Percy Jackson &The Olympians:The Lightning Thief

Okay- I am going to try to be fair. I never heard of this book series. Strike one. I am not between the ages of 9 and 13. Strike two. I cannot help but compare it to Harry Potter. Strike three. Percy is the son of Poseiden- thus explaining his love of sitting at the bottom of the pool. Someone has stolen Zeus's lightning bolt. The daughter of Athena and the satyr, Grover, go with Percy on the mission to find the bolt- where they run into hellfire and brimstone, Medusa, etc. So this is the fair part- IF you have a kid between 9-13 who doesn't scare easily and who is smart enough to be interested in mythology, this is a terrific film. It does have some adult humor but the kids won't get it. The special effects are a tad dated, but still scary enough. The movie is so simple that most kids wouldn't even ask you to explain anything. I give it two and a half stars because, well, in the words of the flickerchick: "It is what it is."