Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

(M) Fox DVD/BD

Originally thought to take over as the new teenage franchise, the book series by Rick Riordan upon which this film was based shares many elements with the Harry Potter series.

During a school excursion to an exhibition of New Greek and Roman Galleries, Percy discovers that he is the son of Poseidon. He finds himself at a Half-Mortal Camp with centaur teacher (Pierce Brosnan), half-goat protector Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) and the tantalising daughter of the Goddess of Wisdom (Alexandra Daddario).

The stakes are high when Percy and friends set off on a road trip to save his mother from Hades, in search of three luminous blue pearls and armed with a pen that becomes a sword, an expandable shield and sneakers with wings.

Not only must he save his mother (Catherine Keener) he must also sort out the matter of the missing lightening bolt as well.

Support from Keener and a scene-stealing turn by Uma Thurman as Medusa give this film some adult appeal.

Part coming-of-age story, part family adventure and road movie, this fantasy flick has good storytelling, impressive visuals and an appealing hero in Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson. It may be enough to spawn a sequel, but only time will tell.

Adrian Drayton