Completely by-the-book

Director Chris Columbus takes on book character Percy Jackson with the exact “meh” feeling he gave to the first two “Harry Potter” films. It’s appropriate since the story even seems to have its name inspired by that famous wizard series. Everything goes by the book; a mistreated young boy inherits deus ex machina powers, a love interest and goofy sidekick accompany him on the journey for an all-powerful item that must be recovered to save the world.

The movie’s premise (Greek mythology hiding in the modern world) should be able to carry the film itself, and it is fun to see a legend like Hydra rearing its multiplying heads. But there’s really little imagination and depth to what happens. You never get the sense that there is a deep story working behind the scenes, merely the feeling that the filmmakers thought it’d be fun if the Minotaur showed up for a fight.

Classics majors might enjoy the setting for their younglings, but everything here has been done several times with more care.