When his lightning bolt is stolen, Zeus accuses Poseidon's son Percy Jackson and gives Poseidon's son fourteen days to return it, otherwise he will initiate a war amongst the gods. Meanwhile the teenager, Percy, who is dyslexic and has ADHD is visiting The Museum of Metropolitan of Art and is attacked by a Fury disguised in his teacher. His physically handicapped best friend Grover reveals that Percy is a demigod and that he is his protector and his teacher Mr Brunner gives him a pen telling him that it is a powerful weapon. They go to Percy's house and together with his mother Sally they drive to the Camp Half-Blood. However Sally is attacked by a Minotaur and vanishes before Percy can help her. In the camp, Percy befriends the gorgeous Annabeth; when they are attacked by Hades who wants the lighting bolt for himself, Percy discovers that his mother is in the Underworld with Hades. Percy decides to travel on a dangerous quest to retrieve the lightning bolt and save his mother. Grover... Written by

Plot Synopsis:
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The movie begins with the camera panning over New York City, past Coney Island and along a pier. Water rises from Brighton Beach and coalesces into the form of a huge being looking like a man-- the god Poseidon (Kevin McKidd). Poseidon strides through the water along the pier, glancing nonchalantly at a gawking fisherman, and steps onto the streets of New York, shrinking to human size and his garments changing to resemble normal contemporary attire. He arrives at the observation deck of the Empire State building and meets another man there, similarly attired-- his brother Zeus (Sean Bean), king of the Greek gods. Zeus asks Poseidon to look to the sky. Poseidon notes heavy thunderclouds, and Zeus points out there is no lightning-- his master bolt, which gives him control over lightning, has been stolen. Zeus gets directly into Poseidon's face and tells him that he is convinced that Poseidon's son is responsible for the theft. Poseidon insists that his son doesn't know who he is, and warns Zeus about crossing a line, and that if Zeus harms Poseidon's son, he will be in for the fight of his life, but Zeus does not back down. He tells Poseidon that unless the bolt is returned to him by midnight on June 21st, the summer solstice, there will be war.

We then see young teenager Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) sitting calmly at the bottom of a swimming pool. On surfacing, he is told by his best friend Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) that he had been underwater nearly seven minutes. Hardly possible for most people, Percy thinks little of it. Being under water helps clear his mind and is one of the few places he can think.

Percy and Grover are at school at the Yancy Academy, and we see that Grover uses crutches. They walk through the halls, disgusted as several students fight openly in the halls before it is broken up by faculty. In class, there is a substitute teacher, Mrs. Dodds (Maria Olsen), writing a quote from Othello on the blackboard. She asks the class if anyone can explain the quote. Several students raise their hands, but Mrs. Dodds notices Percy glancing away and calls on him. He looks at the blackboard, blinking as the letters seem to twist and dance around confusingly in front of his eyes. Finally he says he doesn't know the answer.

Percy arrives home, kissing his mother, Sally (Catherine Keener), hello. She asks him about school and he is clearly very frustrated. Percy suffers from both dyslexia and ADHD, impairing his school performance. He thought the Yancy Academy was supposed to make things better. Sally tries to assure him that one day, everything will make sense, but he is very dubious.

At that moment the door opens and in walks Gabe Ugliano (Joe Pantoliano), Sally's husband and Percy's stepfather. Gabe is bald, paunchy, and dirty, with granny glasses attached to a chain around his neck. He sits at the table and asks where his beer is. Sally says it's in the fridge, but Gabe clearly expects her to bring it to him. Sally complies without a word of complaint, much to Percy's disgust. He insists that Gabe show some respect to Sally. Gabe gets up and leans against the wall close to Percy, and says that it's his house and Percy is the one who needs to show some respect.

Gabe retreats to his room and Percy asks Sally why she stays with him. Gabe Ugliano is a crass, crude pig of a man with foul armpit stench, who cannot hold a steady job because of his demeanor and smell. Sally tries to insist that Gabe is good to her and Percy in 'ways he doesn't understand.' Percy can only say that Sally is right-- he doesn't understand.

Percy is going with his school class to a museum to look at a gallery of ancient Greek and Roman exhibits. A voiceover from Poseidon tells Percy that everything as he knows it, is about to change. Percy glances around, and Poseidon is seen looking at him across the street, though Percy does not recognize him as he has never seen Poseidon before. A bus moves past Poseidon, in front of him, and he's gone.

At a gallery showing sculptures of the Greek gods, a teacher named Mr. Brunner (Pierce Brosnan) is lecturing on them. Mr. Brunner is in a motorized wheelchair, his legs covered in a blanket. Mr. Brunner explains how the gods often came down to Earth and had love affairs-- and sometimes children-- with mortals. He asks Percy if he can tell the class what these children were called. Percy correctly replies, 'demigods.' Mr. Brunner says that many of these demigods became great heroes, such as Hercules and Achilles. He then asks Percy to name another, giving him a hint: he has something in common with this hero.

Percy happens to glance up at a wall mural above Mr. Brunner's head. The Ancient Greek writing seems to dance and twist around before Percy's eyes, and to his surprise, he can read it: Perseus. Percy realizes that his own name is similar to Perseus.

As Mr. Brunner begins to explain the labors of Hercules and his victory over the Nemean lion, Mrs. Dodds quietly asks if she can speak to Percy alone, away from the other students. She opens a door into an adjacent, unfinished room, and enters behind Percy. But when he turns around, she is standing high up on a scaffolding.

In a harsh, grating voice, Mrs. Dodds demands, "Where is it?" Percy is completely confused, and then confounded as Mrs. Dodds changes into a hideous winged beast with long fangs that swoops down and demands that Percy give her the lightning bolt he stole. Percy is horrified and with no idea as to what is going on. The creature swoops again and seizes Percy, lifting him high up in the air and threatening to bite his heart out unless he returns the stolen lightning bolt.

Grover and Mr. Brunner burst into the room, The creature turns, recognizing Mr. Brunner, who demands that it release Percy or he'll tear the creature to pieces. The winged monster drops Percy and crashes through the window, flying off.

Percy is sick with disbelief at what happened-- and then even more so as Mr. Brunner turns to Grover and curses himself for not having realized that a "Fury" was concealed in their school. He asks Percy what the Fury wanted from him, and he shrugs and says that she said something about him stealing a lightning bolt. Mr. Brunner says in a very worried tone, "they found him," and Grover looks horrified, confusing Percy even further. Mr. Brunner tells Grover that Percy is no longer safe, and they should move him to "the camp." Percy confronts them on talking about him, right in front of him, without talking TO him. Mr. Brunner only hands Percy an object, telling him it is a powerful weapon and he should guard it well. Percy stares in amazement at what, to him, appears to be an ordinary writing pen. Mr. Brunner instructs Grover to bring Percy to Sally and not to take his eyes off of him. Grover nods and urges Percy to come with him. Neither Grover nor Mr. Brunner offer Percy any further answers, so for now he goes with Grover.

Hurrying down the street, Grover warns Percy to simply keep walking and not to look at anyone. Percy demands to know why Mr. Brunner wanted Grover to watch Percy, and Grover only says that he is Percy's protector. He insists he is quite capable of doing this despite apparently being on crutches.

At Percy's house, Gabe is playing poker with friends while Sally waits on them uncomplainingly. Percy comes in with Grover and urgently tells Sally they need to talk. Gabe crudely tells Percy to beat it, and Percy calls him a bald-headed freak. Gabe jumps up to hit Percy, but Grover slams a crutch down onto his foot and then hits him in the groin with it, which impresses Percy. Grover tells Sally that Percy has to leave immediately. Sally acquiesces and hurries out of the house with him.

Driving across a bridge, Sally is no more straight with Percy than Grover or Mr. Brunner had been. She only tells him that she's bringing them to a "camp for really special people." She says it's about Percy's father-- his true father.

As they drive on, Sally starts to tell Percy about how she met Percy's father... a man she never addresses by name. She says she was truly in love with him, and he loved her and Percy in turn. She admits that Percy's father left, but insists that he was forced to do it, and didn't abandon either of them.

As they drive past a field with cows, one horned head rises up, looking much larger than the other cows' heads. Grover suddenly shouts urgently for Sally to watch out. She gapes in horror as the corpse of a cow is suddenly thrown into the road right in front of them. Sally loses control of the car and it flips over.

The sound of heavy, ponderous footsteps begin to approach them. Percy stares as Grover removes his pants, revealing that his legs are those of a goat, complete with hooves. Grover uses them to smash through the car windshield so they can all get ouf of the car. The crutches, as he hurriedly says, are "just for show--" Grover can walk and run perfectly well, without them. The three of them flee from the approaching horror-- a huge bull-like humanoid. The monster picks up the car and hurls it at them.

They arrive at a stone arch surrounded by torches, which Grover says is their destination. As Percy stares up at the arch, Greek lettering dances around before his eyes to form recognizable words: "Camp Half Blood." He and Grover dash through the arch... but Sally is unable to pass through; some kind of barrier repels her. She urgently tells Percy that she cannot pass through the gate because she is "not like him." Percy refuses to leave without her but Sally begs him to do so. Just then, the huge minotaur grabs Sally from behind, and Percy watches in horror as the monster holds her aloft in one hand. She begs him to run, saying he's safe inside the gate, but Percy insists on facing the monster down. Grover shouts for him to take out the pen Mr. Brunner gave him, and click it. Percy does so and is shocked to see it transform into a Greek sword. The minotaur squeezes Sally and she screams briefly before disappearing in a flash of smoke and gold-colored dust.

Enraged, Percy charges at the minotaur, swinging the sword. The minotaur dodges and hurls a punch that blasts Percy into a tree. It charges at him on all fours, and he jumps away. One of the minotaur's horns lodges in the tree, and part of the horn breaks off when it tries to pull it loose. Percy grabs the broken-off horn as the minotaur charges again, and drives it into the monster's middle, killing it. Percy faints and collapses into Grover's arms.

He awakens lying in a cot with Grover watching over him. Grover is now clad in a leather vest with a dagger sheathed at his hip. He tells Percy that he is in the camp infirmary and has been unconscious for three days. He asks what Percy remembers. Percy thinks he awoke from a crazy dream, but then glances down and sees Grover's goat-legs and hooves. Grover says that he is a satyr. Percy breaks down in misery realizing everything was real, and his mother is gone. Grover tries to comfort him, saying he feels responsible as it's his job to protect Percy, although he is just a junior protector and doesn't have his horns yet.

Grover begins to take Percy around Camp Half Blood. People are seen in a mixture of modern and ancient Greek attire, and are training in combat with Greek weapons-- swords, shields, and bows. Grover finally begins to explain the truth about Percy, much to his continuing disbelief-- Percy is a demigod; one of hundreds throughout the world. Camp Half Blood is where demigods learn to harness their abilities, and while many go to lead "normal lives," many go on to become great leaders and heroes, though Percy cannot see himself as a hero. Grover then explains Percy's dyslexia and ADHD-- written letters and words seem to twist and dance around before his eyes because his brain is hardwired to read ancient Greek, not modern English; like back at the museum when he was able to read the Greek writing. And his ADHD is his divine battle reflexes. He was never able to be still, and this is what allowed him to survive-- and prevail, in his battle with the minotaur. As Grover says, no "loser" (as Percy thinks of himself) can defeat one.

Grover brings Percy to a field along a river where the students do most of their battle training. Percy stops and watches a beautiful young woman with long brunette hair battling several students at once-- and winning handily. She wields her sword with a grace and agility that Percy thinks he can only dream of. Percy asks Grover who she is, and he just laughs and warns him that the girl could tear him apart. But he says the girl's name is Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), and she is the daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom. Still holding her sword at the throat of her last opponent, Annabeth happens to look in their direction, her expression unreadable as she look at Percy, almost as if recognizing him.

Grover leads Percy to another field where he sees another amazing sight-- several centaurs engaged in a running exercise. But what's even more amazing is the lead centaur-- Mr. Brunner, or as he explains, here in this world, he is the legendary teacher, Chiron. He apologizes for hiding his true form, but he needed to keep an eye on Percy.

As they continue through the camp, Grover is called to by a group of daughters of Aphrodite, goddess of love. Chiron smirks as Grover goes to join them, suggesting to Percy that he knows where it will lead. Chiron brings Percy into a house which he says is Percy's quarters at the camp. The house is filled with nautical objects, and includes a heavy trident. Picking up the trident, looking at it, Percy realizes that some of the walls are carved with a symbol resembling the trident. Understanding dawns on him-- Percy is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. Chiron says this has been kept from Percy for all these years for his own safety-- for a child to be sired by one of the "big three" Greek gods (Zeus, Poseidon and Hades) is exceptionally rare, and as the son of Poseidon, Percy is one of the most powerful of the demigods, which makes him a threat to the Olympian gods. Chiron then explains that Sally knew all of this, and the reason she married Ugliano was that his foul armpit stench hid and masked the smell of Percy's blood from anything that the gods could have sent to eliminate him. Percy is quiet and thoughtful as he realizes how much Sally sacrificed for him-- why she tolerated Gabe's treatment of her so gracefully.

Chiron then finally tells Percy about the reference to him as "the lightning thief--" Zeus' lightning bolt is the most powerful weapon ever created. Zeus' belief that Percy stole it centers aorund a very valid worry that it could pose a threat to Zeus' station as ruler of all the gods. Chiron warns Percy in a dire tone, that in ten days, if the bolt is not returned, the resulting war between Zeus and Poseidon would force all of Olympus to choose sides, and Earth would be torn asunder. Chiron plans to bring Percy to Olympus and make an appeal directly to Zeus as to Percy's innocence. As to why they can't go right now-- outside the gates are dangers; the Fury and the Minotaur being only the beginning. First, Percy needs to train so he will be able to handle these dangers.

Grover and Percy are heading to the training field; Percy suited up properly in leather and mail armor and feeling very awkward in it. Chiron orders all the students to fall in and gather around him. He introduces Percy to all the other students and says he will need a team. Stepping forth to volunteer to take him, is Luke (Jake Abel), son of Hermes and camp leader. Luke is a bit cocky and a bit of a jokester but takes to Percy right off. He gives Percy a helmet and welcomes him to his team-- the Blue soldiers. Chiron then orders all the students to prepare for game of Capture the Flag-- Ancient Greek style.

The two armies rush forth on command, swords and shields clashing. Luke tells Percy that he knows where the enemy flag is and to follow him. Ambushed by several Sons of Ares fighting for the red team, Luke and Percy fend them off, Percy amazed at having knocked out two of them. Luke urges Percy to hurry to the red flag while he holds off the rest of the Sons of Ares.

Percy hurries to a stream, where he removes his helmet and kneels to take a drink. But before he sips the water, he looks up and sees the red flag, completely unguarded, just across the stream. Grabbing his sword, he rushes in delight over to the banner.

But one red soldier is there to meet him-- Annabeth. The daughter of Athena quickly deals Percy several slash wounds and knocks him about the stream bank, seemingly toying with him. Chiron, Grover, Luke and a number of soldiers from both teams find their way there. Annabeth slashes Percy again and again, and kicks him down to the ground. The red soldiers cheer and gloat as she walks back to them.

Suddenly Percy hears his father's voice telling him to go to the water, and it will give him power. Slowly, painfully, he crawls to the stream. Everyone turns and looks as he dips his hand into the water. Curiosity turns to surprise and then shock as the water flows up his arm and shoulder, and over his whole body, healing all his wounds. Percy climbs to his feet, surging with new power and strength, and makes a beeline for Annabeth, easily swatting aside all Red soldiers that try to stop him. Quickly the tip of his sword is at her throat, and she looks at him in amazement. Regaining her focus, Annabeth bats Percy's sword aside and they fight once again. But this time Percy matches her, strike for strike, parry for parry. They grapple at close quarters and Percy wrests her sword from her grip, putting its blade to the back of her neck, and the point of his own sword to her throat as Grover and Chiron clap excitedly.

Annabeth surrenders, looking at Percy with a mixture of surprise at her defeat and admiration for the power he wields. He returns her sword and marches to the red flag. Nobody stands in his way as he plants his sword in the stream bank and lifts the red flag up high over his head in victory, the blue soldiers all cheering and applauding.

In the evening at dinner, Percy is approached by several nymphs inviting him to a party at their quarters. As he fills his cup, Annabeth comes up to fills hers, and they talk. Annabeth explains to Percy that her mother and his father have been long time enemies for many centuries. She says she has strong feelings for Percy, but hasn't decided if they're amicable or hostile yet.

The dinner feast is interrupted by the arrival of a massive, terrible winged demon appearing through a bonfire-- Hades. Hades calls Percy out and tells him that Sally is alive and well, but she is his prisoner, and he will release her to Percy only if he brings Hades the lightning bolt.

After Hades vanishes, Percy wants to travel to the underworld to negotiate Sally's release, thinking Hades will have no reason to hold her once Percy explains he didn't steal the ilghtning bolt and doesn't have it. But Chiron warns him that Hades doesn't work that way, and will kill both him and Sally. He insists that Percy stick to the original plan of appealing directly to Zeus first, and then they can formulate plans to rescue Sally.

Later that night, Grover finds Percy preparing to leave camp to set out for the Underworld, determined to rescue his mother. When Grover finds he cannot dissuade Percy, he insists on coming along, this being his job as Percy's protector. Annabeth also wants to come along. She's trained many years at the camp, but that's all she's done-- she's never embarked on an actual quest and hardly gotten to see the outside world. In addition, she's won a great many more battles than Percy, so her experience will come in handy. Percy is reluctant at first but then assents to their going with him.

The first puzzle is reaching the underworld... none of them knows how to get there. But Annabeth believes she knows who would.

The three of them visit Luke at his quarters, finding him playing video games. Luke's quarters are decked out with a lot of amenities from the modern world, including electronics, which he prefers over the "Renaissance Fair" decor of the camp. Annabeth knows that Luke's father, Hermes, as the messenger of the gods, has traveled to the underworld many times, and she asks if he knows anything about how to get there. Luke says he doesn't speak to his father and doesn't at all care for him ('we all have daddy issues,' he explains), but he says he broke into his father's house once and has some things that may help them. One is a pair of flying winged shoes, one of hundreds of pairs Hermes owns and uses to travel. Another is a map that will help locate three of the Pearls of Persephone. Luke explains that Persephone is more a prisoner of Hades than his wife, and she is miserable there. For comfort and companionship, she has many paramours and lovers. She gives them the pearls as a means of leaving the underworld unnoticed by Hades-- one needs only to crush a pearl underfoot and concentrate on where to go.

The map will help them find three of the pearls that are hidden in the United States. It shows one pearl located in a Garden Emporium owned by someone named Auntie Em, and located in Leeds Point, New Jersey. When the pearl is found, the map will show the location of the next one. When all three pearls are collected, the map will show where they can find a secret entrance to the underworld.

As a final gift, Luke asks Percy to take his favorite shield, saying it will be of help to him.

Percy, Grover and Annabeth catch a bus and make their way to Auntie Em's garden Emporium. They find it seemingly unoccupied and nearly delapidated; what appears to be an icebox with free soft drinks only contains a nest of rats. There are a lot of stone statues around. Annabeth notices a stone fountain with a number of Greek gold drachmas, meaning they're on the right track. She gives them to Percy. The three decide to split up and search the whole Emporium, hoping to find the pearl.

Annabeth walks past more statues, eerily carved as if cowering in terror from whatever they are pointed to face. Suddenly a strange, middle-aged woman rushes up out of nowhere, hysterically begging for her help. Barely coherent, she only manages to get out that she and her husband stopped for directions. She grabs Annabeth's forearm, hysterically begging for Annabeth to come and help her.

Grover finds his way to a shed where one of the statues is of a satyr, which strongly resembles his uncle Ferdinand. In fact, it's a near perfect stone replica of him, right down to the mole on his forehead. Grover muses, deciding it can't be his actual uncle, because he was killed by...

Grover freezes in horror. His uncle was killed when he was turned to stone by Medusa. Auntie *EM's* Emporium... M for Medusa. Frantically he rushes to find Annabeth and Percy. Percy hears Grover's frantic yells that they are all in trouble. He grabs his pen and activates it as his sword and rushes to rendezvous with him. Meanwhile, Annabeth is still being pulled by her wrist, by the hysterical woman, who is screaming that they have to leave before "she" finds them... a woman who turned her husband to stone.

The scene switches back and forth a few times between Percy and Grover, running through the Emporium grounds trying to find each other... and find each other they do, literally running smack into each other. Grover tells Percy that they're in Medusa's lair. They still need to find Annabeth.

Annabeth is still being pulled along by the hysterical woman, who realizes she is lost on the Emporium grounds and is terrified they'll never get out alive. Suddenly they stop short, Annabeth saying not to move. Standing right in front of them, a turban-like cloth wrap over her head and dark shades over her eyes, is Medusa (Uma Thurman).

Medusa speaks slowly and seductively, telling how she creates her 'statues' which serve as her only company in such a 'lonely' place. Suddenly she addresses Annabeth as 'daughter of Athena,' showing Medusa recognizes her for who she is. Medusa explains that she once had the same beautiful brown hair as Annabeth. Toying with a few locks of Annabeth's hair, Medusa explains that she was desired and courted by many suitors, which made Athena jealous, and led her to curse Medusa.

Medusa steps back and removes her headpiece, revealing the snakes that serve as her hair, as Annabeth urges the hysterical woman not to look. Both of them snap their eyes shut as Medusa's tone turns stern, saying that eyes are the windows to the soul, and she hopes they find hers attractive. She removes her dark shades, revealing her terrible blue eyes with the power to turn people to stone. Her tone turning seductive again, she gently whispers for them to 'sneak a peek' at her eyes.

The lure proves too much for the hysterical woman, who looks at Medusa's eyes and promptly turns to stone; her now-stone hand still locked around Annabeth's wrist.

Percy and Grover arrive, behind Medusa, and she isn't yet aware of their presence. Percy knows that they can look at her reflection safely, and takes out his iPhone. Grover says he'll get Annabeth away.

Medusa cockily puts her sunglasses on the hysterical woman's left wrist and gets very close to Annabeth, taunting her that she will eventually open her eyes. Medusa gets close enough that her hair-snakes flick through Annabeth's hair and across her cheeks. Annabeth trembles in fear, desperately fighting to keep her eyes tightly shut.

Hearing Medusa speak, Percy calls out, trying to give Annabeth resolve to keep her eyes closed. Medusa hears Percy's voice and whirls around, realizing that the new arrival is another demigod. She heads toward the sound of where Percy's voice came from. Percy runs, leading Medusa away from Annabeth, using the reflection in his iPhone to keep track of Medusa. As Percy pauses behind a statue, Medusa stops, recognizing Percy by the smell of his blood as the son of Poseidon. She remarks that she used to date Poseidon before pushing one statue down, causing it to topple a line of statues like dominoes; the last one landing on Percy.

Annabeth struggles futilely to free her wrist from the now-stone woman's grasp, still not daring to open her eyes. Grover comes up and uses a crutch to smash the woman's arm off, freeing Annabeth. The two rush to rendezvous with Percy.

Trying to crawl out from under the statue, Percy reaches for his sword, but Medusa kicks it away and lifts Percy by the scruff of his neck. Percy jams his eyes shut as Medusa holds him close to her face and tells him that she hears he has the stolen lightning bolt. She leans her head in close and tells Percy that her 'hungry babies' can open Percy's eyes for him if he doesn't do it himself. She sweetly says that he can stay with her always; all he has to do is look.

Medusa's soft and seductive whisper almost has Percy about to open his eyes when Grover and Annabeth arrive on the scene, driving the pickup truck owned by the hysterical woman and her husband (they don't need it anymore). They smash through several statues, knocking Medusa down.

Medusa hisses angrily, looking about for Percy. She finds his iPhone and peers curiously at it. Distracted, she doesn't hear Percy coming up behind her. She spots his reflection in the iPhone too late-- Percy beheads her with a swift stroke of his sword.

Grover and Annabeth exit the truck, tapping fists in celebration of vanquishing Medusa. Though Grover is repulsed at the idea, Annabeth says they need to take Medusa's severed head with them. If they open her eyes, their power to turn living beings to stone still works. Percy asks Grover for his jacket so they can wrap up the head. Grover gives Percy his hoodie instead.

After giving the head to Grover, Percy happens to look again at Medusa's headless body and realizes that she is wearing a bracelet with the pearl set into it. He pries it free and the three of them drive off in the pickup truck.

As they head down the road, Annabeth wonders why Luke didn't warn them about Medusa (why indeed....) Grover asks Percy to open up the map so it will show them where the next pearl is. The map reveals the location as a replica of the Greek Parthenon... in Nashville, Tennessee (much to Grover's disgust; he hates country music).

It is late at night and they are still on the road. Percy and Annabeth are fast asleep, and Grover starts to nod off at the wheel. The blare of an eighteen-wheeler's horn jolts them all awake and Grover barely swerves away. The three of them, shaken, decide to stop for the night. They make their way to a roadside motor inn and get a room.

Just before sunrise, Percy is in the swimming pool, sitting on the pool floor as he loves to do. An image of his mother, and Hades holding her prisoner, flashes through his mind. He looks up and notices Annabeth standing at the poolside, watching him. He surfaces and she sits down, her feet in the water. Percy notices the bruises on Annabeth's wrist from the woman who was turned to stone by Medusa. Gently taking her arm, he heals the bruises for her through his connection to the water. He climbs up and sits beside her at the poolside and asks why Poseidon and Athena are enemies. She explains it started when they vied for patronage of Athens and the people of the city chose Athena. Percy asks what Athena is like, but Annabeth doesn't know-- like Percy and Luke, she's never met her divine parent. Percy is surprised, wondering if any demigod has ever met their divine parent. Annabeth explains that this is forbidden by Zeus himself... he decreed that all gods were prohibited from having any physical contact with their half-mortal children. Both agree that the law is ridiculous, though Annabeth tells Percy that she believes she hears her mother speaking to her in her mind in times of trouble, giving her advice. Percy realizes that's the same as the voice he hears in his head, and Annabeth says that's Poseidon talking to him.

An urgent shout from Grover recalls them to their room. A news article on TV has listed Percy as a missing person... and a suspect in the disappearance of Sally. To Percy's revulsion, Gabe Ugliano is interviewed in the news segment, spouting lies about Percy having been on drugs and alcohol; and five nights ago, Percy tried to kill him and threw Sally on the ground, before Percy's 'cripple friend' attacked Gabe from behind (Grover gapes in astonishment at the preposterous story), and Percy kidnapped Sally and took her away. Percy shuts off the TV in disgust, figuring he is now a fugitive.

Grover goes to the bathroom to pee and groans as he sees that Percy placed Medusa's head there. He holds it up and admonishes Percy for putting it there. A maid working at the motor inn passes by the window and sees, and screams as she rushes away. Grover curses himself for having left the curtains open. Annabeth realizes they have to leave right away.

They arrive in Nashville at daytime. making their way to Centennial Park where the replica of the Parthenon is located. Inside, they stand before a huge statue of a Greek warrior woman. Percy is able to read the Ancient Greek on the nameplate and sees it is a statue of Annabeth's mother, Athena. Annabeth gazes up at the statue, wondering if her mother really looks the way she is depicted, and she smiles when Percy assures her that they'll find out. Grover looks up at a golden headdress set on the statue's head and notes that the pearl is set into the centerpiece of it.

This presents a problem-- how to get up 30 feet in the air, especially while the place is filled with tourists. Percy has an idea to the solution. The three of them hide in bathroom stalls, standing on them so their legs and feet aren't seen, and wait for the place to close for the night. An hour after the park closes they come out, with the plan being for Percy to use the flying shoes to get up to the head of the statue. But although the park is closed, the Parthenon isn't quite empty... night custodians are there, cleaning the place. Annabeth loads a hand crossbow and darts between pillars, stealthily and quickly taking the custodians out with drugged darts. Grover drags the sleeping custodians to one side of the Parthenon as Annabeth sets up her wireless laptop and makes a conference call to Luke, to get instructions on activating the flying shoes. Luke quickly explains that Percy needs to get a running start and build up speed, and that it will take some practice. But Percy proves more adept than this, and although he nearly loses his grip on the statue, he is able to climb back up the pry the pearl out from the headdress. Guided by the shoes to an easy landing on the ground, they all tap fists and Annabeth hugs Percy, telling everyone to gather up their things.

But they're not out of the woods yet... the custodians have recovered and form a line in front of the exit. Grover tries to bluff them by acting like he's a Park Recreational Services manager. But it quickly becomes apparent that these custodians are not ordinary people. They address Percy by name and demand the return of the lightning bolt. Percy sighs in exasperation, but his protest that he doesn't have it falls on deaf ears. One custodian coughs a puff of fire, and then all five of them merge into a giant monster... the five-headed hydra. Percy, Annabeth and Grover rush behind pillars as the middle head spews a cone of roaring flames. Percy's jacket is ignited, and when he shakes his arm to quell the flames, he loses his grip on the pearl, which flies across the Parthenon, resting on top of a flood drain grille. Activating his sword and shield, Percy takes to the air, and despite Annabeth's urgent warnings, he begins slicing off the heads of the hydra.

The hydra collapses as the last head is severed, and Percy and Grover start to high-five. But Annabeth admonishes them that Percy only made the problem worse. She's the only one of the three that remembers that when one head of the hydra is cut off, two more grow back in its place.

A terrible roar and the ground shaking prove the point of Annabeth's admonishment as the hydra rises again... now with ten heads; two of which spout flame. Percy tells Annabeth to distract it while he retrieves the pearl. Annabeth draws her bow, loosing several arrows to harass the hydra. But although one head is hit squarely in the eye, the hydra still turns as Percy dashes for the pearl, and the two central heads spew gouts of fire. Percy dives away, using his shield to protect himself, but the shield is thrown from his grasp several yards away. As the hydra closes in, Percy notices emergency fire hoses. Reaching out and concetrating, Percy summons the water from its holding tanks to form a wall between himself and the hydra. The wall of water also acts as a shield against the hydra's flaming breath, and allows Percy to retrieve the pearl. He dashes for the door, Grover and Annabeth right behind him... but they realize the hydra will reach them before they can get the door open. Grover gets an idea and rushes back toward the hydra, grabbing Percy's backpack. He grabs the head of Medusa, and snapping his eyes shut, points the face at the hydra and removes the shades from Medusa's eyes. Quickly the eyes begin to flash and the snake heads begin to thrash about. The flames stop short of the head and the hydra turns to stone.

The three adventurers make their way to an all night diner to eat. During the meal, they see a special news bulletin on the TV where scientsts are at a loss to understand a single storm cloud that has grown so massive as to spread over much of Europe and Asia. The cloud is expanding westward toward the United States, and much of the world's coastlines are experiencing gale-force winds and massive surf waves. Annabeth realizes the gods are angry, and they need to get the last pearl quickly. They examine the map and find that it is in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Lotus Hotel and Casino.

As they approach the casino, they need to fight to remind themselves that they're only there for the pearl, not for any form of entertainment. Right away a casino employee tries to make them accept a casino fun book, and they have to assert themselves that they aren't checking in. Grover figures that since the cocktail waitresses are all wearing green dresses, perhaps one of them has the pearl.

Several waitresses quickly surround them, holding trays filled with cookies that they call Lotus Flowers-- the casino's signature dish. Tentatively, the three of them each try a sample. They find the cookies exquisitely delicious... not even noticing the psychedelic effect the 'lotus flowers' have on them. They start to laugh and giggle in growing excitement as they continue to look around them. In half a minute they've forgotten what they're there for, except to have fun and enjoy themselves. The decision to stay-- perhaps as permanent fixtures of the casino-- is a no-brainer.

Percy, Annabeth and Grover all start to partake in the casino's festivities-- gambling, dancing, partying... and of course more of the delicious lotus flowers. But finally, just as Percy is about to eat one, he hears his father's voice admonishing him not to. The flowers dull their senses and keep them prisoner in the casino. Crinkling his brow, he excuses himself from Annabeth to walk around, and leaves the lotus flower uneaten on the bar. He begins to walk through a video arcade, declining all the waitresses who swarm around with their flower trays. Poseidon's voice guides him, telling him to focus. He passes a young man playing a pinball machine themed after the movie, The French Connection. The young man asks if Percy's seen it, and Percy is stunned when the young man doesn't understand him when he says he's seen it on DVD. Quickly he realizes that the young man thinks that the year is still 1971; the year the movie was first released. Percy starts to snap out of it, guided by Poseidon's voice. He realizes the cocktail waitresses are redoubling their efforts to serve him more lotus flowers and starts to understand the entrapment effect of them. Then he walks past a roulette table and sees that the roulette ball is the pearl he came for. This jolts him completely back to his senses. As he walks away from another waitress trying to make him have another lotus flower, a bellhop turns and speaks into a headphone: 'Percy Jackson's awake.'

Percy hurries back to Annabeth, finding her dancing with several young women. He grabs her and herds her to where Grover is being tended to by a group of gorgeous young women. Pulling a satyr away from beautiful women is hard enough when Grover is sober, but Percy manages to do it. Raising his voice to an urgent pitch, he finally gets through to them that the lotus flowers are putting them in a trance and making them want to stay and party. The sight of security guards converging on them helps break the trance on Annabeth and Grover. Together with Percy they must now fight their way through the guards back to the roulette table where Percy grabs the pearl. Rushing to a car on display as a prize that can be won, they use it to escape from the casino.

Racing down the street until they feel a safe distance away, they recollect their thoughts. Annabeth realizes the casino is the lair of the Lotus Eaters-- and the 'casino' is where they have trapped people since ancient times. Even more dire is Grover passing a large display LCD calendar sign... the date is no longer June 15th, but June 20th... they'd spent five days and nights in the Lotus Casino's trap. The deadline being only a day away, they consult the map, finding the entrance to Hades is in Hollywood. Grover nods grimly, saying he can get them there in four hours.

As they pull up before the famous Hollywood hillside sign, the radio gives a news report that the storm clouds have covered most of North America. Several states are ordering evacuations as the weather grows more severe. They run along the sign's letters, pausing as Percy notes that some of the graffiti appears to be written in Ancient Greek. Quickly he reads it: 'Woe to all depraved souls.'Quickly a patch of ground beside the letter opens up, revealing an entryway deep underground... which closes up behind them as they walk in.

They make their way down a subterranean tunnel with torches and lots of skulls in the earthen walls. Presently they come to a mysterious man in a long hooded robe, standing in a canoe float in a dark river beside the platform. Approaching him, they see he is the ferryman who brings souls to Hades' kingdom. The ferryman refuses to bring them to Hades because they are still living. He tells them to come back when they are properly dead. Grover tries to bribe the ferryman with several bills of American currency. But, looking at them curiously, the ferryman burns them to ash in his hand, letting the ashes fall through his fingers.

Percy realizes Grover was on the right track but used the wrong kind of currency. He gives the ferryman the gold drachmas taken from the fountain in Medusa's lair. This, the ferryman accepts, and takes them across the legendary River Styx, which is filled with centuries of broken human dreams and sorrows; wishes and hopes that never came true.

Percy, Grover and Annabeth walk into the entrance to Hades' palace. They are promptly greeted by three hellhounds that guard their master's domain. THe hounds are called off by Persephone (Rosario Dawson) who brings them to Hades. The three adventurers are surprised to see that Hades has taken on human form as well (played by Steve Coogan). Hades reveals he is seeking Zeus' lightning bolt because it would allow him to overthrow his brothers and escape from the underworld, where he was exiled by Zeus. If Zeus and Poseidon destroyed each other in a war, he would be able to take over Olympus.

Percy tries to explain that he doesn't have the lightning bolt, but Hades doesn't believe him. He picks up an orb and shatters it on the ground, revealing that this was where he had been keeping Sally imprisoned. Percy rushes forth to hug Sally, grateful that she is alive and well.

But slowly everyone starts to become aware of Hades staring intently at Luke's shield, which Percy had dropped to the ground in order to hug his mother. The handgrip of the shield has opened up after being dropped, to reveal a secret compartment inside it. Inside this compartment is the missing lightning bolt.

Percy, Grover and Annabeth realize that Luke was behind the theft of the lightning bolt all along, but none of that matters to Hades. He only cares that he has what he wanted. Picking up the bolt, he breaks his word to Percy and orders Persephone to feed Percy, Grover, Annabeth and Sally to 'the souls.'

Persephone gestures and a grille over what looks like a fireplace, opens up... but behind this grille is no mere fireplace, but a furnace of damned, burning souls that start to writhe outward, smelling the living souls they are about to receive. Persephone then calls the hellhounds to herd the three adventurers toward the flames. Hades gloats with wicked glee at how he will rule the gods. Persephone grins wickedly and grabs her husband for an amorous smooch.

Or not so amorous, as while Hades is distracted, Persephone snatches the lightning bolt out of his hands and zaps him with it, knocking him unconscious. Quickly she calls off the hellhounds and closes the furnace gate. Kneeling over Hades, Persephone gloats at how he will remember nothing of all these recent events when he wakes up. Although grateful, Percy is curious as to why Persephone is helping them. She explains that Hades treats her like dirt, and all she has to look forward to while in his domain, is her alotted time back on Olympus. A war of the gods would destroy all that, and leave her alone with only Hades for company-- the worst kind of company she could dread havinag to keep. She gives Percy the lightning bolt and tells him to take it, and Sally, away.

But as Percy takes out the pearls, it quickly becomes evident that there is a problem. There are three pearls, and three members of Percy's party (himself, Grover and Annabeth)... but Sally makes a fourth person, and each pearl only grants egress to one. This means one of them has to stay behind in the underworld. There is a brief argument between Percy and Annabeth, both of whom feel they should be the one to stay... until Grover says that as Percy's protector, it's his duty and job to take on the burden. Persephone is delighted at this and promises to "take very good care" of Grover.

Percy, Annabeth and Sally use the pearls to take them to Olympus, but Percy is confused when they arrive at the observation deck of the Empire State Building. Annabeth points out the terrible storm clouds above-- Zeus and Poseidon preparing for battle. Sally assures Percy that they are in the right place and shows him an entrance to a service closet that contains the secret entrance to Olympus.

But Percy is not quite home free yet. There's ten more minutes until the midnight deadline, and Luke has arrived, wearing another pair of his father's flying shoes, to make sure Percy misses that deadline. Questioned by Percy, Luke reveals that when Percy, Grover and Annabeth came to see him about traveling to the underworld, he saw it as the perfect opportunity to dupe Percy into the very role Hermes normally performs... messenger of the gods. Luke hid the lightning bolt in the shield and gave the shield to Percy, so that Percy could unwittingly deliver the bolt to Hades. Reminding Percy that he bears as much animosity toward his divine parent as nearly all the demigods have for theirs, Luke wants to see them go to war and destroy themselves, believing that the demigods could then take over and rule the world as they see fit.

Swooping at Percy, Luke knocks him to the ground and seizes the lightning bolt. Drawing a dagger, Annabeth engages him and fends him off, although she cannot defeat Luke while he has the lightning bolt and the flying shoes. Luke takes off into the skies. Percy reaches into his backpack and takes out the flying shoes Luke had given him, and takes off in pursuit.

Luke is about to cast lightning at a passing helicopter when Percy dives at him. They wrestle in mid-air until Luke breaks free and tries to blast Percy with lightning. There is a brief cat-and-mouse game through a skyscraper's interior until Percy catches Luke by surprise and wrests the lightning bolt from him. Now it is Luke pursuing Percy, trying to recover it.

Percy is almost back at the Empire State Building when Luke hurls a knife that slices the wings off of Percy's flying shoes. No longer able to control his flight, Percy tumbles to a hard landing on a rooftop. Luke picks up the lightning bolt, and questions Percy's heritage as son of Poseidon. Percy sees several water towers atop nearby buildings and concentrates, breaking the tanks open and gathering the water to deluge Luke. Gathering some of the remaining water and shaping it into a trident, Percy says that he must be the son of Poseidon after all. Hurling the trident, he catches Luke across the throat between two of the prongs, taking Luke clear out of his flying shoes and casting him into the river.

Donning Luke's shoes, Percy arrives back at the Empire State building with the lightning bolt. Sally and Annabeth flip several switches in a control box in the service closet, which acrivates the hidden secret elevator that takes them all up, far past the roof of the building, into the heavens before the gates of Olympus. Sally, as a mortal, is unable to venture forth onto the divine ground. Annabeth and Percy rush to the hall of the gods.

Inside the hall, the deities of the Greek Pantheon are engaged in heated argument until Zeus demands silence and crosses to a time-dial in the center of the great hall. Poseidon and Athena, despite their enmity, both make a final appeal to Zeus to avoid war. But as the time-dial signals the arrival of midnight and the passing of the deadline, Zeus is about to pronounce judgement of war. Just then, Percy and Annabeth rush into the hall bearing the lightning bolt. Zeus demands its return, and Percy does so. The bolt grows to its true size in Zeus' grasp. He says that Percy is wise to betray his father. Percy retorts that he was never working with or for Poseidon's benefit, and he reveals Luke as the true lightning thief (to the great surprise of Hermes (Dylan Neal)), explaining that Luke resented all the gods for not caring about their children, and he wanted them to destroy each other so the demigods could rule Olympus. The gods all look around at each other, seeing how they had been played and pitted against one another. Zeus accepts Percy's explanation and declares peace. Athena (Melina Kanakaredes) smiles at Annabeth and tells her she's very proud of her.

Percy mentions that he and Annabeth escaped the Underworld only because Grover stayed behind. Zeus smiles cynically as he realizes that Percy wants him to return Grover to the world of the living. However, he agrees to the request. Zeus declares the convening of the gods to be adjourned. Poseidon makes a plea to his brother that he be allowed to speak to Percy, and Zeus consents-- but just this once.

Percy is naturally resentful that Poseidon was never around, and that he never got to even meet him. Poseidon acknowledges that Percy was only seven months when he left him and Sally. He says that being with him and his mother, Sally, made Poseidon start to forget his duties and become more human, which Zeus didn't approve of. Percy is surprised on hearing that Poseidon's siring him was what led Zeus to pass the divine rule prohibiting the gods from having any contact with their children. Poseidon manages to come to terms with Percy, saying he never wanted to leave him or Sally, and was in fact always with him in heart and spirit; Percy acknowledging he heard Poseidon's voice when he spoke to Percy. Poseidon promises that while he might not get to see Percy again, he will always be there with and for him-- in his heart, in his thoughts, and in his dreams. Percy forgives his father and shakes hands with him.

Sally brings Percy back to Camp Half Blood, where he can fulfill his destiny as a demigod. Although she will miss him, she says it's where he belongs. She also says, to Percy's great relief, that she is finally kicking Ugliano out of the house, now that he has served his purpose and she doesn't need him anymore.

Percy is welcomed by everyone back at the camp, and Grover shows him that he's been promoted to senior protector, and has finally gotten his Satyr horns. Chiron starts to admonish Percy for disobeying his orders and leaving camp without permission, but then says that this is why Percy is now his favorite student-- many times he simply has to follow his own instincts. But hero or not, Percy is, to Chiron, still one of his students, and He sends Percy to suit up for more training.

As Grover and Percy walk through the training area, Grover amuses Percy with stories of Grover's time in the underworld as Persephone's paramour. They find Annabeth in the same manner in which Percy first set eyes on her-- she is taking on several other students in swordplay at the same time, holding her own and more. Grover pats Percy's shoulder and tells him that he can handle this on his own now. After defeating the last of her opponents, Annabeth calls for the next one, and Percy steps up to volunteer. Annabeth puts a hand on his neck, welcoming him home and leaning in as if to kiss him. Suddenly with a mischevious look, she surprises Percy by swiping his sword out of its scabbard and pointing her own at him, telling him that he must never be distracted by an opponent. Percy grins and motions for his sword back. She returns it and they square off. The camera slowly pans back as Percy and Annabeth begin their battle, and the credits start to roll.

Midway through the credits is an extra scene showing Sally telling Gabe to take all his things with him. He goes to the kitchen in disgust for a beer and finds the refrigerator locked, with a note from Percy on the door, warning that the refrigerator door must never be opened again. Annoyed, Gabe smashes the lock off and opens the door... and finds the severed head of Medusa inside. Fade to black as the snake heads lunge out, and the credits resume.

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buckeysooz from United States
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When this movie first arrived in trailers, I like so many adults, who have become fans through our children was excited. We could overlook Pierce Brosnan playing Chiron which gets both the age and nature of the character wrong. We could overlook the character of Percy obviously being older than the books stated age of twelve, however almost everything else was so far removed from the books that have become so popular including storyline, that this movie should not even be allowed to carry the "based on the books" tag. The characters were completely miscast, the storyline was a weak abominational blend of books one and two..... kind of..!

He (Chris Columbus) invented places for the movie to go that have nothing to do with the story in its origination, he omitted too many details that are so pertinent to the actual storyline that it may be impossible for any new director (and I believe if future films are to take place a new Director IS NECESSARY) to repair the damage that has been done.

For a story that has millions of fans who will be buying tickets to movies for a very long time, this does heavy damage to Chris Columbus's reputation as evidenced by post movie chatter in which most if not all was incredibly negative. Negative both to the movie as a whole and to Chris Columbus personally. Many there seem to believe he did the same to the Potter movies he has been involved with and feel at this point anyway that they will think twice before seeing another movie with his name attached to it. Lets' face it, as one young fan said, "not sticking completely to a Potter book...understandable, they are 1,000 pages each...Not coming close on a book 350 pages long...not forgivable."

So, if you are going to see this movie because of the wonderful scenes in St. Louis, Denver, The Santa Monica pier, or to see his step father get his, etc etc etc etc save your money, they are not in there. Neither is Clarissa, Lukes scar, Mr. D, Aries, Kronos, and so on. If you would like to see a movie that completely rewrites the creation of Rick Riordan, then by all means, spend your money on a mildly entertaining theft of a wonderful idea.

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emiele4 from United States
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The first question I must ask myself is if Chris Columbus can even read... Because obviously he never read the books. Well maybe he read the back cover summary, its the only reference to the book in the movie.

As for the book, Rick Riordan should be ashamed for letting anyone slaughter, I take that back, Massacre, his artwork in such a way. Not only were critical details left out of this story but the entire story was altered in such a way that a remake and an refund should be in place for all readers.

The story line itself may have needed a little touching up for the big- screen but leaving out Kronos, Mr. D, Clarisse, The Oracle, blaming Hades, and everything else (I can go on for 375 pages) is unforgivable. If the plan was to make one lone movie and never touch Percy Jackson again, they were successful. I will never again be able to attend a Chris Columbus movie. Not even a free one.

In their defense, if you had never read the books the cast did a good job on a kids movie. The amount of money spent to screw up a story this awesome is mind boggling. Please do not support the future career of the screen writer and director by spending your money. They should both be banished to Tartarus for such a crime!

Long story short It is difficult to even write a review as it makes my blood pressure skyrocket to unhealthy levels.

Signed,

Devoted, Story loving readers of Rick Riordan

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laurieclooney from United States
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Last night I took my 2 daughters and a friends to see the movie. All of the girls had read all the books in the series (including me) and had been anticipating the release of the movie for over a year. The book is fabulous!! I taught 4th grade for 4 years and read it to all my Language Arts classes every year. I never had a student not like the book. It contains humor, action, friendship themes, and characters that contain quite a bit of depth and growth throughout the 5 books in the series.

The movie was nothing like the book. The characters in the book are 12 years old. How are the next books to be made into movies if the culminating event of the series happens when Percy turns 16? The plot was totally changed. In the book the quest that Percy, Annabeth, and Grover embark on IS NOT to find 3 pearls so they can escape from the underworld after rescuing Percy's mom. In the book, he doesn't even know that she is alive. It is understandable that not all the adventures on the way to the underworld could be put in a 2 or even 3 hour movie, but don't make up new adventures that aren't even in the book.

The true villain in the book is not even mentioned in the movie and several main characters vital to the plot and character development of Percy and Annabeth are missing. My 13 year old daughter-who waited in line for hours to get Rick Riordan to sign her book- wanted to leave in the middle of the movie because she though it was the worst movie she had ever seen. If the director had stuck to the book, it could have been an amazing movie and people would not be comparing it to Harry Potter want-to-be.

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Angelafterglow from Colombia
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OK, so where to start? I had like the biggest expectations for Percy Jackson's first movie,I for one loved the book, and thought that it would be a great movie based on the trailers but WOW was I gonna get a surprise.

First of all let me all say to you guys who have read the books that I actually didn't mind the fact that the actors were way older than the characters in the book, because I think this way it was a little bit more real due to the journey they had to go in their cross country trip from NY to LA, but here are my biggest disappointments in the movie:

1.- Who the hell decided to take Ares & Kronos Out Of The Movie!!!!!!!!!! They should get fired, not to mention getting Annabeth in The role of Clarisse when introducing here in the movie.

2.- A quest for the pearls wasn't such a bad idea in order to justify their cross country trip but, changing events and avoiding facts like the bus explosion and the attack of the Furys, and changing stuff like the arch of Sant Louis for the Parthenon in Nashville... for real??? Nashville???? And The Chihuahua Turned Chimera changed for the Hydra (In Book 2)??????

3.- Hades dressed like Ares was supposed to, and becoming a bad guy when he actually wasn't bad at all????

4.- Dropping The storyline of Hades invisibility Helmet and just making him want the lighting bolt???

5.- OK And lets just make Luke an almighty bad guy who can fool the gods all by himself.

6.- Not To mention that Grover is now a senior keeper he is not a searcher so he ain't supposed to be anywhere else but in half blood camp in the second movie (which I doubt will get made)

7.- Really his mom just kicked her husband out??? what about Medusa's head????

I've had no problems in the past in movies like harry potter where they keep the main storyline and drop some other less important story lines but changing the hall background of the movie and the depth of their problems in general I think It's I huge mistake.

If you have not read any books, U'll probably like it, but otherwise... AVOID THE MOVIE.

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davesam1312-1 from United States
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I have read the book "Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief" and it is one of my favorite books. The movie just plain sucked. For one, it didn't follow the book and two, the acting was terrible. Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, and Logan Lerman all did terrible jobs. Grover and Annabeth were both badly cast and the whole altering of the plot from the book was a terrible decision. Annabeth looked like she was twenty years old and Grover was like Fresh Prince of Bel Air Part Two. If I hadnt been with friends, I wouldve asked for my money back. We were all making fun of it the entire time.

If you've read this book, or if you haven't, don't see this movie! Absolutely awful!

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ssallazzar from Romania
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It rarely happens that i go at the cinema and see a movie that i hoped to be good and entertaining and leave not only with disappointment but actually furious that i was tricked by this movie's trailer to waste my money on the ticket and 2 hours of my time.

Its full of clich� , predictable , boring and dumbing , after 30 min in the film the kid finds out why his mother had to put with his step-father " The only thing that kept the wrath of the gods from finding you was his great stench that kept you hidden " , this is the moment i should have walked out of the theater , i was foolish and stayed until the end, and i am writing this review now in the hopes that people don't go and waste they're time on this movie the way i did . Pierce Brosnan expression when he has to tell his ridiculous lines is evidence enough how completely stupid this movie is .

The actors are not bad , the action scenes are OK made and the special effects are nicely done , but i would like to present the script writers of this movie with a new edition of the Spanish Inquisition for what they've done here. Tell your children to read the book , this movie is insulting to human intelligence the way it was written.

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griffolyon12 from United States
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I've never been a big fan of Greek mythology, so based upon that criteria I've never been a big fan of movies about the subject. Though I have grown to be pretty fond of the book series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I was astounded at how well Greek mythology was interwoven into the modern day culture as author Rick Riordan told a rip-roaring adventure tale, filled with humor, mystery, and tons of action. Like all things successful, Hollywood likes to get in the game, so it's no surprise that a film has been made of the first of the Percy Jackson books, The Lightning Thief. The film, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - The Lightning Thief, seems to have lost something in the translation, winding up as a film that really only shares the name of the book and nothing else.

The story of the film follows teen Percy Jackson, who has absent father syndrome. He has never known his biological father and harnesses deep bitterness toward the man who forced him and his mom to live with his demeaning stepfather, Gabe. Then, one day Percy's substitute teacher, Ms. Dodds, transforms into a gigantic winged beast and attacks him whilst on a field trip, to be saved by his best friend and silent guardian, Grover (who turns out to be half human-half goat), and his teacher, Mr. Brunner (who is really hero trainer and centaur, Chiron from Greek mythology). Percy learns that he is a demigod (half human-half God), and that his father is Poseidon, God of the Sea. But trouble is afoot for Percy, because Zeus's lightning bolt has been stolen and Percy is the prime suspect in the midst of a feud between brothers existing long before he was born. Now Percy must prove his innocence if he wishes to keep the world from being engulfed in an all out war between the Gods.

This film just seemed to lack any of the charm that can be found within the book. Screenwriter Craig Titley, did not have a very good handle on these characters. Percy was the smartest of his ring of friends, and not his super smart friend, Annabeth (who happens to be daughter of Athena, God of Wisdom, is there anything wrong with her being portrayed as witless and stupid?). Now, I never consider myself a book purist, I understand things must be amended in order for the book to work as a film, but this adaptation was just all over the place. They changed and cut things that should have been left in, I mean, they cut out the main villain of the entire series in this film, Kronos. Without Kronos in this first film, how can they possibly hope to make any sequels and have them make even a lick of sense?

Director Chris Columbus was the man who brought the first two Harry Potter films to the screen, he knows how to create pure movie magic, but something just wasn't clicking with this film. The film flew at a breakneck pace, never taking any time to breath and let you drink in this fantastic world. Like when Percy believes that his mother has died, he's told his mother's dead, then two seconds later he's up on his feet with a smile on his face. Not to mention, the film dispersed major plot points as if they were just reading statistics off of a teleprompter, making me wonder if someone who hasn't read the book will even be able to follow this movie, or if they will even care when it's all said and done.

As it is, I will not lie and say I didn't enjoy it when Percy and his friends battled the Hydra, or when they got trapped in this hotel & casino in Las Vegas that drugs you with sweet Lotus flowers to where you never want to leave, but these few moments were not enough to redeem this film. Percy Jackson and the Olympians - The Lightning Thief, is a mind-numbingly raw experience from start to finish.

I give Percy Jackson and the Olympians - The Lightning Thief a 4 out of 10!

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ProScrybed from United Kingdom
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The premise of this movie - that Greek gods were real and have offspring in the modern world - is interesting. But the execution of this idea felt very rushed in this movie. I haven't read the book, so can't judge where the blame lies for this.

The movie is an enjoyable way to kill a couple of hours, but isn't as engrossing as other movies of this genre.

Several big stars feature in cameo roles and for anyone who knows a fair bit about who celebrities are, this tends to distract from the movie. Uma Thurman, Brosnan, etc., aren't really given the screen time to build a strong character for themselves. Perhaps the best of these is Steve Coogan playing Hades, but even here you send most of his screen time thinking "oh look, it's Steve Coogan" rather than being drawn into the movie. It could have benefited from having the minor roles played by less known actors - as it is, their appearances tend to detract from the main characters who actually do a good job with the material they have been given.

But these are minor concerns - the biggest problem with this movie is that Percy finds out he's a demigod and suddenly seems to develop gifts with no effort or training, just by virtue of knowing his past. At the start of the movie, he already demonstrated an exceptional ability to remain underwater for long periods of time. But after finding out he's a demigod, he develops strong sword fighting skills with no training or effort (the start of the fight between the red helmets and the blue helmets, before the water "thing"), and later is capable of manipulating water in a couple of scenes without being taught this skill or having any difficulty or doubts about his ability to do it. This is just preposterous. The mythical/other worldly framework is generally used to provide a context to display human failings, struggles, and virtues. Instead, in Percy Jackson, this framework is used to simply give the lead character a loose justification for overcoming other mythical creatures. He doesn't have to question how to use his powers, nor does he have to put any effort into developing these powers.

Like I say, the movie isn't so bad as to make it unwatchable, but they really missed a chance to make this movie have a strong impact by failing to give it any depth. It is all just the bells and whistles of CGI and having mythological creatures just to have some interesting looking battles and a trip to the underworld. It could have been so much more. Whether this is a failing of the movie, the books, or both, is up to those who have read the books to decide. But the movie reeks of jumping on the Harry Potter bandwagon in an attempt to get box- office success, while ignoring the fact that those movies were built on books that had some depth to them. That is what gave them their cultural poignancy. This movie lacks it completely.

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orankimanki from Finland
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I'm speechless. Truly speechless. If there is a bottom in modern day movies, it lies within the abominable pile of feces that is Percy Jackson the lightning thief. Enter America through the coughed up hair ball that is Percy Jackson (aka. Zac Efron #2), as his immoral adventures lead us through every known America-promoting scene, clich� and famous American destination (need I remind that we are dealing with Greek mythology). I didn't know Olympus resided on the top of the empire state building, or that the underworld was accessible through under the widely known landmark that is the Hollywood sign... This movie has as many flaws as acting careers it will namely destroy. This is what happens when you throw too much money at a dog with rabies and expect it to direct a movie. The leftover money that was thrown at this movie could surely feed the entire world for a century. I'm not sure if I should blame the book, or the movie, for it's inconsistent and illogical storyline. The acting is bad. The characters are shallow and predictable. The editing is horrible, just an example of a scene where Percy's mother is about to tell the truth to Percy about his father, outside being dusk, and then the scene cutting to night time, where she begins the actual explaining. The editors have clearly not watched the movie a second time to bother with flaws, who can blame them, I wouldn't. If you want to have a good laugh with your friends about the movies anus of a presentation, I recommend it. If you want to watch an interesting fantasy adventure about Greek mythology combined with present day, go read a history book and make movie about it with your cellphone cam and toilet paper as a script, and I guarantee you will gain more satisfaction than you would receive from this diarrhea of a movie.

Yours sincerely, Orankimanki.

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Tk Mcghee from United States
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OK when I went to see this movie I knew it wouldn't be exactly like the books... However, what I saw was horrendous. This movie was so awful and it's worse because they deliberately just changed all things that would make this movie at least similar to the book. First... I do not agree with ANY of the casting. Did anyone else notice they left out Ares and Clarrise out? So how are they going to explain her mission if they get so far as that movie? They also left out Dionysus... Why? They left out Thalia's tree.. So in the next movie when Grover leaves and her tree is poisoned how will it be explained? This is the problem that Harry Potter has... Leaving out important things to add fluff and special effects let's face it the last HP movie sucked. They also changed unnecessary things. Like Chiron being a white centaur. Or Mrs. Dodds being a MATH teacher. Changing the layout of the camp. Even changing the story of how Luke got the shoes. Fail as a movie. Last I have more to complain about bit why cut out Kronos since it all ends with him? Idk this just sucked! Horribly!

When Chiron is calling for the campers to gather around to go over the rules for Capture the Flag, he yells for Dylan and Paris to stop "lollygagging". Chiron is played by Pierce Brosnan, whose two younger sons are named Dylan and Paris.
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In the original book, Percy Jackson is 12 years old. He is 17 in the film.
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When they drive off from the Casino, they are in a Maserati, which happens to have the trident as emblem.
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When in the Parthenon Museum, Annabeth begins telling Percy a story about her mother, Athena. The story she tells is the Greek myth about how the capital city Athens got its name. The citizens of the city were arguing over which god to name the city after. The two choices were Athena and Poseidon, Percy's father. Both agreed that they would bestow a gift onto the town, and whichever gift was deemed more useful, that giver would have the town named after them. Poseidon stuck his trident into the ground, and created a spring, which the townspeople could use the water from. Unfortunately, the water turned out to be too salty and therefore useless. Athena presented a single olive tree. The people realized the tree had many uses: Its fruit for eating, its wood for building and burning, the oil from its fruit for cooking and for bathing, and the pits of the olives could be planted, therefore bringing up more olive trees. The people agreed the olive tree was more useful, and therefore named the city "Athens", in honor of Athena.
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In Greek Mythology Medusa was turned into a Gorgon because her great beauty lead to her being raped by Poseidon, Percy's father, in the temple of Athena, Annabeth's mother, who took offense and cursed her. Hence Medusa's hatred for them, and her reference to unfinished business.
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In Greek mythology (at least in the classical version), Athena is a daughter of Zeus, which makes Annabeth Percy's first cousins once removed.
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The substitute teacher, Mrs. Dodds, writes, "I understand a fury in your words But not your words" from Othello 4.2 on the blackboard. Shortly thereafter, she turns into a Fury.
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Percy was named, by his mother, after Perseus, Zeus' demigod son, and therefore Percy's cousin, who battled against Medusa, cutting off and collecting her head, which Percy also does. Perseus then gives the head to Athena, Annabeth's mother, who places it on her shield, the Aegis.
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In Greek mythology, the goddess Athena is a symbol of virginity. She never had any children. But in the books, it is said that Athena would create the children using her mind, being the goddess of wisdom. Adding in the traits of the father of the child and adding in some of her own.
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Chiron was also known for training several heroes: Asclepius, Aristaeus, Ajax, Aeneas, Actaeon, Caeneus, Theseus, Achilles, Jason, Peleus, Telamon, Perseus, and Heracles.
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The statue of Athena at the Parthenon in Tennessee has a carving of Medusa on her chest plate.
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In Greek mythology, Chiron was a centaur and a master of the healing arts, and passed that knowledge on to the mortal hero Asclepius.
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Athena was a maiden goddess (she could never marry) yet she had children such as Annabeth because like herself her children are born from pure thought and given as a gift to the men she truly admires therefore she is able to have demigod children and still be a maiden goddess
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Luke is seen playing the multiplayer mode of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009). Kevin McKidd is a voice actor for that videogame.
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In the book, Annabeth is a blonde and has grey eyes. But in the movies, she is a brunette with blue eyes.
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Features Pierce Brosnan and Sean Bean from GoldenEye (1995), though their characters in this film never interact with each other.
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When Luke is seen playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009), he is playing for the Militia, on the Favela level.
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In the Greek Myths, Persephone was abducted by Hades into the Underworld, but Zeus demanded her return on earth. However Hades tricked her into eating pomegranate seeds and was forced to stay in the Underworld during the winter months and returning to earth the rest of the year. However in the film, Percy Jackson had 10 more days until the summer solstice to return Zeus' master bolt and during the time Persephone was seen in the Underworld at summertime.
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Luke is seen playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with a Playstation controller but on the tv screen it shows XBOX controls
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Ray Winstone: as Ares at Olympus. In some shots, you can see him sitting on his throne in between Demeter and Athena, whereas others, he has gone.
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In addition to be the messenger of the god, Hermes is also the god of thieves. It makes sense that it was his son who was the Lightning Thief.
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The hydra Percy faces in the Parthenon Museum in Nashville was a creature in Greek mythology. It was the offspring of Echidna and Typhon. The Greek hero Heracles (known more commonly by his Roman name, "Hercules") defeated the hydra by cutting off most of the heads, save for the one immortal head, having his nephew cauterize the wounds with a burning torch, and burying the remaining head with a large boulder.
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In the books, it takes Percy almost half the book to find out that his father is Poseidon. But in the film, he finds out almost right after entering Camp Half-Blood.
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In the original novel, Ares was one of the main antagonists, and actually had recruited Luke to steal the lightning bolt. In the film, his role is reduced to a simple cameo in the Mt. Olympus scene.
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The substitute teacher, Mrs. Dodds, writes, "I understand a fury in your words But not your words" on the blackboard, when the actual line from Othello 4.2 is, "I understand a fury in your words. But not the words".
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In the Capture the Flag scene, a warrior of the red team shears off the blue horsehair plume on Percy's helmet with his sword. However, in all of the following scenes the plume is complete again.
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After Percy enters the Lotus Casino in Vegas, the designs on his blue shirt are suddenly gone.
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At Auntie Em's Emporium her lip color changes between scenes from red to purple.
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In one scene, when Percy is new to the camp, he & Chiron are talking alone by the lake. When the camera is on Chiron, Chiron's arms are folded. But, when the camera switches to Percy, Chiron's arms are suddenly down.
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When Percy is in the Demigod infirmary after the fight with the Minotaur, there is a shield seen leaning against the table next to him as he sleeps. He is then woken up by Grover, the camera angle return to Percy sitting up, and the shield is gone.
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Pigeons outside the window of Percy's house disappear and reappear between shots.
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The statue of Athena in the Parthenon in Nashville does not resemble the actual statue. The real statue is gold plated, has a different headpiece and is holding Nike not a spear.
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In Greek mythology, Persephone spends winter with Hades and spring, summer, and fall with her mother Demeter outside of Hades' realm. However, in the movie, Persephone is with Hades even though it's summer.
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In the part when they were in the underworld, Grover said that he gave $170, but he only showed two paper bills.
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Before Medusa takes off her turban, a small piece of Uma Thurman's blonde hair visible peeking out of the right side of the turban.
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When Percy, Annabeth and Grover come to Luke to ask for help he is playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with a Playstation 3 controller while on screen Xbox 360 buttons are seen.
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When Chiron in centaur form walks, he looks strange - but it's not because of bad CGI. It's because a horse, like all four-legged animals, walks with a four-beat gait; whereas whoever animated Chiron clearly didn't know this and tried to force the "walk" into a two-beat, unnatural gait.
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During the fight with Medusa, she knocks over a row of statues which fall on Percy, trapping him. As he tries to free himself it is clear that he was not stuck; none of the statues was even touching him.
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While the pearl is spinning on the roulette, and the pearl is behind the handle that sticks up, you still see the green pearl reflection as if it never moved.
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In the final shot, the leaves on the small trees in front are noticeably being blown by the wind, but the leaves on the taller trees in back are perfectly still.
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After Percy severs Medusa's head, there is no blood on his sword. After when walking to meet his friends he is seen wiping blood from it.
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The woman who is in Auntie Em's Garden Emporium opens her eyes and turns into stone, her hand is resting on Annabeth's arm, but in the next shot, it is closed tightly around it.
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After Percy beheads Medusa, her body is on the ground as Percy is wiping the sword clean. On her arm is the green pearl in plain sight, but when Percy bends down to pick up her head the pearl is covered by her sleeve.
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When Percy and Annabeth are talking by the pool, Annabeth has a red mark on her arm, which she explains was given by the woman who was turned to stone by Medusa. However, in the earlier scene, there is no trace of the mark.
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Both Percy and Annabeth are teenagers and in a real Las Vegas casino would not have been allowed to roam unaccompanied in the gaming area without someone over the age of 21. However, Lotus isn't a normal casino; it is a supernatural entity with its own rules.
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When Percy sees the final pearl in the Lotus Casino, on the spinner, it is on slot 33. When Percy picks it up later, it is on slot 15. While the number did change where the pearl was located, Percy was away from the table to rescue Grover and Annabeth. It is highly probable that the dealer collected the pearl and spun again as he would in a "regular casino" to keep up the illusion.
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Annabeth is not able to release her arm from the hand grip of the woman turned into stone by Medusa but when Grover cuts off the stoned statue's arm with his sword, Annabeth is able to remove the stoned hand grip by simply shaking it off although it is clear that it was not broken.
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lightning|lightning bolt|teenager|poseidon|hades|underworld|quest|greek mythology|monster|protector|fury|student|high school|high school student|mount olympus|zeus|shield|pen|olympus|museum|minotaur|greek god|adhd|symbolism|wet jeans|long title|american flag|fireworks|bus|glowing eyes|mother daughter reunion|father son reunion|cgi|elevator|red herring|tattoo|horns|surprise during end credits|scene during end credits|goddess|world domination|flooding|falling from height|rooftop|fighting in the air|flying|new york city skyline|chrysler building manhattan new york city|flashback|electrocution|femme fatale|soul|candle|chandelier|piano|guitar|castle|forcefield|brother brother relationship|forced marriage|burning money|ferryman|boat|skull|cave|desert|car theft|montage|video arcade|pool cue|pool table|taj mahal|big ben london|eiffel tower paris|diner|rescue|interracial friendship|infirmary|sunglasses|chase|fire|healing|dragon|dagger|crown|bathroom|news report|motel|car accident|pickup truck|fountain|garden shop|good versus evil|product placement|greenhouse|new jersey|stabbed in the leg|shot in the eye|shot in the leg|shot in the back|shot in the chest|stabbed in the chest|severed head|campfire|laptop|training camp|betrayal|deception|spear|child in peril|knife throwing|explosion|race against time|reluctant hero|teenage hero|hidden identity|friendship|tunic|supernatural power|teacher student relationship|bow and arrow|kidnapping|cow|false accusation|creature|woods|overturning car|escape|slow motion scene|demon|mother son relationship|stepfather stepson relationship|husband wife relationship|butt slap|apartment|brooklyn bridge|bridge|ferris wheel|coney island|prologue|secret door|water tower|teleportation|hollywood|roulette|pinball|dancing|cucumber on eyes|manicure|casino|shot with an arrow|breathing fire|decapitation|tranquilizer dart|crossbow|parthenon|nashville tennessee|rapid healing|map|reflection|panic|drachma|gold coin|rat|statue|greyhound bus|winged shoe|helmet|fireball|bonfire|capture the flag|training|bikini|playing poker|crutches|transformation|wheelchair|holding breath|swimming pool|underwater|sound track begins before film starts|manhattan new york city|hearing voices|water|warrior|sidekick|river|river styx|hydra|hero|fighter|female warrior|female fighter|crutch|summer solstice|pearl|lotus|ipod|hotel|empire state building manhattan new york city|beheading|backpack|turned to stone|trident|sword|sword fight|stepfather|snake|satyr|punctuation in title|new york city|medusa|magical shoe|las vegas nevada|hollywood sign|hermes|half breed|reference to god|giant|flag|dyslexia|dionysus|demi god|competition|centaur|athena|ampersand in title|adult actress playing teenage girl|based on novel|based on book|character name in title|surprise ending|

AKAs Titles:
Argentina - Percy Jackson y el ladr�n del rayo
Bulgaria (Bulgarian title) - �Ÿ�Š�€�и �”жак��Šн и �‘огове�‚е на �žлимп: �Ÿо�…и�‚и�‚ел��‚ на м�Šлнии
Brazil - Percy Jackson e o Ladr�o de Raios
Czech Republic - Percy Jackson - Zlodej blesku
Czech Republic - Zlodej blesku
Germany - Percy Jackson: Diebe im Olymp
Denmark - Percy Jackson & lyntyven
Estonia - Percy Jackson ja ol�mplased: V�lguvaras
Spain - Percy Jackson y el ladr�n del rayo
Finland - Percy Jackson salamavaras
France - Percy Jackson: Le voleur de foudre
UK - Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief
Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title) - O Percy Jackson & oi Olympioi: I klopi tis astrapis
Greece - �Ÿ � έ��ƒι Τζάκ�ƒον & οι �Ÿλ�μ�€ιοι: �— κλο�€ή �„η�‚ α�ƒ�„�α�€ή�‚
Croatia - Percy Jackson i Olimpijci: Kradljivac gromova
Hungary - Percy Jackson � s az olimposziak - Vill�mtolvaj
Italy - Percy Jackson e gli dei dell'Olimpo - Il ladro di fulmini
Japan - P�sh� Jakuson to Orinposu no kamigami
Lithuania - Persis Dzeksonas ir Olimpo dievai: zaibo vagis
Netherlands (informal literal title) - Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief
Norway - Percy Jackson & Lyntyven
Peru - Percy Jackson y el ladr�n del rayo
Poland - Percy Jackson i Bogowie Olimpijscy: Zlodziej Pioruna
Portugal - Percy Jackson e os Ladr�es do Olimpo
Serbia - Persi Džekson - Kradljivac munje
Russia - �Ÿе�€�и �”жек�он и �Ÿо�…и�‚и�‚ел�Œ молний
Sweden - Percy Jackson och Kampen om �skviggen
Singapore (English title) - Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
Slovenia - Percy Jackson in olimpijci - kradljivec strele
Turkey (Turkish title) - Percy Jackson & Olimposlular - Simsek hirsizi
Ukraine - �Ÿе�€�i �”жек�он �‚а �’ик�€ада�‡ бли�кавок
USA - Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
USA (working title) - Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
Venezuela - Percy Jackson y El ladr�n del rayo
Vietnam (promotional title) - Percy Jackson va nhung vi than Olympia: Ke Cap Tia Chop

Release Dates:


Certifications:
Argentina:Atp / Australia:M / Brazil:12 / Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) / Canada:G (Qu�bec) / Finland:K-13 / Germany:12 / Hong Kong:IIA / Iceland:10 / Ireland:PG / Japan:G / Malaysia:U / Mexico:B / Netherlands:12 / New Zealand:M / Norway:11 / Peru:PT / Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) / Portugal:M/12 / Singapore:PG / South Korea:12 / Spain:7 / Sweden:11 / Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) / Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) / Taiwan:R-12 / UK:PG / USA:PG (certificate #45672)