Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

RATING: **

Gods are kind to the United States of America,but this kind? For,when Greek gods decide to fall in love with mortals,they find their spouses only there,bearing “demi-god” children who wear tees,jeans and backpacks,play videogames and wear Converse shoes with wings.

One day,the son of Poseidon is accused of stealing Zeus’s lightning rod,leaving him very,very angry. The third big god,Hades of the Underworld,is equally crazy about getting his hands on the rod. Before you ask how that concerns us,apart from the special effects that can be conjured up in a storyline that combines Medusa (a very impressive Uma Thurman) with Hydra-head monsters,let me tell you that gods’ anger can reduce Earth as we know it to storms and destruction. Leave aside the fact that the film (based on Rick Riordan’s book) has little to offer,it gives Greek gods great offence; even lesser mortals like us have a lot to question if our fate lies in the hands of two teens summoned to bear the weight of the world on their shoulders.