6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
It's the 21st century, but the gods of Mount Olympus and assorted monsters have walked out of the pages of high school student Percy Jackson's Greek mythology texts and into his life. And they're not happy: Zeus' lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Even more troubling is the sudden disappearance of Percy's mother. As Percy finds himself caught between angry and battling gods, he and his friends embark on a cross-country adventure to catch the true lightning thief, save Percy's mom, and unravel a mystery more powerful than the gods themselves.
Starring: Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel, Sean BeanAdventure | 100% |
Fantasy | 83% |
Family | 70% |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
English SDH, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin (Traditional)
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (1 BD, 2 DVDs)
Digital copy (on disc)
DVD copy
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Who dares to stand up and have a pop at Harry Potter, reigning young adult fantasy film champ? Eragon fell under one white-hot riff from Potter’s wand and The Golden Compass, which came out swinging, got K.O.’ed after a single round. The Spiderwick Chronicles will never reach its final chapter, Lemony Snicket suffered a series of unfortunate events, and The Seeker, well, that one got tangled in the ropes before it could even enter the ring. The Narnia films are currently having a go, but they’re still in the welterweight division. Undefeated after six bouts—and now having raked in a combined five and half billion worldwide box office dollars—it doesn’t look like anyone can even land a punch on the Potter series. Nonethelesss, fresh-faced new fighters, cherry-picked from the ranks of the New York Times young adult bestseller list, keep emerging. The latest contender was Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightening Thief, which had better odds than most. Based on an extraordinarily successful series of books and directed by Chris Columbus—who helmed the first two Harry Potter films—Percy Jackson actually seemed to have a chance. Note the past tense. Percy fought a good fight, but I don’t think we’ll be seeing a rematch.
Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon...
I was really wowed by the technical presentation of this disc, starting with the film's 1080p/AVC- encoded transfer, which runs at a high bit rate (31 MBPS average), displays a striking amount of detail, and features great color and depth. The daylight scenes at Camp Half Blood are the richest and most vibrant in the film—with tight contrast, strong forest greens, and bold splashes of red and blue—but even the darker sequences later in the movie have a wide tonal range thanks to good shadow delineation and mostly consistent black levels. As you'd expect, the scenes at the Lotus Land Casino are especially vivid—bright, flashing neon lights, sultry skin tones—and the film's hellish vision of the underworld is just as impressive, all orange fire and brimstone. Clarity is finely resolved throughout, revealing facial texture and the intricate detailing of leather armor and battle-ready weaponry. While the CGI in the film falls somewhat behind the cutting edge of visual effects, the digital creations are nicely integrated into the 35mm film image, which features just enough grain to give the movie a warm, cinematic texture. Finally, there's no overt edge enhancement or DNR, and compression artifacts seem entirely absent.
If the film's picture quality is striking, then its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is like repeated blows to the head. This is a full-bodied, energetic mix, with earthquake-inducing LFE response— seriously, don't leave anything fragile sitting on your subwoofer—and lots of engaging, cross-channel interaction. The film is immersive from the very first frames, as a thunderstorm rips and tears at the air around us. Just about every battle scene is a sonic showpiece. The Fury flaps about madly, breaking a window and sending glass shattering every which way, swinging swords cut with a circular woosh though the soundfield, Medusa's snakes hiss all around, the Hydra breathes a wide swath of raging fire that cuts from left to right, and electricity snaps, crackles and pops. Sound design-wise, one of the best moments in the film is when Percy takes control of the water from four rooftop water towers; it rages and swirls throughout the soundstage, a maelstrom suspended in the air. All of the effects have palpable heft, but there's also a crystalline clarity to the high-end. The same could be said for Christophe Beck's noble, propulsive score, filled with open harmonies in the low brass. Throughout all the sonic chaos, dialogue stays clean, clear, and easy to understand. Turn this one up loud.
Deleted Scenes (1080p, 14:03)
There are ten deleted scenes here, some of which containing material that might have bumped the
film up to a PG-13 rating.
Secrets of the Gods (1080p)
Clicking on this tab will take you to a separate menu—a model of Olympus—where you can select
brief video profiles of some of the characters in the film. Includes segments for Zeus, Athena, Hades,
Persephone, Hermes, Poseidon, the Minotaur, Grover, Chiron, Percy, the Hydra, Annabeth, Luke,
and Medusa. There's probably about 15 minutes worth of material here.
Discover Your Powers Quiz (1080p)
Answer a couple of questions and this quiz will tell you which mythological figure you most
resemble.
The Book Comes to Life (1080p, 4:24)
A brief EPK promo featuring interviews with author Rick Riordan and several of the actors.
Inside Camp Half Blood (1080p, 5:09)
Here, we go behind-the-scenes at Camp Half Blood, with on-set footage and interviews with the
actors.
On Set with Brandon T. Jackson (1080p, 5:56)
The cameras follow Jackson during a typical day on set.
Meet the Demigods (1080p, 3:49)
More interviews with the actors, who explain the plot of the film.
Composing for the Gods: A Conversation with Christophe Beck (SD, 3:29)
Cristophe Beck gives an audio-only interview, set to images of the film and some behind-the-scenes
footage of the recording process.
Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:26)
Live Extras
With the release of Percy Jackson, 20th Century Fox is expanding its BD-Live presence and
functionality. If you click on "Live Extras" and then the "What's New" tab, you'll be taken to an
interface where you can access exclusive content for Fox releases. Currently, you can stream or
download the Demigods at Work and Play: Inside the Lotus Land Casino featurette (2:38), a
short clip that seems like it should've been included on the physical disc. You can also watch deleted
scenes from Alvin and the Chipmunks 2, a red carpet interview with Jason Schwartzman for
Fantastic Mr. Fox, featurettes for Ice Age 3 and Night at the Museum 2, a
mock behind-the-scenes piece for Tooth Fairy, and theatrical trailers for a number of new
and upcoming releases.
Live Lookup
Obtain instant access to up-to-date actor filmographies and information related to Percy Jackson
& the Olympians: The Lightening Thief via the Internet Movie Database.
Percy Jackson is solid young adult entertainment—it's got gods, heroes, and a great premise— but I don't think it will start a franchise, let alone go head to head with Harry Potter. While the action is intense and the characters are likeable, the magic just isn't there. Still, The Lightening Thief works well as a standalone movie, which is good considering that we probably won't be returning to this cinematic world. A rental is probably in order for most fantasy fans, but some might by swayed to a purchase by the disc's stunning audio/video presentation.
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