Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

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Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

PG

Released Feb 12, 2010

1h 59m

Kids & Family

Adventure

Fantasy

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Popcornmeter

48%

Tomatometer

149 Reviews

53%

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250,000+ Ratings

Always trouble-prone, the life of teenager Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) gets a lot more complicated when he learns he's the son of the Greek god Poseidon. At a training ground for the children of deities, Percy learns to harness his divine powers and prepare for the adventure of a lifetime: he must prevent a feud among the Olympians from erupting into a devastating war on Earth, and rescue his mother from the clutches of Hades, god of the underworld.

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Critics Consensus

Though it may seem like just another Harry Potter knockoff, Percy Jackson benefits from a strong supporting cast, a speedy plot, and plenty of fun with Greek mythology.

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Amy Nicholson

I.E. Weekly

The Greek gods had outsized powers and petty grievances. These Gen-Y demigods are no different - it's a whole generation of kids with daddy issues

Rated: C

Feb 18, 2010

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A.O. Scott

At the Movies

I thought it was mischievous and witty and amusing and I was just sort of drawn into it.

Feb 16, 2010

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Time Out

It's not enough to compensate for the computer-game-style plotting, which is largely based on us picking up narrative nuggets that mechanically slot into place later on.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 16, 2010

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

This is a by-the-numbers fantasy adventure that merges the modern world with a magical one.

Rated: 1.5/4

Aug 22, 2023

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

The Lightning Thief is good juvenile entertainment. [Full review in Spanish]

Oct 19, 2022

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

For every creative aspect, there is a contrived and rather nonsensical counter that unfortunately tips the scales more towards derivative than innovative.

Rated: 4/10

Nov 30, 2020

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Audience Member

The plot was messy, the characters were cheesey and boring. Especially grover. It was pretty well quality in effect wise. Another thing Is, isn't percy 12?! He looks likes hes almost in his 20s. Poor character build up if I could even call it that. The Medusa fight was quick and predictable, also pretty lame and unexciting. Anabeth looks like she's in her 20s. Percy was kinda being a simp. It just was NOT good. The fight scenes felt rushed, and honestly grovers character was NOT good. He's annoying, cheesy, confident, unlike in the book he's shy and unconfident. And more quiet. Also the lotus hotel... it was rushed and felt like filler. The fight with Mrs. Dodds was OK.. Also it got sexualized pretty quickly, over and over showing more revealing clothes with women. Yeah, I would recommend not watching, the entire thing was very rushed. There wasn't a fight scene barley more than 4 minutes. Awful and disappointing. Just mentioning again, the character development is awful. AWFUL. So expect to be dissatisfied with the build up. Action happens to fast, barley any explanation on why it happened.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

12/20/24

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Zefeng L

It's really MEA Because where is the Yankee's cap, and Also I know all events are wrong people who are placed they're under the wrong team in ct🏴.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/20/24

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Penelope J

Do I really need to explain myself? It’s great if you consider it as a movie alone, ignoring the book. But acknowledging the book..well…outright no. The actors are awesome, can’t say the same for the script.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

12/18/24

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Connor L

This movie felt like a group of kids were trying to re-create it but left out half the stuff ,plus the actors looked 16 then supposing looking 12 and turns out percy after being at the camp for a day or two knew most things about Greek stuff

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

12/16/24

Full Review

Katherine V

This movie is trash. To start, Percy being 17 (or whatever age he is) completely demolishes the big prophecy in the books. Basically, in the books, the next child of the big three who turns 16 decides to destroy or save Olympus. Another thing, the ending. Despite what pop culture might have you believe, Hades isn't a bad guy. He's just a dude who rules over the underworld. In the book, people think he stole the bolt because that's the cliche, but he just wants his helm. The movie shatters this and plays on the cliche that fellow Greek Mythology and Percy Jackson fans get tired of. Also, WHY IS PERSEPHONE THERE! IT'S SUMMER, SHE SHOULD BE WITH HER MOM!! I have a bunch of other nit-picks that would turn this review into a novel.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

12/16/24

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Audience Member

I personally love the movies and the actors but it is annoying that he's supposed to be 12 and looks 16 in the second movie

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/15/24

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Chris Columbus

Director

Logan Lerman

Percy Jackson

Brandon T. Jackson

Grover

Alexandra Daddario

Annabeth

Jake Abel

Luke

Sean Bean

Zeus

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Synopsis

Always trouble-prone, the life of teenager Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) gets a lot more complicated when he learns he's the son of the Greek god Poseidon. At a training ground for the children of deities, Percy learns to harness his divine powers and prepare for the adventure of a lifetime: he must prevent a feud among the Olympians from erupting into a devastating war on Earth, and rescue his mother from the clutches of Hades, god of the underworld.

Director: Chris Columbus
Producer: Karen Rosenfelt, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan, Mark Radcliffe
Screenwriter: Craig Titley
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Phoenix Film Partners, 1492 Pictures, Dune, Sunswept Entertainment
Rating: PG (Mild Language|Action/Violence|Peril|Some Scary Images|Suggestive Material)
Genre: Kids & Family, Adventure, Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 12, 2010, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $88.8M
Runtime: 1h 59m

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