As the first of a possible five movie adaptations of the Percy Jackson & The Olympians novel series, The Lightning Thief does its job of putting things in context for viewers. In theory, the filmmakers hope people will leave the cinema longing for the sequels.
The story begins as the characters in Percy Jackson's Greek mythology texts come to life: they suspect Percy has stolen Zeus' lightning bolt. As Percy is caught between furious gods, he and his friends embark on an adventure to catch the true lightning thief and unravel a mystery more powerful than the gods themselves.
The movie is significantly different from the book. For instance, the characters in the book are 12 years old, whereas those in the film are young adults. And it's obvious that some new adventures have been made up to suit this two-hour movie. Fortunately the visuals are extremely well done, and the fledgling stars do an ample job of engaging the audience. Some say Percy Jackson follows in the footsteps of Harry Potter. But it seems to have a whole new way to tell a story, especially for younger people.