Pierce Brosnan

‘Percy Jackson & the Olympians:The Lightning Thief’ Conjures Up a Big Bolt of Bland

PatrickMcD — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:00:50 -0700

Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Oh, those nutty kids today. At one moment they’re regular high schoolers, doing all those post millennium teen rituals, then suddenly they’re demigods in “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.”

Logan Lerman is Percy Jackson, a put-upon teenager who has trouble keeping up in class because of dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Besides these difficulties, he has problems at home with his odious stepfather and is constantly defending his sacrificing mother (Catherine Keener).

This sorrowful situation changes rapidly when Percy attends a museum lecture given by his teacher Mr. Brunner (Pierce Brosnan). It seems like the Greek mythology being presented resonates clearly with Percy, especially since he’s able to read ancient Greek etchings. This is followed with one of his other teachers changing into a flying bat creature, and his handicapped best friend Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) suddenly gluing himself to Percy’s side as his “protector,” emerging as a half man, half goat satyr.

The Magical Land of Las Vegas: Brandon T. Jackson as Grover, Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth and Logan Lerman as Percy in ‘Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief’
Photo credit: © 2010 Fox 2000 Pictures

Percy, as it turns out, is a demigod. Which means he is the half-breed offspring of his human mother and the water god Poseidon. Mr. Brunner is actually Chiron, a half horse/half man Centaur, who runs a school for demigods in a mysterious wooded area. Percy is helped by Grover and his mother to get there, but in that journey his mother is kidnapped by Hades, god of hell.

Percy, even before he is indoctrinated in his new surroundings, also finds out that he is accused of stealing the lighting bolt rod of the head god Zeus. In quick succession, Percy must train as a demigod warrior, figure out his new allies (Grover, Annabeth and Luke), figure out how to clear his name as the lightning thief and solve many clues to enter hell to rescue his mother.

In that quick descriptive there seems to be several movies packed into one, and Percy & the Olympians suffers for it. This film is based on a recent popular book series by Rick Riordan, and in what can probably be expounded upon clearly within the pages is oriented lightning fast on screen. Percy is swooped up, carried away to the half-breed school pursued by strange creatures and doesn’t even get a meal break.

And despite a completely different basis for magical powers and placement, comparisons to the “Harry Potter” series are impossible to deny. The main gang is Percy and his best friend Grover, like Harry and Ron, and they have their equality female ally like Hermione, Annabeth. Percy is a half human, half god and goes to a training school to learn of his powers. Sure, nothing like Potter.

That Stoney Stare: Uma Thuman as Medusa in ‘Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief’
Photo credit: © 2010 Fox 2000 Pictures

But Percy and his pals reside in the United States, which gives the story an opportunity for a weird road trip to Nashville, Las Vegas and eventually New York City (they need to collect magic pearls in order to enter hell. Really.). This is where most of the movie star cameos take place, with Uma Thurman chewing some scenery as the snake-haired Medusa, Steve Coogan doing his rocker persona as Hades and Rosario Dawson as Hades sidekick Persephone. Their appearances, except for Uma’s slinky interpretation, are mostly distracting.

The greatest sin of Percy, though, is that there is no time to ponder his fate. Every tragedy, story shift, training session and appearances of strange creatures are reacted to in exactly the same way – complete emotional indifference. The actors are like auctioneers, treating their different challenges like just another bid on a Greek statue. Here’s Percy going to school, nope we have to find magical pearls, time to rescue Mom, hey let’s go to Vegas. It’s like the film has ADHD, with clinical technicians attending to it.

There is one interesting part, and that is the Vegas scene. The heroes become trapped in a pleasure palace (a casino, naturally) and eat lotus flowers in a sort of 1960s-style drug ritual, complete with goofy smiles and trippy surroundings. The straight-laced Percy finds a way to break the spell, much to the consternation of his colleagues and their PG-rated partying. Percy is also a buzz kill.

When a story saps so much energy out of characters, even the special effects don’t seem as special. Percy Jackson & the Olympians needs to slow down a bit, and stop to eat the lotus flowers.

”Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” opens February 12th everywhere and features Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson, Uma Thurman, and Catherine Keener, directed by Chris Columbus. Rated “PG.” Click here for interviews with the main cast of Percy & the Olympians.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Despite Rollercoaster Energy, ‘Mamma Mia!’ Bellows Beloved ABBA Vocals With Feel-Good Appeal

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:47:11 -0600

Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – While it’d be embellishment to say you’d have the time of your life at the new musical film “Mamma Mia!,” any dancing queen or an admirer of seeing Pierce Brosnan croon a tune instead of trigger James Bond destruction can at least have some of the time of your 108 minutes.

Sandwiched amid three compelling female performances, Donna (played by Meryl Streep) is appreciated as the overwhelming lead of the middle-aged trio. She’s effectively complemented by a feisty Christine Baranski and a lone-wolf Julie Walters. The three ladies, though, dwarf three more energy-lacking male performances.

Left to right: Tanya Chesham-Leigh (Christine Baranski), Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep) and Rosie Rice (Julie Walters) lead the Greek chorus in the musical romantic comedy “Mamma Mia!”.
Photo credit: Universal Pictures

Amanda Seyfried as Sophie Sheridan in the musical romantic comedy “Mamma Mia!”.
Photo credit: Peter Mountain, copyright Universal Studios

Working with Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård – both of whom at times feel somewhat in an unintentional slumber – Pierce Brosnan saves the middle-aged male trio with powerful, leading male vocals and his usual charisma.

The three men arrive at the wedding of Donna’s daughter, Sophie (played preciously by Amanda Seyfried), amid confusion of which one is Sophie’s true father.

While the camera yet again finds the heartthrob in Piece Brosnan, this time he’s a sensitive and singing heartthrob without all the high-tech James Bond gadgetry and penchant for blowing stuff up.

Still, it was enormously difficult to see Brosnan without beautiful ladies on both arms and things in his pocket triggering big Hollywood booms.

As for the music of 1970s pop-music group ABBA throughout the film, “Dancing Queen” and the namesake number “Mamma Mia” stand as the standout sequences. As usual, the music was pre-recorded by the actors and then lip-synced in the film with decency (though it’s still noticeable and slightly off-putting).

Pierce Brosnan’s vocals clearly make use of the most synthesizing and improvement from modern-day computers. Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried, on the other hand, excelled more naturally. Seyfried, though, didn’t appear able to stand solo in her musical numbers and best shone when blended with ensemble assistance.

Amanda Seyfried as Sophie Sheridan on the set of the musical romantic comedy “Mamma Mia!”.
Photo credit: Peter Mountain, copyright Universal Studios

This, by the way, is marketed as a “romantic comedy”. While it earns the romance classification through its campy scripting, there’s comedy? Really? That’s news.

Left to right: Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgård), Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan) and Harry Bright (Colin Firth) in the musical romantic comedy “Mamma Mia!”.
Photo credit: Peter Mountain, copyright Universal Studios

For many, 2008’s “Mamma Mia!” will bring to mind the recent memory of the 2007 musical film “Hairspray” with John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Queen Latifah and Zac Efron.

RELATED IMAGE GALLERY
View our full, high-resolution “Mamma Mia!” image gallery.

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More film reviews from critic Adam Fendelman.

Unlike the consistent energy level throughout “Hairspray,” though, “Mamma Mia!” wavers and instead can feel like an up-and-down rollercoaster of thrilling highs and awkward lows.

While “Mamma Mia” as a jukebox musical launched the current trend on Broadway, the film iteration also shines in its ability to “grow down” middle-aged men and women through their acting.

Though inspiring for some who want to be as young as their minds and bodies permit, the film grows increasingly cliché in its quest to regress the ages of the seasoned bunch instead of drinking the fine wine with pride and reality.

In the end, “Mamma Mia!” goes cliché even further to the unfortunate max. Under pressure to maintain the musical status quo, the film decides to hurl all story progression development out the window and entirely too quickly ties all loose ends ridiculously air tight.

“Mamma Mia,” which opened everywhere on July 18, 2008, stars Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters and Christine Baranski.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com