Movies
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Best / Worst of the Decade
Wide Releases
Now In Theaters
49
2012
53
Alice in Wonderland
41
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
84
Avatar![]()
69
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
53
Blind Side
53
Book of Eli, The
43
Brooklyn's Finest
55
Christmas Carol, A
31
Cop Out
55
Crazies, The
57
Daybreakers
43
Dear John
27
Did You Hear About the Morgans?
55
Edge of Darkness
45
Extraordinary Measures
83
Fantastic Mr. Fox![]()
42
From Paris with Love
61
Green Zone
65
Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The
74
Invictus
57
It's Complicated
34
Law Abiding Citizen
33
Leap Year
32
Legion
42
Lovely Bones, The
54
Men Who Stare At Goats, The
34
Ninja Assassin
19
Old Dogs
36
Our Family Wedding
47
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
39
Planet 51
79
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
73
Princess & the Frog, The
69
Redbelt
40
Remember Me
xx
Repo Men
64
Road, The
57
Sherlock Holmes
48
She's Out of My League
63
Shutter Island
27
Spy Next Door, The
36
Tooth Fairy
44
Twilight Saga: New Moon, The
83
Up in the Air![]()
34
Valentine's Day
25
When in Rome
71
Where the Wild Things Are
43
Wolfman, The
63
Youth in Revolt
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Limited Releases
Now In Theaters
67
3 Idiots
47
44 Inch Chest
82
Ajami![]()
71
American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein
73
Amreeka
76
Art of the Steal, The
43
Barefoot to Timbuktu
19
Bitch Slap
49
Blood Done Sign My Name
24
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
76
Broken Embraces
52
Celine: Through the Eyes of the World
66
Children of Invention
64
Cloud 9
65
Coco Before Chanel
84
Cove, The![]()
83
Crazy Heart![]()
21
Crazy on the Outside
50
Creation
xx
Daddy Long Legs
81
Damned United, The![]()
57
Defendor
61
Delta
68
Departures
64
District 13: Ultimatum
72
Easier with Practice
85
Education, An![]()
59
Exploding Girl, The
70
Eyes Wide Open
24
Falling Awake
81
Fish Tank![]()
56
For My Father
51
Formosa Betrayed
xx
From Mexico with Love
43
Frozen
xx
Ghost Town
77
Ghost Writer, The
69
Girl on the Train, The
47
Good Guy, The
35
Happy Tears
64
Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Suess
20
Harlem Aria
52
Killing Kasztner
41
Last New Yorker, The
76
Last Station, The
47
Little Traitor, The
51
Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, The
71
Lourdes
73
Me and Orson Welles
77
Messenger, The
57
Missing Person, The
76
Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, The
80
Mother
50
My Name is Khan
49
Nine
67
North Face
64
October Country
67
Off and Running
52
Paranoids, The
40
Phyllis and Harold
49
Pop Star on Ice
49
Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The
74
Prodigal Sons
xx
Promised Lands (Re-release)
89
Prophet, A![]()
76
Red Riding Trilogy, The
32
Saint John of Las Vegas
83
Secret of Kells, The![]()
69
September Issue, The
36
Serious Moonlight
61
Severe Clear
63
Shinjuku Incident, The
77
Single Man, A
76
Still Bill
33
Stolen
xx
Suicide Girls Must Die!
51
Tales from the Script
74
Terribly Happy
74
That Evening Sun
47
To Die for Tano
19
To Save a Life
61
Toe to Toe
69
Town Called Panic, A
54
Until the Light Takes Us
60
Videocracy
66
Waiting for Armageddon
45
White on Rice
82
White Ribbon![]()
xx
White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights, The
43
Women in Trouble
xx
Word is Out
64
Yellow Handkerchief, The
64
Young Victoria, The
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 31 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 69 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Adventure | Fantasy
Written by:
Craig Titley
Rick Riordan (novel)
Directed by: Chris Columbus
Release Date:
Theatrical: February 12, 2010
Running Time: 119 minutes, Color
Origin: Canada | USA
Summary
RATING: PG for action violence and peril, some scary images and suggestive material, and mild language
Starring Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson, Catherine Keener, Kevin McKidd, Joe Pantoliano, Uma Thurman, and Ray Winstone
Trouble-prone Percy Jackson is having problems in high school - but that's the least of his challenges. It's the 21st century, but the gods of Mount Olympus seem to have walked out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology texts and into his life. Percy has learned that his real father is Poseidon, god of the sea, which means Percy is a demigod - half human, half god. At the same time, the powerful gods on Olympus are feuding, which could launch a war enveloping our entire planet. (20th Century Fox)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Chicago Sun-Times Roger 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 >San Francisco Chronicle Amy 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 >Time Mary 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 >Arizona Republic Bill 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 >The Hollywood Reporter Ethan 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 >Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
The whole thing is piffle, but it moves fast enough to stay entertaining.
Read Full Review >St. Louis Post-Dispatch Joe 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 >Miami Herald Rene 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 >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
A diverting action fantasy that modernizes the stories of demigods and monsters.
Read Full Review >Variety Peter 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 >Empire Helen 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 >New York Daily News Elizabeth 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 >Entertainment Weekly Adam Markovitz
Has all the CGI sorcery of a Harry Potter pic, but none of the magic.
Read Full Review >Boxoffice Magazine Pete 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 >Chicago Reader Andrea 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 >New York Post Lou 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 >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
All dull thunder without a spark of illumination.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Michael 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 >Salon.com Mary 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 >LA Weekly Aaron 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 >Chicago Tribune Michael 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 >Orlando Sentinel Roger Moore
For what it is and for whom it is intended, it’s not a bad movie, just an indifferent one.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley 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 >The New York Times Stephen Holden
For all the earth shaking that goes on, “Percy Jackson” is agreeably tame and unthreatening.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha 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 >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
This is generic filmmaking at its most banal, a simple-minded simplification of a not overwhelmingly complex book.
Read Full Review >Slate David 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 >Austin Chronicle Marc 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 >Premiere Nick 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 >NPR Scott 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 >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 5.6 (out of 10) based on 69 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Jason H. gave it a5:
The movie is really just a shameless rip off of harry potter. There are "magical" people that go to a "magical" secret school while keeping their identities hidden from us normal folk. The story revolves around three friends which simply replaces ron's role of comic relief with a half-goat creature, and replaces hermione with a one dimensional love interest (she's apparently supposed to be smart, but there doesn't seem to be any evidenece to support this.) The main problem is simply the feeling of being rushed. It's obvious that Columbus tried to cram way too much into a single film, and while watching it, I could almost imagine him checking off the required obstacles our heroes must overcome. This last critique was the real killer for me. I could put up with everything else and have fun, but when it seems like the director is rushing production, it makes me feel rushed as well.
Chad S gave it a7:
Dyslexia puts a crimp in Percy Jackson's life at high school, but on a field trip to the museum, a minotaur attacks him, so the quest for Zeus' stolen lightning bolt begins before anybody gets the chance to make fun of his learning disability. Percy(Logan Lerman) is a troubled kid, an alienated kid, who sits at the bottom of a pool for long stretches to escape his shortcomings. His best friend does him no favors socially; he's a cripple on crutches, and girls are nowhere to be seen near these two outcasts. Raised by a single parent, Percy is poor to boot, living in the apartment of her mother's abusive boyfriend. What's missing from the set-up, however, is some major conflict with the cooler kids to indicate his unpopularity among the student body. The seeming truncation of these expository scenes fail to establish Percy as an underdog that the moviegoer can truly root for, and care about. When Percy meets Annabeth(Alexandra Daddario) at the camp, the moment would have been more triumphant had some girl rebuffed his overtures in the real world. The moviegoer never bonds with Percy because the film seems in an awful rush for the dyslexic boy to learn about his unique pedigree. Due to the shoddy character development, the coming-of-age aspect of Percy's adventures gets overshadowed by the CGI effects and non-stop action. A little more time spent in the high school milieu would have made all the difference in the world, because "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief", at times, is moderately exciting. (Uma Thurman as Medusa is great.)
Sofia E gave it an8:
Although the movie is different than the book, going into the movie with an open mind makes it a delight. I love the series by Rick Riordan and really enjoyed the movie. I'm very disappointed that it got a bad rating by the critics, but I'm glad that the user rating is better. It might be a harder watch for more sensitive younger children because of the fighting and some concepts they may not understand, but that would only be for probably 6 and under. Otherwise, the movie is family friendly and I suggest that everyone go see it!!
boyd gave it a4:
My sons and I read all 5 books, they are very good! That said, this movie was not good. First off major character changes was a big red flag! Grover is not black! The problem I had with that is whenever Hollywood throws in an ethnic character such as Grover, they suddenly become "urbanized" in thier speech, and over sexed in their behavior which plays into furthering the stereotype of the horny (literally in the case of Grover) black man. Really it's not necesaary! By the way i am a Father of three wonderful sons and I am black. This isn't a race issue as much as cultural. I didn't realize their were any black Greek gods either! Hollywood its ok to not be so PC all of the time! Relax, we won't sue you!
Erik M. gave it a6:
I loved the books but the movie was alright just to much of the book was left out.
Leandre B. gave it a0:
There is absolutely nothing smart about this movie. Cheesy humour and one-liners, half assed special effects and on average bad acting.
Isaac V. gave it an8:
This should have followed the book a little bit more but ultimately was a great movie i hope they make movies out of the other four books.
