – Wesley Morris
Very little of it is as persuasive or enveloping as its beloved English counterpart. But it works very hard to distract 11-year-olds from thinking about the November arrival of “The Deathly Hallows.’’
The New York Times — Stephen Holden
For all the earth shaking that goes on, “Percy Jackson” is agreeably tame and unthreatening.
The Onion (A.V. Club) – Tasha Robinson
In Columbus’ hands, it once again all breaks down into a series of rushed, breathless special-effects setpieces, in a thrill ride that isn’t headed anywhere new.
Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan
This is generic filmmaking at its most banal, a simple-minded simplification of a not overwhelmingly complex book.
Slate David — Plotz
The Lightning Thief is loud, scary, oversexed, and really unfun. All that would have been fine if my daughter liked it, but instead it left her and her friend stunned.
Premiere – Nick Starkey
Chris Columbus, true to his namesake, has chartered new waters of lazy hackdom with this “Clash of the Titans” remade as a CW tween soap.
NPR – Scott Tobias
The film becomes particularly risible when family matters come into play. Since the young demigods, by nature, are raised in single-parent homes, their encounters with the gods are characterized less by wonder than by the therapy-speak of wounded kids with daddy issues.
