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RATING:  
SINGAPORE : Even though this is ostensibly a kids flick, you have to admit that the concept is an interesting one. In Percy Jackson's world, the Greek gods are alive and well - and today reside on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building.
The teenage Jackson discovers this when his math teacher turns into a monster, and he consequently learns that his absent father is really Poseidon, ruler of the sea. I mean, everyone can relate to that.
Young Percy (Logan Lerman) is bundled off to Camp Half Blood, where he meets other young demigods - including Annabeth, daughter of Athena (Alexandra Daddario); Chiron, his mentor, who's also a centaur (Pierce Brosnan); and a satyr known as Grover (Brandon T Jackson).
Percy, Annabeth and Grover must then go on a quest to retrieve Zeus' lightning bolt, the theft of which threatens to provoke a war among the gods that could destroy mankind.
Along the way, Percy and Co must descend into the underworld (located right under Hollywood), escape the modern-day lair of the Lotus-eaters and battle various CGI monsters like the Minotaur, the Hydra and Medusa (a wonderfully comic incarnation by Uma Thurman).
Directed by Chris Columbus, who's had lots of practice with the first two "Harry Potter" movies, this film is fundamentally different from the best-selling book by Rick Riordan, but it is entertaining enough, if a little tacky in parts.
Kids will be spellbound, while the rest of us should catch it if only to see James Bond with a horse's rear end.
- TODAY/ra
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