Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief is supposed to be for pre-teens, but I adored it. It works for actually all ages.

Percy is a normal teenager being harassed in high school, normally. Suddenly he learns that his father is Perseus, and that Zeus is accusing Percy of stealing his lightning bolt. He's never seen Dad before except for this one time when he tells him he must figure out who stole the bolt, or else Perseus will end up in a battle to the death with his brother, Zeus. The rest of the movie tells the story of how Percy unites with other half-god kids, who join him in the quest to figure out who's guilty of stealing Zeus' lightning.

There are so many twists and turns in this fun film that every time I thought I had figured it out, I hadn't. The movie quite rightly concentrates more on relationships and establishing these teen characters, but the effects aren't bad either. I especially loved the effect of Pierce Brosnan as Chiron, and Uma Thurman as Medusa is a hoot and a half.

It's got a great cast besides the stellar teens. And the plot moves this way and that way, all of which will entertain you. With a long title like that, we can only hope there will be a sequel. Thumb's up.