Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: February 12, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
18
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger 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? Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleAmy 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. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill 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. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterEthan 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. Read full review
70
TimeMary Pols
This is a big, often quite scary action movie, with tons of creepy computer-generated imagery that's right up there with Voldemort in terms of physical nastiness, although less powerful emotionally. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
The whole thing is piffle, but it moves fast enough to stay entertaining. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe 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. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene 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. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
A diverting action fantasy that modernizes the stories of demigods and monsters. Read full review
60
EmpireHelen 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. Read full review
60
VarietyPeter 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. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth 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. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyAdam Markovitz
Has all the CGI sorcery of a Harry Potter pic, but none of the magic. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael 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. Read full review
50
Orlando SentinelRoger Moore
For what it is and for whom it is intended, it’s not a bad movie, just an indifferent one. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley 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.’’ Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
For all the earth shaking that goes on, “Percy Jackson” is agreeably tame and unthreatening. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael 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. Read full review
50
SalonMary Elizabeth Williams
The overblown and overlong version of Percy's adventures largely fails to capture the quirky allure of Riordan's books. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
All dull thunder without a spark of illumination. Read full review
50
New York PostLou 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. Read full review
50
Boxoffice MagazinePete Hammond
Columbus knows his way around this kind of material even if some of the special effects look like they came from Deep Discount. The gods are well-rendered, but nothing special. Still for the Potter crowd, Percy provides a nice diversion until the real thing comes along. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
The gods, led by Sean Bean, are mostly stiffs; thank heaven for Uma Thurman, raising hell as a stylishly leather-clad Medusa. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyAaron Hillis
Like Percy himself, the film doesn’t have any traits that qualify as having an actual personality. Even so, as long as the kiddies aren’t too upset by the major liberties reportedly taken with the source material, it might be enough to distract them until Harry returns. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubTasha 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. Read full review
40
Time OutDavid Jenkins
Mirthless, episodic fantasy saga. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
This is generic filmmaking at its most banal, a simple-minded simplification of a not overwhelmingly complex book. Read full review
30
SlateDavid 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. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
As scripted by Craig Titley, this first in a presumptive franchise is a dull, scattershot affair that owes much to both "X-Men" and Greek mythology, but which never seems to slow down enough to make any sense whatsoever. Read full review
25
PremiereNick 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. Read full review
20
NPRScott 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. Read full review
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