First, the good news. Chris Columbus' adaptation of the fantasy book Percy Jackson Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is far better than his last film, the insipid high school comedy I Love You Beth Cooper. The bad news? Percy Jackson is still pretty mediocre. Its Clash of Titans for tweens. In The Lightning Thief, Logan Lerman plays Percy Jackson, a misunderstood teen who quickly discovers that his importance in this world is far more vital then he ever could have imagined. He comes to this quick conclusion upon witnessing his high school teacher turning into a gargoyle while on a trip to the local library. Thus, Percy's crazy adventure begins. An adventure that features an onslaught of legendary characters from Greek mythology who all vie to take control of a mystical lightning rod that Percy may or may not have in his possession.

I fully recognize that I'm not this film's target audience, but guess what? I wasn't the target audience for Spiderwick Chronicles either, and I enjoyed that film. There's no real sense of danger in Percy Jackson. Everything is too darned safe. Even Columbus' Harry Potter adaptations had peril in them. Furthermore, the action sequences here are extremely tepid. The climactic battle at the end of the hilarious comedy Role Models felt infinitely more dangerous than anything in Percy Jackson. Having said all of this, there are some bright spots to speak of. The visual effects are solid offering up a nice array of other worldly creatures and I got a kick out of Uma Thurman's seductive, snaky haired Medusa. I also liked liked a lot of the art direction. There's a really cool sequence in which Percy and his fearless crew cross over (by way of Hollywood) into a dark and dreary Underworld. Too bad the much welcome gloominess is undermined by the appearance of Steve Coogan. This British funny man feels sorely out of place as...the devil (no, I'm not kidding). Percy Jackson is a low rent version of the aforementioned Potter series and The Chronicles of Narnia. The tweener crowd will probably be entertained, but the adults in the audience will undoubtedly find themselves staring at their watches.