Percy is a teenaged boy living in New York City with his Mum and step-father, a man that treats them both like rubbish.

One day, whilst at a field trip to a museum exhibit about ancient Greek God myths, Percy is attacked by a teacher who spontaneously becomes some kind of strange beast. Stranger still though is that his best friend and one of his teachers are not taken aback by this and tell him to go see his Mum.

Turns out that sometimes the Gods come to Earth and hook up with humans. They of course, have half breed children, or demi-Gods of which Percy is one, it turns out.

The Gods are angry because someone has stolen Zeus' lightning bolt and the finger has been pointed squarely at Percy, so he is hurried to a special school for demi-Gods. Soon however, he and two friends end up on a quest to save his mother who was captured by Hades.

In terms of effects, the film is not too bad. Its fun and light-hearted which makes it a good place for kids to learn a few things about ancient Greek myths and the storyline is passable.

However, the script does feel like it was written by a 12 year old, which when informed that in the book version the main characters are at about this age, makes sense. However, it does make the film itself a lot harder to take seriously.

Personally, I didn't mind the film. It was perhaps a tad predicable and childish but thankfully thats something I'm ok with. If you have kids, they will probably really enjoy this one but anyone who is a fan of the classic myths will find this annoying - especially since the mountain of the Gods' entrance has now moved to New York.

see also:
Alice in Wonderland

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photo © 20th Century Fox.