This movie sux.
I turned it off after about 25 minutes.
Neither my eleven nor seven year old liked it.
I have no idea how it grossed as much as it did, which was A LOT!
I'm even more irritated the DVD doesn't come with any director/writer/actor commentary.

Script PDF download
http://www.mypdfscripts.com/screenplays/percy-jackson-the-olympians-the-lightning-thief

Wiki page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Jackson_%26_the_Olympians:_The_Lightning_Thief

I agree with the following two movie critics:
>> Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times described the film as "standard Hollywood product...
unadventurous and uninteresting."

The Washington Post reviewer thought "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." <<

A fairly on-the-nose review
http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/percy-jackson-and-the-olympians-the-lightning-thief/4668

Crazy man, Craig Titley, the screenwriter for The Lightning Thief, babbling.
http://www.percyjackson.org/video/screenwriter-craig-titley-talks-about-percy-jackson/

LISTEN to this interview with CRAIG TITLEY,
screenwriter of PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF
http://trueslant.com/bobandelman/2010/02/08/percy-jacksons-first-screenwriter-brings-greek-mythology-to-life-in-the-lightning-thief/

Chris Columbus (director/producer) and Craig Titley (screenwriter)
in a free-wheeling interview discussing 'Percy Jackson & The Olympians'
http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/motion-captured/posts/the-m-c-interview-chris-columbus-and-craig-titley-on-percy-jackson-the-olympians-the-lightning-thief

Craig Titley's produced writing credits
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0864471/

The One-Page Screenplay: Craig Titley�s Pull My Finger
http://www.movieline.com/2010/02/the-one-page-screenplay-craig-titleys-pull-my-finger.php
Included are several other one page screenplays.
Interesting idea.
Likely the most redeeming acorn turned up by this miserable movie.
Don't bother reminding me to not see any sequels.


Chris Columbus, also directed Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
and Chamber of Secrets, to which Lightning Thief is oft compared to.
However both of those movies had their screenplay written by Steve Kloves.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0460141/
Where, oh where, to lay blame for Lightning Thief?

I agree completely. This movie was such a waste of time. I never read any of the books, so I was totally uninitiated and this movie has made me glad I never did. The whole thing just elt so lazily thrown together, like no one was really trying. The shots are bland and uninteresting, the action scenes are lathargic and uninspired, it feels like Columbus has lost his balls and is playing it safe, rather than taking a chance on something more unconventional.

The movie isn't so bad it's offensive, but it's a long way from good. A really, really long way. It's kind of a black hole for fun.

You try and be nice to Hollywood and then you read some thing like that:

http://www.movieline.com/2010/02/the-one-page-screenplay-craig-titleys-pull-my-finger.php

Embarrassing.

Jesus, he's writing 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as well...

Yeah. Wasn't PMF nice? Hmph.
I read all of 'em. Some better than others.
Interesting idea, though; One Page Challenge.

Jesus, he's writing 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as well...
AFU ASAP!
(I'll likely pass on that li'l gem, as well)

Although honestly, I typically love Brian Helgeland's work, but not all of his stories smell like roses either.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001338/#Writer
Which is when you gotta wonder if the studio or director FIU.
The finger pointing gets fun at the pro level. :)
So maybe Titley can manage to not fudge it up.

For what it's worth, my kids have read the book on this one (well, the 11 year old read it on her own, and my wife read it to the younger two). Where some adaptations take liberties with the book, this movie was almost COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from the adventure in the book. It's to the point that the movie amounts to a different story entirely with the same basic premise.

Now, because they enjoy the books, they seemed to enjoy the movie as well.

Personally, I found the movie a bit hokey, and my wife took issue with the implied micro-romance between the leads since in the book...they're 11. Yeah, not older teenagers. They're "tweens." Personally, I found the idea of a training camp for demi-gods that focuses only on swordplay to be a bit bizarre. These people will be in a world of hurt if they run up against, say, guns.

I understand, as these things go, that the book is much better.

Wasn't that bad, I didn't think.

The idea is brilliant and it's always nice to see a slice of Greek Mythology, which remains as exciting today as it ever did.

It was quite subversive in its own way as well.

Whatever meat that may have been on the bones, studio executives picked clean.
There is absolutely nothing here I haven't seen in another franchise. Period.
Marginalized, packaged and marketed to death before it ever hit the silver screen.

Pierce Brosnan with a horse's ass = priceless. ^_^

E.D.

It's not a total disaster in my view, I was kind of liking it early on. Then Pierce Brosnan kind of faded off and...

How the heck could Uma Thuman turn anyone to stone?
Was turning the drunk stepfather to stone as a tagline joke really needed?

In any case, as the film progressed --- I less I cared who took the lightning bolt and why. I also wondered why "Percy" (Perseus) was the son of Posideon and not Zeus. Then, it was soon clear.  It is not a story that serve the FX; it is FX that serves the story. The entire "showdown" was a letdown. Ho hum n' a bottle o rum.

Actually I thought the camp was the most nifty thing (even if i was a near Hogwarts clone), aside from trouble escaping the land of Vega$  :)

Finally got this after not wanting to pay over 30 bucks for it and it was a whole lot of alright but with all the other films like it, it fails to capture the imagination.

The sword fighting was terribly slow and rehearsed. They probably would have been better as close up quick cut scenes.

The goat leg guy is a lot like the character in Narnia and the turning to stone was used more effectively in Clash Of The Titans.

I am not the audience for this type of film so my problems with the sword fights and goat boy would be just fine to a kid.

Good but not great. I doubt we will ever see a sequel.

Quoted Text Was turning the drunk stepfather to stone as a tagline joke really needed?

It's a tween movie. The bad characters have to get what's coming to them.