Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)

All Critics (141) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (70) | Rotten (72) | DVD (10)

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

February 16, 2010 Full Review | Comments (5)

A.O. Scott

At the Movies

Top Critic

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.

February 16, 2010 Full Review

Time Out

Top Critic

Director Chris Columbus has brought together the modern and mythical spheres with sharp pacing and a nifty sense of fun that atone for the film's dippier moments. It's his most enjoyable effort since Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

February 12, 2010 Full Review | Comment (1)

Amy Biancolli

Houston Chronicle

Top Critic

Dutifully Potteresque it begins, and dutifully Potteresque it ends.

February 12, 2010 Full Review | Comments (3)

Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

Top Critic

Has all the CGI sorcery of a Harry Potter pic, but none of the magic.

February 12, 2010 Full Review

Adam Markovitz

Entertainment Weekly

Top Critic

Percy Jackson, you are no Harry Potter. You are not fit to walk in a hobbit's wake.

February 12, 2010 Full Review | Comments (14)

Tom Long

Detroit News

Top Critic

It provides a great adventure movie for the family audience.

July 31, 2012 Full Review

Kevin Carr

7M Pictures

The premise of Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief holds great potential potential the film never realizes.

November 5, 2011 Full Review

Greg Maki

Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)

Percy Jackson is simply uninspired in every single meaning of the word. It's probably the crassest, most obviously derivative work of this sort since Eragon.

April 25, 2011 Full Review | Comment (1)

Joshua Starnes

ComingSoon.net

It kind of just builds up to a lot of Not Much.

April 4, 2011 Full Review

Dave White

Movies.com

Manages to pay its respects to the Greek myths and actually convey them as fun.

August 4, 2010 Full Review

Jeffrey Chen

Window to the Movies

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief proves to be a satisfying beginning to what is sure to be a promising film franchise.

July 17, 2010 Full Review

Matthew Pejkovic

Matt's Movie Reviews

Mildly diverting.

July 6, 2010 Full Review

Brett Michel

Boston Phoenix

Just another mediocre fantasy flick, but if you enjoyed the books, I'm sure you'll enjoy the film.

July 6, 2010 Full Review | Comments (10)

Chris Bumbray

JoBlo's Movie Emporium

An enjoyable PG-rated family adventure in its own right, but Columbus' film can't live up to the Potter gold standard, and it strays enough from Riordan's source material to make its tween readership blow a gasket every few minutes. [Blu-ray]

July 6, 2010 Full Review | Comment (1)

Peter Canavese

Groucho Reviews

Not a perfect film, but the movie does have a certain passion that a lot of other franchise attempts have lacked. If you like Greek mythology and are looking for an antidote to Clash of the Titans, this may be what you're looking for.

July 4, 2010 Full Review

Wesley Lovell

Cinema Sight

A great family film, with just the right measures of action, mythological allusions, humor, and adventure.

June 30, 2010 Full Review

James Plath

Movie Metropolis

Of all the would-be Potter projects that have hit the screen over the years, this is one of more polished and enjoyable ones.

May 16, 2010 Full Review

Michael Dequina

TheMovieReport.com

click to read full review

March 26, 2010 Full Review

Joseph Proimakis

Movies for the Masses

... a sprightly Harry Potter clone and an eye-candy-coated intro to Greek mythology.

March 14, 2010 Full Review | Comment (1)

Jim Lane

Sacramento News & Review

While this flick may not have Harry Potter's complex world and multiple layers, it also doesn't have the angst and darkness. It replaces them with one thing in bulk: Fun.

March 5, 2010 Full Review

Todd Hertz

Christianity Today

Another attempted launch of a teen-aimed franchise, but this show-boat is rowing through the motions. Seen-that, been-there fantasy-epic stuff with dialogue more wooden and hollow than the Trojan Horse.

March 3, 2010 Full Review | Comments (6)

Brian Gibson

Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

What surprised me is that I had some affection for an action adventure film the way I would have in the days of the Ray Harryhausen's best films.

February 24, 2010 Full Review

Mark R. Leeper

rec.arts.movies.reviews

A Harry Potter wannabe - but not a bad one . . .

February 24, 2010 Full Review

James O'Ehley

Sci-Fi Movie Page

A fun, effects-filled, escapist adventure, with several clever notions: Medusa sells garden statuary as a cover, and the Parthenon in Nashville is home to a hydra.

February 19, 2010 Full Review | Comments (3)

John Beifuss

Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

A safe, bland, test-marketed product made for tween mass consumption. Like most films arriving with ampersands and colons in the title, it's a bore.

February 19, 2010 Full Review | Comments (2)

Michael Smith

Tulsa World

• 1. Gabe Ugliano: Woman!
  2. Sally Jackson: Hi Gabe.
  3. Gabe Ugliano: Where's my beer?
  4. Sally Jackson: It's in the fridge.
  5. Gabe Ugliano: So it's suppposed to magically float from the ice box and into my hand?
  – Submitted by Criselle M (2 months ago)
• 1. Luke: Wow...that's a sword, that's a sword.
  – Submitted by Shin D (6 months ago)
• 1. Mr. Brunner/Chiron: Take this, it is a powerful weapon.
  2. Percy Jackson: This is a pen.
  3. Percy Jackson: WOW.
  – Submitted by Andrew C (7 months ago)
• 1. Zeus: What do you see?
  2. Poseidon: Thunderclouds.
  3. Zeus: With no lightning. Stolen.
  – Submitted by Typhon Q (7 months ago)
• 1. Grover: Hey baby!
  – Submitted by Cancelled U (11 months ago)
• 1. Mr. Brunner/Chiron: Percy take this, it's a powerful weapon.
  2. Percy Jackson: This is a pen?
  – Submitted by Daniel R (18 months ago)

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