Call it Clash of the Titans for the tweener set, if you must, but I have to say that the new, full trailer for the cumbersomely titled Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief actually looks quite fun. It forgoes the silly angsty angle of the Twilight films, and has more of a Sky High feel to it. The film, based on a series of novels by Rick Riordan, is about a teenager, Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman — Gamer, 3:10 To Yuma), who discovers that his father is actually the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon. He apparently teams up with some other deities and kids in an adventure that brings the Greek Gods to Earth.
It looks like breezy, but enjoyable fare, although it is directed by Chris Columbus, who is one of the less inspired directors out there. He’s capable, but just kind of … drab, which is why his entry in the Harry Potter films is easily the least imaginative. That said, the cast is pretty impressive, with Uma Thurman as Medusa, Rosario Dawson as Persephone, “Rome’s” Kevin McKidd as Poseidon and Sean Bean as Zeus. That last bit is the most exciting, because I love Sean Bean — I watched all of National Treasure just because he was in it, and I’m not even embarrassed about it*. Apparently, there’s going to be a Zeus-off next year between him and Liam Neeson.
Anyway, watch the trailer and tell us what you think.
I don't think it has quite the corny look that Sky High had. That movie was almost cartoony. This one seemed on par with the Harry Potter films in terms of style, look, and elements.
I'll likely see it, and then feel ashamed of myself for doing so.
Posted by: DeistBrawler at November 30, 2009 8:05 PM
I saw the trailer for this while taking my daughter to see the movie that shall not be named. I thought it looked enjoyable as well. And, yanno, Sean Bean. I'll see it and enjoy it and not be ashamed whatsoever!
My students (fourth graders) and I are so very, very excited for this book that I'll be showing this trailer as soon as they get back from P.E. The books were good for the upper elementary/middle school crowd, and the book won a state award here in Illinois last year. (The Rebecca Caudill). The series is strong throughout, so I hope it does well enough to make the sequels.
Posted by: TK the Other (delurking) at December 1, 2009 10:09 AM
I wanna lick Kevin McKidd all over. And Rosario Dawson. With their permission of course (for all of the prudes.)
I would like to watch this movie and I will not be ashamed of it.
*Movie. We love the book and are excited for the MOVIE. Clearly too Squeed to type.
Posted by: TK the Other (delurking) at December 1, 2009 10:11 AM
TK the Other?!? AAAHHHHHHHHH! Are you a clone? Evil twin? Er, wait, Good twin? Do you wear full sweaters instead of just the vests? So many questions....
I'll most likely see this, though it sort of reminds me of The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising, which is definitely a bad thing.
Posted by: Chugga at December 1, 2009 10:13 AM
I have to say, these books are really quite fun, and (being kids books) an easy quick read. I'm a little ashamed to admit how excited I am for this movie, although I'm being careful to keep the movie separate from the book in my head, seeing as everything I've read for it has said straight up that they've changed things around.
Posted by: Elle at December 1, 2009 10:14 AM
Logan Lerman has been able to get himself in with some bigger names (his first credited role was in The Patriot), and dammit all I liked "Jack & Bobby".
Are you a clone? Evil twin? Er, wait, Good twin? Do you wear full sweaters instead of just the vests? So many questions....
Do you have freakishly good balance? Do you have dreams of world peace and keep a legion of sunshine fairies in your attic? I have a new favorite delurker.
Posted by: branded at December 1, 2009 10:23 AM
Wow, Rosario, McKidd, AND Sean Bean. That's some good stuffs right there.
As for the Zeus off, there is only a very select group of people I think could out Zeus Sean "Ned Stark" Bean, but Liam Neeson is one of them. There's no shame in that.
Posted by: Forbiddendonut at December 1, 2009 10:27 AM
Sean "Ned Stark" Bean
SQUEEEE!
Posted by: Scully at December 1, 2009 10:31 AM
This looks entertaining, even though I HATED that kid in 3:10 to Yuma.
TK the Other, do you listen to Enya? Do you wish everyone a happy and safe Monday? Were you his stunt double in Newsies?!
Posted by: jM at December 1, 2009 10:33 AM
What's that? A trailer? Sorry, I was just thinking about riding Sean Bean like a mechanical Bull.
...
Ah yes, well that wasn't altogether too bad. Although I somehow missed the part of The Odyssey where Odysseus uses an iPhone to take off Medusa's head. Apparently, there IS an app for that.
Posted by: Jeremy Feist at December 1, 2009 10:38 AM
Oooohhhh...The chilrens at the wsapnin household have been waiting for this for ages. It is by far their favorite book series.
Posted by: wsapnin at December 1, 2009 10:42 AM
Forget Sean Bean (was he even in that trailer?), is that bearded pen-bearing guy Pierce Brosnan? Dude, WTF, you were Remington Steele and James Bond, why bury your gorgeousness in all that fur? Someone, please tell me I'm wrong!
This looks OK, although I'm a wee tired of the "ordinary guy finds out he's super-amazing" plot (admittedly, "ordinary guy finds out he's still ordinary" would be a trifle dull). And why can the kid only use the pen in times of distress? Does it have a shelf life? A limited number of uses? 'Cause I'd be flailing that thing around at every opportunity. You never get enough chances in real life to wield a sword.
Posted by: DeadBessie at December 1, 2009 10:42 AM
Forget Sean Bean (was he even in that trailer?), is that bearded pen-bearing guy Pierce Brosnan? Dude, WTF, you were Remington Steele and James Bond, why bury your gorgeousness in all that fur? Someone, please tell me I'm wrong!
I KNOW. I spend half the trailer trying to figure out who that was because his voice was so familiar! (First thought was Richard Harris, but he's kind of really dead, so then I thought it was Jared Harris and I was all a-squee because I love him in Mad Men, but then I finally realised it was Pierce Brosnan in the most hideous beard since... ever.)
Movie looks pretty cool btw, maybe I'll pick up the book to see what it's all about.
Posted by: Linda at December 1, 2009 10:52 AM
Um, I didn't see Sean Bean in that trailer. And I watched it twice. Am I blind? I did however see a very fuzzy Pierce Brosnan, which was weird.
I will see this movie for two reason: Sean Bean and Kevin McKidd.
I would also pay to see a Zeus-off.
Posted by: Kiddo at December 1, 2009 10:56 AM
Hah-hah. I get it. A pen knife. Err...sword.
It does look like a fun film. Definite "I won't change the channel if it comes on" viewing.
For some reason I keep wanting to call the Pierce Brosnan character "ffolkes" but I think that was Roger Moore's hairy outing.
Posted by: BWeaves at December 1, 2009 11:08 AM
Awesome cast. Best part is that the mythological of the Greek Gods is pretty established. No need to learn new words like Muggle.
Posted by: andewot at December 1, 2009 11:10 AM
I would definitely see this movie on a Saturday matinee or something along those lines. Kevin McKidd is certainly an underutilized talent, and though he's not in this trailer I am more interested in this now knowing that he's in it.
Posted by: Mike Newcomb at December 1, 2009 11:28 AM
Jeremy Feist, I think you're confusing Odysseus with Perseus. Odysseus had sex with freaky monster women, Perseus killed them.
If this is a kiddie flick I think Chris Columbus is a good pick. I'll admit to loving Home Alone and Adventures in Babysitting before I was old enough to know better. And he did write The Goonies and Gremlins which I also loved back when I had baby teeth. The guy seems to know what kids want, though I guess that's no consolation for parents stuck in the theatre.
Posted by: Inaras at December 1, 2009 12:31 PM
Actually, I only show up in Cannonball books that are kids books and random discussions about kids' movies coming out. Cuz I'm a teacher, and don't have time to laugh AND respond to all your awesome comments. Also, I'm just not that funny.
Silly people, I have four toes and run around in a timey-wimey jungle that may or may not be controlled by gods. But not the same Gods that this movie is about. Back to edumacating...
Posted by: TK the Other (delurking) at December 1, 2009 12:47 PM
Saw this trailer during "Ben 10: Alien Swarm" the other night and thought it was really cool looking for a kid. My son is six (almost seven) though. Is it too early to get him to read the book? I'd love it if he read the book before the movie comes out. What say you all?
Posted by: John Denver's Wingman at December 1, 2009 12:47 PM
I work at a used bookstore, and kids go batshit crazy for these books. I've never felt like shelling out the money to pick one up, but I always got the feeling it was one of those "kid style" fantasy epics possibly worth reading. In any case, cool beans.
Posted by: danny at December 1, 2009 1:13 PM
Chris Columbus makes sorta dull Harry Potter films but he can put together a hell of a cast. Here's hoping a more inspired director gets picked up for films 2-5 in this great kids series.
Posted by: Joe at December 1, 2009 1:27 PM
This did look fun when I saw the trailer awhile ago. Haven't read the books yet.
Sean Bean and Liam Neeson Zeus-off. Damn, I have no idea who to root for. . .
Posted by: Minty at December 1, 2009 1:36 PM
That is a good pen.
Posted by: Lindsey with an 'e' at December 1, 2009 1:55 PM
So. I was a nerdy kid. I didn't really like people. I read a lot. I mean yeah, I had plenty of friends at school, I played soccer, I was on the community swim team, whatever, but mostly I liked books. I went through a Civil War phase, a Titanic phase, a Peregrine Falcon phase, and..a Greek Mythology phase (like I said, nerdy). So I read like every book I could find about Greek Mythology. And when the Percy Jackson books came out (even though I was like 16 by then), I read those too.
They. Are. Wonderful. Wonderful and funny and lighthearted and substantive and well-written and entertaining and creative and perfect for all my too-smart college friends and a favorite of all my kid cousins and you should all read them.
Movie! I'm naturally terrified, but mostly just ridiculously squeeexcited!
Posted by: esme at December 1, 2009 2:11 PM
Classic Uma.
Posted by: coryo at December 1, 2009 2:16 PM
Hooray! The first book is delightful. I'm halfway through the second and enjoying it immensely as well. Pajibans, this is a good candidate for the Cannonball Read.
Needless to say, I'm excited for the film.
Posted by: bonnie at December 1, 2009 2:31 PM
Oooooooh this looks like so much fun!
You know what also seems fun? Jumping Sean Bean's bones. Mmm. Sean Bean.
esme, I don't think I've ever outgrown my Greek Mythology phase. :)
I will definitely be seeing this. Sean Bean could seduce me as Zeus any day. Or just as Sean Bean. Whatever.
Posted by: MelBivDevoe at December 1, 2009 7:04 PM
I recently read the first book and, a few minor quibbles aside, thought it was pretty enjoyable and (mostly) incredibly well-researched as far the Greek mythology went. It had its flaws, but overall, I had tons of fun reading through it, and I finished it in about 4 hours.
I have mixed feelings about this trailer, and I don't think I'll be going to see this movie. The few parts that were noticeably from the books looked pretty awesome (fuck yeah Mrs. Dodds! though I personally pictured her looking a lot older and scarier in her human form, but I know Hollywood's allergic to women over 35 so I'll take it), but between turning Percy's Jew-fro-ed goatee-wearing best friend (he looks like Shaggy! where was Matthew Lillard during the casting call?) into Percy's behoodied sassy black best friend (it bothers me far less that he's been randomly made black for no reason - although this seems to be a pattern with Hollywood right now so I have to question their motives - and more that he seems likely to be a two-dimensional "sassy black best friend" stereotype, which is lazy goddamn screenwriting when they already had a very well-developed character to work with) and turning scary cloaked hideous Medusa into completely uncovered sexy Uma Thurman, thereby completely defeating the point of Medusa both in the mythology AND the books... it just doesn't bode well for me.
But again, the parts closer to the books looked pretty good. I'm not sure why they changed the appearance of several characters (the girl I'm assuming is Annabeth is randomly brunette, when she's very blonde in the book), but I always think it's idiotic when they make changes like that. It's not like hair dye is hard to find and use. I can understand rearranging the sequence of events a little bit for visual clarity, or adding on or altering certain scenes to help explain something that's readily apparent in the books but doesn't translate well to film, but randomly fucking up character appearance doesn't contribute to the film in any way, shape or form, and is usually guaranteed to piss off at least some of the book's fandom right off the bat, so... eh. Makes no sense to me.
Chiron looks really well-cast though, and Percy himself as well. On the whole, I suspect this movie will do well with people who haven't read the books, but for those who have it'll be like Silent Hill is for fans of the video game series, in that "IT COULD'VE BEEN SO AWESOME, IT ALMOST WAS, BUT THEY HAD TO [insert bitching and moaning here] INSTEAD" way. I will patiently wait for a book fan to splice together all the good scenes on YouTube or something and keep on reading the books in the meantime. I'm making a last-minute trip to LA this weekend, and I think books 2 and 3 will make for great airplane reading material.
Posted by: Nat at December 1, 2009 9:46 PM
I did my Greek Mythology phase in second grade - it's part of my DNA, dammit.
I haven't read these, but if Rosario Dawson, Pierce Brosnan, and Sean Bean say it's OK, I'm good to go.
Meander, I thought the "Percy? REALLY?" thing too, but in book 1 they explain that it's short for Perseus, which is even MORE embarrassing to a child (unless he's an ancient Greek child, I would imagine, in which case he'd be big pimpin'), so he insists on Percy because it's the lesser of two evils.
I'm sure up until he found out that his dad was a Greek god, he wondered how his otherwise loving and saintly (seriously, I'd nominate her; as in most children's books, even the really good ones, parental figures tend to be either angelic and perfect or horrible and wicked) mother could be so cruel.
Posted by: Nat Kittyface at December 2, 2009 9:08 PM
It says in the book Annabeth had golden hair (and i thought she was very very hot by hot i mean seriously hot in the beautifullest way
Posted by: ilovepercyjackson at December 14, 2009 11:00 AM
i mean blond hair
Posted by: ilovepercyjackson at December 14, 2009 11:01 AM
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I don't think it has quite the corny look that Sky High had. That movie was almost cartoony. This one seemed on par with the Harry Potter films in terms of style, look, and elements.
I'll likely see it, and then feel ashamed of myself for doing so.